The Gardener's Companion to Medicinal Plants

Authors: Monique S.J. Simmonds, Melanie-Jayne Howes, Jason Irving. 224pp, 500 colour illustrations/photos. 215 x 160mm. Hardback. ISBN 9780711238107. Frances Lincoln in association with Kew Publishing, 2017.

The beautifully illustrated Gardener’s Companion to Medicinal Plants is an A-Z of healing plants and home remedies, featuring more than 270 plants used for their medicinal properties, as well as 24 practical projects for homemade teas, oils, tinctures and creams with a tradition of safe use. Each plant is illustrated with a beautiful work of botanical art from Kew's archives. 

Many of our most important drugs are derived from plants and many more are yet to be discovered: much research in this area is overseen by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where the book’s three authors are employed. This contemporary Herbal offers a fresh take on the 5,000-year-old tradition of recording plants with medicinal value and with life-changing benefits.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has made innumerable contributions to the understanding of plants with benefits for humankind for more than 250 years.

Monique S.J. Simmonds is Deputy Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has over 30 years experience of working on different aspects of medicinal plant research. Her work has involved working with communities in different parts of the world as well as with pharmaceutical companies on the development of new drugs. She has a keen interest in understanding and evaluating the traditional uses of medicinal plants.

Melanie-Jayne Howes is a registered pharmacist and Chartered Chemist. She obtained a PhD in pharmacognosy prior to her appointment as a phytochemist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Her research has focused on investigating the scientific basis for the uses of plants, particularly those used as medicines and for human health. She also leads research on the chemical authentication of plants at Kew, using different techniques in analytical chemistry. She has written numerous scientific publications on the medicinal uses of plants and their constituents, and on their analysis. Dr Howes is also Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, and is a Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Jason Irving is a writer, forager and qualified herbalist. Over the last five years Jason has taught hundreds of people how to find, identify and use wild plants on his popular foraging and herbal medicine courses in London. His essay on the history of cocktail bitters was included in the book Kew's Teas, Tonics and Tipples and he was botanical consultant for the book Edible City by John Rensten.