Foundation Course: Reading List

Updated November 2024

• Book - Anita Ralph and Mary Tassell (2020). Native Healers: Foundations in Western Herbal Medicine. 1st edition. Aeon Books.

This book is a companion textbook for the Foundation Course. There is no requirement to buy this book to be able to do the Foundation Course, as all materials are provided online, but you may wish to have this to hand during and after completing the course. A percentage of the sales of this book go to Heartwood Education, a non-profit charitable trust, and will therefore go toward helping other educational projects to help more people access herbal medicine information.

• Aeon is a publisher that produce many Herbal Medicine related books.

Their 'Heartwood reading list' can be accessed through this link - https://health.aeonbooks.co.uk/readlist/heartwood/117 Students can access 20% off all books on this list, by entering code 'HEARTWOOD' at checkout.

• Book - Elpel, J.T. (2013). Botany in a day: the patterns method of plant identification. 6th ed. Hops Press.

This book is not required reading for the Foundation Course, but it does expand on some of the plant identification that is covered in the Foundation Course. It also gives a brief introduction in to some of the plant compounds found within key medicinal plant species, in a very accessible way. You may find this book useful therefore to expand slightly on what you will learn on this course.

You may enjoy sourcing a plant identification guide or flora - suggestions include:

• Kingfisher Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe, David Sutton (very good value, with good illustrations and comparisons). ISBN-10: 1856971554 / ISBN-13: 978-1853688430
• Collins Wild Flower Guide, David Streeter, C. Hart-Davies, A. Hardcastle and L. Harper (heavy but small book for committed naturalists - just about portable on a walk!). ISBN-10: 0007183895 / ISBN-13: 978-0007183890
• Casell’s Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe, Marjorie Blamey and Christopher Grey-Wilson (a desk top, not especially portable, guide for the real enthusiast - extremely high quality). ISBN-10: 030436214X / ISBN-13: 978-0304362141

NOTE: If you do not live in Europe, you may prefer to buy a plant identification guide more fitting to your location on our beautiful planet. We would love to hear from you, if you can recommend a Plant Flora/Plant Identification Guide for plants in other plants of the world – please let us know about your favourites!

Note: There will be references to other books, journals, on-line and other resources in every Unit of the course. The following books are not ‘essential’, but it is a good idea to look at a few and choose two or three that catch your eye and suit your personal learning style. They are divided into categories, but there is considerable crossover – some books cover a bit of history, medicinal use and home remedies, for example. Reading online reviews may help you get a feel for the books contents and approach to the subject. The bold title may be of particular interest.

Their 'Heartwood reading list' can be accessed through this link - https://health.aeonbooks.co.uk/readlist/heartwood/117 Students can access 20% off all books on this list, by entering code 'HEARTWOOD' at checkout.

• Hoffman, D. (2002). The holistic herbal: a safe and practical guide to making and using herbal remedies. Thorsons Press.

• Hedley, C.and Shaw, N. (2019) The Herbal Book of Making and Taking. Aeon Books. (Available at a discount for Heartwood students.)

• De Bariacli Levy, J. (1912-2009). Anything by Juliet of the herbs, is worth reading, for example, (1991). The complete herbal handbook for the dog and cat. Faber and Faber.

• Bove, M. (2000). An encyclopedia of natural healing for children. Keats Publishing.

• Bruton-Seal, J and Seal, M. (2008). Hedgerow medicine: harvest and make your own herbal remedies. Shropshire: Merlin Unwin Books.

• Kress, H. (2018). Practical Herbs 1 & 2. Aeon Books.

• de la Foret, R. (2017). Alchemy of Herbs: Transform everyday ingredients into foods and remedies that heal. Hay House Inc.

• Laird, A. (2019). Root to stem: a seasonal guide to natural recipes and remedies for everyday life. Penguin Life.

• English, A. (2019) Wild medicine: Summer. Aeon Books. (This is a series, that also has Autumn/Winter and Spring volumes).

• Hartvig, K. (2016). Healing spices: 50 wonderful spices, and how to use them in healthgiving foods and drinks. Watkins Publishing. Also Healing Berries by the same author.

• The Seed Sistas (Fiona Heckels and Karen Lawton). (2019). The Sensory Herbal Handbook. Watkins.

• Grieve, M. (1931) A modern herbal. [online] Available at: http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html [Accessed 20 August 2018]. You can also purchase a copy from www.abebooks.co.uk.
  
• Bartram, T. (1988). An encyclopedia of herbal medicine. Grace publishers.
  

• Felter, H.W. and Lloyd, J.U. (1905) Kings American dispensatory.Vol1, 18th ed. Reprinted in 1983. Eclectic Medical Publications, pp.528-533. [online] Available at: https://archive.org/details/kingsamericandis01kinguoft [Accessed 20 August 2018).
  

• Felter, H.W. (1922) The eclectic material medica, pharmacology and therapeutics. Reprinted 1983. Eclectic Medical Publications, pp.466-469. [online] Available at: http://www.swsbm.com/FelterMM/Felters_Materia_Medica.pdf [Accessed 20 August 2018].
  

• Mills, S. (1992). Out of the earth: the essential book of herbal medicine. Viking Adult.
  

• Griggs, B. (1997). Green pharmacy: The history and evolution of western herbal medicine. 2nd ed. Vermont: Healing Arts Press.
  

• Allen, D. and Hatfield, G. (2012). Medicinal plants in folk tradition: an ethnobotany of Britain and Ireland. Oregon: Timber Press.
  

• Baker, M. (1996). Discovering the folklore of plants. 3rd ed: Shire publications.
  

• Sinclair Rohde, E. (1922). The old English herbals. London: Minerva Press.
  

• Wood, M. (1993). The magical staff: essential doctrines of Western vitalist medicine. North Atlantic Books.
  

• Elpel, J.T. (2013). Botany in a day: the patterns method of plant identification. 6th ed. Hops Press.

• Barker, J. (2001). The medicinal flora of Britain and Northwestern Europe. Kent: Winter Press.

• Gray, B. (2011). The Boreal Herbal: wild food and medicinal plants of the north. Aroma Borealis Press.

• Grigson, G. (1958). An Englishman's Flora. Paladin.

• Manetas, Y. (2012). Alice in the World of Plants. Springer.

• Pengelly, A. (2004). The Constituents of Medicinal Plants: an introduction to the chemistry and therapeutics of herbal medicines. CABI Publishing.

Note: ‘Botany in a day’ by Thomas Elpel also has a section on the medicinal properties of plants and their chemical constituents.

* Waller, P. (2010). Holistic Anatomy: An integrative guide to the human body. North Atlantic Books.

• Buhner, S.H. (2002). The Lost Language of Plants: The ecological importance of plant medicines for life on earth. Chelsea Green Publishing.

• Ganora, L. (2009). Herbal constituents: Foundations of Phytochemistry. Lisa Ganora.

• Bone, K. And Mills, S. (2013). The principles and practice of modern Phytotherapy. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

• McIntyre, Anne. (2019). The Complete Herbal Tutor: The Definitive Guide to the Principles and Practices of Herbal Medicine. Aeon Books.

• Mills, S. and Bone, K. (2005). The essential guide to herbal safety. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone.

• Ralph, A. Tassell, M. 2020. Native Healers: Foundations in Western Herbal Medicine. Aeon Books Ltd.

• Tobyn, G., Denham, A. and Whitelegg, M. (2010). The western herbal tradition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.