The Healing Power of
Rainforest Herbs

Rainforests contain an amazing abundance of plant life—just two-and-a-half acres of Amazon rainforest are believed to house approximately 900 tons of botanicals. Even more exciting is the fact that scientists and researchers have only just begun to uncover the medicinal properties of rainforest herbs and flora. Nature has provided us with a treasure of herbal remedies—secrets that offer new approaches to health and healing. The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs is a valuable resource to these herbs and their uses.

The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs details more than seventy rainforest medicinal plants, and is the result of Leslie Taylor’s years of extensive research. This book explains the medicinal properties of each herb and the natural chemicals involved, as well as instructions for preparation. The author has also included the history of use by indigenous peoples, and current uses by natural health practitioners around the world. Helpful tables provide a quick guide to choosing the botanicals most useful for a particular ailment. Illustrations of plants and recipes for herbal remedies complete this resource’s wealth of information.

The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs offers a blend of ancient and modern knowledge in an accessible reference guide. This unique book incorporates the healing practices of shamans with scientific research for those readers seeking to discover the herbal medicinal secrets of the rainforest.

Leslie Taylor survived a rare form of leukemia solely through successful use of alternative and herbal medicinal therapies. She has been researching, studying, and documenting herbal medicine for over twenty years, and is a herbalist and naturopath. She is also the founder of Raintree Nutrition, a company dedicated to making rainforest botanicals available while preserving the rainforests from destruction. Ms. Taylor has lectured and taught classes worldwide in naturopathic medicine, herbal medicine, ethnobotany, and environmental and sustainability issues. She shares more of her personal story in the introduction to the book.

REVIEWS

Rainforests contain hundreds of plants - over half the planet's vegetation - and for centuries tribal shamans have used these plants as health remedies. Years of research contributes to The Healing Power Of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide To Understanding And Using Herbal Medicinals, a guide to over seventy rainforest botanicals and their uses by indigenous peoples and natural health professionals alike. Chapters offer plant data summary charts, biological and clinical research, tribal uses, and plenty of technical, research-based reference material. From dosage to preparation methods and chemical information for each plant, Healing Power Of Rainforest Herbs goes far beyond the 'new age healing guide' it looks to be at first glance. Very highly recommended indeed.
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)

Taylor, a cancer survivor, certified natureopath, creator of the online Tropical Plant database, and founder of the Raintree Group (which makes sustainably harvested rainforest products), has written a topnotch resource on herbal medicines. After introducing readers to rainforest environments, methods of plant preparation, and herbal recipes for common ailments, she devotes the bulk of the text to detailing approximately 75 plants, describing scientific and common names, dosage and preparation methods, traditional and current usage, chemical composition, clinical research, and contraindication/interactions. Particularly interesting are the tables of "Worldwide Ethnomedical Uses" for each herb, comparing usage in various regions of the world. Research citations, product/organization resources, and an index support the text. Taylor does represent an organization selling rainforest products, but she in no way promotes this fact (other than listing it in the "Resources" section). In fact, the Raintree web site notes its philosophy of placing plant information in the public domain before pharmaceutical industry patents override indigenous interests. Highly recommended for public libraries, some academic settings, and consumer health collections.
--Andy Wickens, King City Library Systems., WA