Book excerpt: Medicinal Plants Trees and Shrubs of Appalachia I originally wrote this book to help me identify plants in the field, woods and along streams for medicine and a friend suggested that I offer it for sale to other folks to help them also. This is the result of that work. I have studied herbal medicine since 1999 and have taken many classes on herbal medicine throughout the country. I tend to lean more toward the traditional Native American way of healing since that is in my blood. To really learn about the plants you have to put in the dirt time, that means that you have to spend as much time as possible studying them and don't depend on one book, use many different ones as each one gives you a different perspective on each plant. Find teachers to teach you and learn as much as you can from each. My hope is that whoever purchases this book will learn that all weeds are not weeds and that some medicine can come from your own back yard. One instructor that I had on herbal medicine says that she believes that for whatever ailment that you have at the time that you will find the cure in your backyard and I have found that plants will change location from year to year. This book covers 105 medicinal plants with color photographs; with a space on the back of each page for notes. I have provided information on weights & measures, dosages, gathering and drying of herbs, type of preparations, herbal properties, plant terms, a list of symptoms and what herb to use for them, plant usage, location, when to harvest, parts to harvest, when to gather, and when it blooms by month.