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The Secrets of Wildflowers: A Delightful Feast of Little-Known Facts, Folklore, and History
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by:
Sanders, Jack
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Publisher:
The Lyons Press
Published: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 1585746681
Format:Hardcover
Pages:320
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Book Description
Review
Reviewers raved about Jack Sanders's earlier work:
"Sanders's book has been called 'nature writing at its very best.' Deservedly so. So let's hoist a glass of thistle wine and give a toast to Sanders and his petaled friends. Long live the
dandelion and all its raffish and renegade ilk!"
--Per Ola and Emily d'Aulaire, Smithsonian
"When I feel depressed about the ravaging of Venus flytraps by collectors in North and South Carolina, I dip into Hedgemaids and Fairy
Candles."
--Anne Raver, The New York Times
"This book should be in the library of every wildflower lover."
--Mary Beth Wiesner, American Horticulturist
"It's important to credit the designer, Casey Shain. This is the handsomest
book on wildflowers I've ever had the pleasure of holding in my hands."--Ridgefield (CT) Press
"This is an amazing book. It's indeed a feast of little-known facts. The author did his research."-- Ben Franklin Awards judges
Product
Description:
Jack Sanders's colorful tribute to wildflowers is bursting with odd facts, ingenious uses, and bizarre superstition about some of North America's most beautiful and common plants. There are more than 10,000 varieties of wildflowers in
North America, some rare, some so plentiful that they are designated as invasive weeds. Each has a unique story.
\tThere's Bouncing Bet, a perennial common along the roads and railroad tracks of America. Like many of our most abundant summer
wildflowers, Bet was brought over to fill colonial gardens. It's a beautiful plant, but also a useful one. Open up the stalk and its sap makes a fine soap. Colonial beermakers used to put a dab in to help the head on a brew. Doctors used it to wash
wounds. Generally considered a weed, it's everywhere.
\tOr Coltsfoot, which pops up almost alone in winters, and was used in New England as a cure for coughs, the leaves boiled down in water. Asthmatics, Sanders tells us, used to smoke it for relief.
For many years, apothecaries in France used Coltsfoot as its symbol, a surprising pedigree for a neglected "weed."
\tMore a companion than a field guide, THE SECRETS OF WILDFLOWERS is a must-have for anyone who enjoys a walk in a meadow or a gaze
outside.
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