Native American Ethnobotany

An extraordinary compilation of the plants used by North American native peoples for medicine, food, fiber, dye, and a host of other things. Anthropologist Daniel E. Moerman has devoted 25 years to the task of gathering together the accumulated ethnobotanical knowledge on more than 4000 plants. More than 44,000 uses for these plants by various tribes are documented here. This is undoubtedly the most massive ethnobotanical survey ever undertaken, preserving an enormous store of information for the future.

Winner of Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Literature Award: General Interest 2000

“When I received the book I thought I had died and gone to heaven! This is one of the items I would run back to save if my house ever burned down.”

Daniel Moerman's massive work, long anticipated by ethnobiologists and anthropologists, is striking... Its pages are brimming with the most complete explication of Native Americans ... and their interaction with plants ever undertaken. ... Moerman provides... information probably impossible to find anywhere else-nothing to date has been so thorough and systematic. ... [The book includes] several indices of great value. ...The cost [is] miraculously low for this masterpiece. No library can be without... Moerman's offering. His work will likely never be surpassed... This is probably the magnum opus of the field. We are all indebted to him for this marvelous achievement. -- Donald J. McGraw American Scientist 20000201 This monumental synthesis of ethnobotany of prehistoric and historic Indians of North America ... is an instant classic. -- Rudolf Schmid Taxon 19981101 An enormous achievement... Fun to browse through it and to discover many exciting details about plant use in North America. -- Michael Heinrich Journal of Ethnopharmacology 19990201 A monumental work. Plants and People 19980201 Congratulations to Timber Press for doing it right. Whole Earth 19990201 This scholarly and weighty tome contains a stupendous quantity of high-quality information about the use of plants by Native American peoples. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 20000201 Anyone interested in the economic botany and ethnobotany of indigenous groups of North America needs to have a copy of this book. It is the standard reference on Native American plant uses. HerbalGram 19990201 This work is an invaluable resource for ethnobotanists, anthropologists, herbalists, and other researchers. Herb Quarterly 19990201 The definitive book on the subject. Covering over 4,000 plants with some 44,000 uses, this represents years of research on the author's part. -- Connie Krochmal Washington Daily News 19991222 An impressive compilation of information on plants used by Native Americans ... An important library book. Northeastern Naturalist 19990201 Moerman has done an excellent job of presenting the information in useable form. -- Rachel Hays American Biology Teacher 20000301 I have no hesitation in recommending this book as a fundamental and highly valuable source of fascinating information on the plants and the peoples of North America. -- W. Milliken Edinburgh Journal of Botany 19990401 This typographically attractive book presents its data with interest and humor. Taxon 20000522 -- Melodye Murphy Amazon.com 20011210 Native American Ethnobotany is an essential reference for all those interested in the uses of plants. Wild Foods Forum 20050303

Daniel E. Moerman is the William E. Stirton Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan - Dearborn, so recognized for his distinguished scholarship, teaching, and professional accomplishments. Because of his work in the field of Native American ethnobotany, Professor Moerman often receives calls from the American Indian community, such as an inquiry from the Menominee in Wisconsin, asking him what kinds of plants they should include in the restoration of their indigenous ecosystem. He acknowledges that we are deeply indebted "to those predecessors of ours on the North American continent who, through glacial cold in a world populated by mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, seriously, deliberately, and thoughtfully studied the flora of a new world, learned its secrets, and encouraged the next generations to study closer and to learn more. Their diligence and energy, their insight and creativity, these are the marks of true scientists, dedicated to gaining meaningful and useful knowledge from a complex and confusing world."

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