The Complete Herbal

About this book

Nicholas Culpeper, a London apothecary and physician, describes hundreds of English herbs: what each plant looks like, where it grows, when it flowers, which planet he believed governed it, and the illnesses it was thought to cure. He wrote in plain English, not Latin, so that ordinary people who could not afford doctors could treat themselves, and he combined traditional plant lore with the astrological medicine of his time. This edition adds a hundred more herbs and his guide to preparing remedies.

Context and significance

Culpeper (1616–1654) published the herbal in 1653, and it has hardly been out of print since; it is a fascinating document of the history of medicine and botany, but its remedies should not be used in place of modern medical advice. For a lighter Victorian book of flowers, read Greenaway's Language of Flowers.

About the author