Botanical.com

Category: Website

The book today

Botanical.com is the home of the online version of Mrs Grieves A Modern Herbal. The  website address is http://botanical.com/

The hyper-text version of...A Modern Herbal, contains Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic and Economic Properties, Cultivation and Folk-Lore of Herbs.

• Plant & Herb Index More than 800 varieties of herbs & plants.

• Index of Recipes A listing of 29 plants that include recipes.

• Index of Poisons A listing of 44 plants that are listed as poisonous.

It is an extraordinary achievement by the website compilers and Mrs Grieves, and although it contains only the conventional wisdom of the early 1900's, it at least documents herbal wisdom ensuring it is not lost. Some information may now be considered inaccurate, or not in accordance with modern medicine, but on the other hand modern medicine has often been shown to be wrong. As such this provides a useful balancing source. 

About the author

Mrs Grieve

Sophia Emma Magdalene Grieve (née Law) known simply as Mrs. Grieve was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society with an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants.  She was President of the British Guild of Herb Growers, and Fellow of the British Science Guild.

She was also the Principal and Founder of The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School and Farm at Chalfont St. Peter in Buckinghamshire, England.  This training school gave tuition and practical courses in all branches of herb growing, collecting, drying and marketing. Grieve had an extensive herbal garden in Chalfont St. Peter, and during World War I she trained people in the harvesting, drying and preparation of medicinal herbs, to help remedy the shortage of medicinal supplies.

Mrs Leyel's editing of the original manuscript

To meet a large demand for information on herbal medicines during the First World War, Mrs Grieve started publishing pamphlets on the cultivation of herbs and uses of herbal medicines. These pamphlets were highly regarded by her peers and were eventually published.

Grieve's work A Modern Herbal was published in 1931. The book contains medicinal, culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, cultivation and folklore of herbs from all over the world. The book is still in print but is available online from the website address above.

Mrs. Hilda Leyel added American herbs to Mrs. Grieve's monographs and checked and edited the whole work. Hilda Leyel was the founder of the Society of Herbalists and for many years its Director. She was instrumental in the re-establishment of herbal medicine in Britain in the 1900s. She was also a practicing herbalist herself.

 

The book is still being published, however, as mentioned above the online version is also available with a useful index and added details.

The  website address is http://botanical.com/

Observations

For iPad/iPhone users: tap letter twice to get list of items.

• Mrs Grieve on Abscess Root
• Mrs Grieve on Acacia (false)
• Mrs Grieve on Acacia (Gum)
• Mrs Grieve on Acacia Bark
• Mrs Grieve on Acacias
• Mrs Grieve on Aconite
• Mrs Grieve on Acorus calamus
• Mrs Grieve on Adder's Tongue
• Mrs Grieve on Adrue (Cyperus articulatus)
• Mrs Grieve on Agar-Agar
• Mrs Grieve on Agrimony
• Mrs Grieve on Agrimony (Hemp)
• Mrs Grieve on Alder
• Mrs Grieve on Alehoof or Ground Ivy
• Mrs Grieve on Allspice
• Mrs Grieve on Almonds
• Mrs Grieve on Aloes
• Mrs Grieve on Amaranths
• Mrs Grieve on Angelica
• Mrs Grieve on Angelica Tree (Aralia spinosa)
• Mrs Grieve on Anise
• Mrs Grieve on Anise (Star)
• Mrs Grieve on Apples
• Mrs Grieve on Apricots
• Mrs Grieve on Arbutus (Strawberry Tree)
• Mrs Grieve on Arnica
• Mrs Grieve on Arrachs or Oraches
• Mrs Grieve on Artichokes
• Mrs Grieve on Asafoetida
• Mrs Grieve on Asarabacca
• Mrs Grieve on Asparagus
• Mrs Grieve on Avens
• Mrs Grieve on Barberry bark and root exract
• Mrs Grieve on Bilberries
• Mrs Grieve on Black currants
• Mrs Grieve on Burdock
• Mrs Grieve on Butterbur
• Mrs Grieve on Calendula
• Mrs Grieve on Cannabis
• Mrs Grieve on Carrots and Parsnips
• Mrs Grieve on Chamomile
• Mrs Grieve on Chickweed
• Mrs Grieve on Cinnamon
• Mrs Grieve on Cloves
• Mrs Grieve on Coltsfoot
• Mrs Grieve on Comfrey
• Mrs Grieve on Common bugle
• Mrs Grieve on Common Groundsel
• Mrs Grieve on Couch Grass
• Mrs Grieve on Cowslip
• Mrs Grieve on Cucumber
• Mrs Grieve on Dandelions
• Mrs Grieve on Docks
• Mrs Grieve on Elecampane
• Mrs Grieve on Evening Primrose
• Mrs Grieve on Eyebright
• Mrs Grieve on Fenugreek
• Mrs Grieve on Feverfew
• Mrs Grieve on Figs
• Mrs Grieve on Ginger
• Mrs Grieve on Gooseberries
• Mrs Grieve on Great Burnet
• Mrs Grieve on Hawthorn
• Mrs Grieve on Heal-all [also called Self-heal]
• Mrs Grieve on Horsetails
• Mrs Grieve on Juniper berries
• Mrs Grieve on Liquorice
• Mrs Grieve on Lungwort
• Mrs Grieve on Marsh mallow
• Mrs Grieve on Milk Thistle
• Mrs Grieve on Mint
• Mrs Grieve on Mistletoe
• Mrs Grieve on Mountain Ash
• Mrs Grieve on Mugwort [Artemisia vulgaris]
• Mrs Grieve on Mulberries
• Mrs Grieve on Nettles
• Mrs Grieve on Pennyroyal
• Mrs Grieve on Peonies
• Mrs Grieve on Peppermint
• Mrs Grieve on Pine trees
• Mrs Grieve on Primrose
• Mrs Grieve on Ragwort
• Mrs Grieve on Raspberries
• Mrs Grieve on Rhubarb
• Mrs Grieve on Skullcaps
• Mrs Grieve on Slippery Elm
• Mrs Grieve on Strawberries
• Mrs Grieve on the Bogbean [Bog Myrtle]
• Mrs Grieve on the Holy Thistle
• Mrs Grieve on the Scotch Thistle
• Mrs Grieve on Thyme
• Mrs Grieve on Valerian
• Mrs Grieve on Vervain
• Mrs Grieve on White Willow
• Mrs Grieve on Wild Amaranth
• Mrs Grieve on Wild Celery
• Mrs Grieve on Winterberry
• Mrs Grieve on Yarrow
• Mrs Grieves on Gorse
• Mrs Grieves's Mulberry jam
• Mrs Grieves's Mulberry wine