You've gotten great advice here so far. I recommend anyone looking for a way into herbalism to start with herbalist Susun Weed's nourishing infusion protocol. I've been into herbalism for over 20 years, but a few years ago I started drinking a rotating series of strong infusions (like a strong tea, but with a big amount of a single herb, and infused overnight) like she recommends, and I really saw and felt powerful health changes. The herbs she recommends for this (nettle, oatstraw, linden, comfrey, red clover, mullein, raspberry leaf) are all nourishing herbs that are safe to use long term.

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If I had Wartenberg's, I would probably drink a strong infusion of oatstraw every day (in addition to my rotating strong infusion) -- this herb is nourishing for the nervous system and helpful with pain. I'd massage the area with St. John's Wort oil and also take it as a tincture internally, along with a tincture of scullcap. I'd also see an acupuncturist.

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If I had interstitial cystitis, I'd drink a strong infusion of Russian / Blue comfrey (Symphytum uplandica) daily.

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So, that's 8-16 ounces each of comfrey and oatstraw daily to address your specific ailments, then if you want to for overall health rotating strong infusions of nettle, linden, red clover, mullein, and raspberry leaf. + the St. John's wort topically and as tincture, and scullcap tincture. + acupuncture.

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Not technically related to herbalism, but complementary I would say -- anytime I am faced with a health challenge I re-read the book 'Why People Don't Heal and How They Can' by Caroline Myss. It's such a great, clear book about how to take radical responsibility for your health and healing, which sounds like the path you are walking down anyway. I think you'd love it.

Okay so this isn't complete, and apparently my account is too young (or doesn't have enough karma?) to make a post to the subreddit :(

But here is the original post I constructed to submit:

Hello r/herbalism.

This book list was compiled by a good friend of mine who has been a practicing herbalist for a while now. I thought you might all enjoy this list; it's divided into different sections based on the particular area of study. My friend would also like me to inform you "If anyone should have difficulty locating these books, I've found a website, called bookfinder.com, to be most useful in acquiring these books for a fraction of the price from regular booksellers."

Beginner Herbalism, General

• Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use
  
  
• Making Plant Medicine by Richo Cech
  
  
• Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine Making Guide
  
  
• Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health
  
  
• Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug Resistant Bacteria by Stephen Buhner
  
  
• The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual by James Green
  
  
• Earthwise Herbal Vol I. and Earthwise Herbal Vol. II by Matthew Wood.
  
  
• The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism: Basic Doctrine, Energetics, and Classification by Matthew Wood
  
  
  
• Rodale's 21st Century Herbal by Michael Balick
  
  
• The Desktop Guide to Herbal Medicine: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Reference to the Amazing Realm of Healing Plants in a Quick-Study, One-Stop Guide by Brigitte Mars
  
  
  
• The Herbalist's Way: The Art and Practice of Healing with Plant Medicines by Nancy Phillips, Michael Phillips, and Rosemary Gladstar
  
  
  

  Advanced Herbalism
  

  
  

• Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine by David Hoffman
  
  
• Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief by David Winston
  
  
• Edward E Shook's Elementary Treatise in Herbology and Advanced Treatise in Herbology - (In regards to the second, my friend has found a free PDF of the advanced treatise.)
  
  
• The School of Natural Healing: The Reference Volume on Natural Herbs for the Teacher, Student or Herbal Practitioner by John R. Christopher
  
  
• The Complete Herbal Tutor: A Structured Course to Achieve Professional Expertise by Anne McIntyre
  
  

  Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry (Part of the Advanced Herbalism List)
  

  
  
  

• The Constituents of Medicinal Plants: An Introduction to the Chemistry and Therapeutics of Herbal Medicine by A. Pengally
  
  
• Phytochemistry and Pharmacy for Practitioners of Botanical Medicine by Eric Yarnell
  
  
• Herbal Constituents: Foundations of Phytochemistry by Lisa Ganora
  
  
  

  Medicinal Mycology
  

  
  

• The Fungal Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Medicinal Mushrooms and Lichens of North America by Robert Rogers
  
  
• Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms by Paul Stamets
  
  
  
  

What about these books?

