cover image Comp Bk Herbs & Spice

Comp Bk Herbs & Spice

Sarah Garland. Reader's Digest Association, $35 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-89577-499-6

If you've sometimes wondered what yarrow, et al., is good for, this book can tell you: it is ``a wound herb, astringent and healing, and rich in vitamins and minerals.'' Moreover, it may even ``increase the health of nearby plants.'' Entries in this herbal resource also offer directions to would-be growers, the various amusing common names of the assembled plants (for coriander, ``dizzycorn,'' for cassia, ``bastard cinnamon'') and historical asides: the Incas, for example, worshipped the sunflower. In addition, there are recipes--for soap, bath oil, herbal dyes, pomanders, and edible contrivances: toffee, salad, green mayonnaise and more. Nicely designed but not remarkable, the volume is illustrated with a range of graphics, from medieval woodcuts to the glow of contemporary color photography. (Sept.)