Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden

Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2007. Since the dawn of human history, people have gathered and consumed wild plants, for both nutritional and curative purposes. Over the course of millennia, our knowledge of the benefits of these plants has steadily grown, passed down from generation to generation primarily by oral tradition. A vast, invaluable body of knowledge on the use of wild plants remains among many traditional communities to the present day. However, the forces of urbanization, modernization and large scale industrial agriculture are rapidly eroding this knowledge and we are in danger of losing this heritage, within which there may be natural, inexpensive solutions to some of mankind's most intractable diseases. In Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam-The Bountiful Garden, a total of 130 species of wild plants, their characteristics, distribution, use and efficacy are described, accompanied by illustrations of each plant. The present study thus carefully records the knowledge of wild plants by the indigenous peoples of Vietnam, and is a step toward our preservation of this important data for posterity. As many neighbouring countries share similar flora, it is also hoped that this study will benefit not only Vietnamese, but also those in other Asian countries. This volume will be of interest to botanists, nutritionists and naturopathic healers as well as to the general reader. ix, 176 pp., 136 colour plates, map, glossary of plant and medical terms, bibliography, indices to plants by botanical names, botanical families and Vietnamese names . First Edition. Soft Cover. As New/n/a. 23 x 15 cm..