A Modern Herbal by Maud Grieve: Available in Both Book and Online Format

A Modern Herbal, Maud Grieve, Amazon

If you are serious about understanding the botany of the plants used in aromatherapy, you may want to check out A Modern Herbal by Maud Grieve.  Although the book was first published in 1931, it still contains a lot of relevant information about medicinal plant uses.  Not only can you purchase the book through book retailers, such as Amazon, there is also an online format offered at Botanical.com.

Who was Maud Grieve?

Maud Grieve (1858-1941) founded The Whins Medicinal and Commercial Herb School in England.  She had extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and eventually shared this knowledge through the publication of A Modern Herbal in 1931, although she had published literature on herbal medicines during World War I (1914-1918).   A Modern Herbal has extensive descriptions of medicinal plants and herbs, including botanical profiles, medicinal uses and recipes.

Although you need to remember that the book was published nearly 80 years ago, much of the information in A Modern Herbal is useful to aromatherapists today, regarding plant profiles and medicinal properties.  Just remember that this is not a book about essential oil properties exclusively.  However, I have found it to be a good starting point for much of my article research, particularly as a source of one of the more "reliable" resources online.  I would recommend A Modern Herbal as a book for the "serious aromatherapist who wishes to understand more about the botany of medicinal plants." :)