Culpeper’s Guide to the Properties, Virtues, and Uses of Fruits, Seeds, Flowers, Juices, Stones and Other Natural Medicines

Seventeenth-century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper catalogs herbs according to which part to use—the root, the bark, the flower, the leaf, the fruit—and which ailments each plant was used to treat in the England of his day. For instance, ginger "takes away windiness of the womb" and licorice root "helps the hoarseness of the windpipe." This makes for a strange and illuminating reading experience: The brain of sparrows? Great for provoking lust. Pearls? Excellent for the heart. Excerpted from the original text, these entries are both entertaining and historically relevant.