• Edible Medicinal Plants of Britain and Northern Europe - It's going to be difficult to find a book dedicated solely to plants native to Northern Europe, but once you find a plant you want to study you should be able to look it up in other herbals and such.
  
  
• Northern Plant Lore: A Field Guide to the Ancestral Use of Plants in Northern Europe - I believe this book is pretty good on the subject of Northern medicinal plant information, though there might also be some folklore/magical usage here as well, which is pretty cool if you're into that sorta history and stuff.
  
  
• A Modern Herbal might also be a good resource to check, as many of the plants in it are native to Europe/Britain. It's available online for free as well.
  

Making your own tinctures is a rewarding practice. This book is specific to bitters but teaches you a lot about the process of creating tinctures, including preparations for 90 herbs! It also has some wonderful recipes for bitters both tincture form and edible form (beverages and foods). I highly recommend it!

DIY Bitters: Reviving the Forgotten Flavor
By Guido Mase and Jovial King

https://www.amazon.com/DIY-Bitters-Bartenders-Enthusiasts-Herbalists/dp/159233704X

Hops is one of the most relaxing smoking herbs I know of and a relative of Marijuana.
I make a several smoke mixes.. DM me for more info
Also my friend wrote a nice book on smoking plants.
Smoke Plants of North America https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Plants-North-America-Illustrated/dp/0970372132&ved=2ahUKEwi_6cbk0rLhAhVD7qwKHfDKChUQFjAJegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw2r6uzoGYF0YjITmTGYdK6n

For a general overview of the history of traditional herbal medicine in the West, I recommend Barbara Griggs' book, Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine.

For traditional shamanic, magical use of herbal medicinal plants, I suggest you look into the Native American tradition(s). If you are looking for something in the area of psychedelics, I can recommend one book I liked: Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge

For a bend towards energy medicine and the inner practice of herbalism, see Matthew Wood's books, for example The Practice of Traditional Western Herbalism: Basic Doctrine, Energetics, and Classification.

Get yourself something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Weeder-Manual-Ergonomic-Garden-Weeding/dp/B07G32YSPJ/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1549575887&sr=8-9&keywords=weed+puller

You can obviously use a small spade if you're so inclined, but I found that I more often broke the taproot doing that and got less return for my effort.

Also, while I won't argue with what the other posters have said, harvesting in Spring rather than fall also gets you greens that are less bitter, and fresh flower heads you can use for tea or wine. The greens harvested in Fall are exceptionally bitter and quite unpalatable unless, like me, you've developed a taste for it.

>chat about poultice recipes I would be so grateful.

Check out the discord, link is in the sidebar. :)

I need to check some literature before I can recommend specific poultice recipes to you; will update in a little bit. For joint pain and arthritis, I usually suggest that the individual should consume rich, freshly made/homemade bone broth. (Chicken feet or Cow Bones; the main goal is to increase collagen consumption) but gout is an entirely different beast; no alcohol, no processed meats, limit red meat, decrease sugar intake, drink more water, light exercise, etc. etc.

It's unfortunately difficult to find recipes for herbal formulas just floating around the internet;
the most you'll usually find is rough guides or old herbal texts, but they can be helpful if you're studying herbalism. SWSBM I know has several old herbals on their homepage, but the problem with many of the old herbals and formularies and pharmacopeias is their lack of organization; often times organized alphabetically instead of by treatment, which can make it difficult to locate a specific remedy (and sometimes they have some pretty wild ingredients that are most definitely not safe to add)


>books of “plants that are Poisonous, edible etc”

Answering this question depends on what kinda info you're looking for. Do you want guidebooks to the poisonous and edible plants of your area? Herbals or entheogen texts on how to prepare poisonous plants to use for medicines or other drugs? What's the etc?

If you're in North America, I can suggest this general guidebook to Poisonous Plants, as well as this guide to common edible wild plants of North America.

However, I must say it'd be better to get area-specific guides if you're looking to identify plants around you!


I hope you find this post helpful, and good luck with your poultice recipes! :)