Wild Plants of Eastern Canada: Identifying, Harvesting and Using

Wild Plants of Eastern Canada: Identifying, Harvesting and Using
Marilyn Walker
(Nimbus)
This is a wonderful book for those mildly, moderately or massively interested in identifying, appreciating, gathering and (carefully, responsibly) using wild fauna. At its heart, it's a celebration of a major part of the Atlantic region's natural heritage and ecological diversity. An associate professor at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB, Walker specializes in medical anthropology and ethnobotany. Her voice is perfect for this project: She writes with clear economy, deep knowledge and respect for her past teachers (she's had instructors of both First Nations and European heritage), cultural history for the reader's curiosity, knowledge level and needs. Following just more than 30 pages of historical analysis, the field guide contains entries divided into the basics: Latin nomenclature, other names, habitat, uses, cautions, growth in gardens and more. A short section of recipes follows. As for illustrations: colour is sometimes missed, but printing colour costs publishers big bucks. Though black-and-white only and sometimes cropped close, the photographs are augmented by leaf-printing, a centuries-old technique. A CD of colour photographs is available to researchers/classrooms via an address at the back.
---Sean Flinn