Book excerpt: Know which botanical medicines are effective—and which to avoid—in an instant Medicinal Herbs: A Compendium contains the profiles of about 200 important and commonly used medicinal herbs. This short, concise resource is translated, complete revised, and updated from the German compendium Arzneidrogenprofile (2000) and was largely edited by the late Varro E. Tyler before his death in 2001. With this guide, pharmacists and health practitioners will be able to quickly find information on medicinal plants and directions for their use. This compendium incorporates important botanicals from both European pharmacognosy and the North American medicinal herb market. Designed originally for pharmacists who need a succinct, easy-to-use manual for every day use, Medicinal Herbs can also benefit pharmacognosists, physicians specializing in natural treatments, midwives, physiotherapists, herbalists, and students of these disciplines. Included in the text are two tables for the medicinal plants—an English-to-Latin binomial list and a Latin binomial-to-English list—allowing readers who are not as familiar with English to more easily find what they need. Each herb’s profile in Medicinal Herbs has its own page which lists: its English name and Latin binomial the parts of the plant used for treatment areas of applications—what ailments are indicated and how the herb is to be used dosage for using herbal teas, tinctures, poultices, and more instructions for the duration of application and when to contact a medical practitioner comments on the use of the herb, its efficiency and safety, and any traditions or folklore on that herb contraindications—when not to use the herb adverse effects interactions with other drugs