I am a complete novice when it comes to the language and possible powers of plants. It interests me though, and I found this read to be an amazing encyclopedia with hundreds of plants. It's a great place to start your new hobby.

It's a book that you don't read in one read, but find when you want to learn and read about the specific plant's meaning and how it has been used in folklore.
I loved the index at the end of the book that makes it easier to locate a plant with a special meaning – ex, friendship, etc. I am going to be a firm user of that.

I don't know if this has something to do with my copy being a review copy, but I found the pictures of the plants to vary too much in style and quality.
Obviously, the ones drawn with watercolor were beautiful with their details, but there were also some that were just flat colors, and some even just a black shadow. I don't quite understand the artistic choice for this, and it's the only minus.

An exhaustive and comprehensive reference book on plants and herbs, suitable for both casual enthusiasts and budding green thumbs. The author made a commendable effort to enhance diversity by including herbs from around the world, not just those of significance in the West. It brought me joy to find sections addressing ajwain and wasabi, among other names native to the East.

My curiosity regarding herbs stemmed from my predilection for fantasy and historical fiction. Period books and dramas, as well as fantasy novels, often make references to mythology and local lore surrounding herbs. While I can’t say this book fully satiated that particular quest for mythical connections, it did provide valuable context. Additionally, as someone who loves to cook, I found it surprisingly useful and informative.

A very comprehensive guide to familiar and unfamiliar herbs. The illustrations are useful to help with identification. This would be useful to someone looking for spiritual uses for herbs, but less useful for someone looking for information about culinary or healing uses.

Knowing that flowers have meanings (roses for love, etc.), I was hoping that this book would give me some insight into herbs. The book turned out to be a little different than I’d expected. Not to say that’s a bad thing! The historical and popular feelings about what “magic” properties plants are thought to have drives some of humanity’s scientific research of today. Yesterday’s thoughts about warding off evils could be tomorrow’s cure for cancer.

Real world applications are included alongside the mystical in this book. I made note of several native (and non-native) herbs that produce dyes or ward off insects in companion plantings. While the illustrations of the plants leave something to be desired, it is at least a highly useful guide to making sure you’re truly familiar with the plant since the botanical names of the plants are included (along with a host of also known as (AKAs)). Who knew Garlic Mustard was also called Jack-by-the-Hedge? I didn’t! I also now know the scientific name for the plant that creates a tea I love so much, and that’s not nothing.

That said, I admit that this book’s descriptions of what plants can do often land in the “out there” category. (Example: will chewing celery seeds really help keep someone upright on their broom when they fly so they don’t fall off?) The info in this book would probably make a fabulous basis for a fantasy novel, or Halloween discussion with the kids.

Lovely illustrations and a lot of information about the meaning of the herbs. A fascinating and informative book, perfect if you want to begin to learn about herbs
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Complete Language of Herbs: A Definitive and Illustrated History Pocket Edition by S. Theresa Dietz is a delightful and comprehensive journey into the world of herbs and spices. Following the success of Dietz's previous work, The Complete Language of Flowers, this herbal edition uncovers the rich history, medicinal properties, and folklore surrounding herbs and spices from around the world. With two convenient indexes, readers can navigate the wealth of information either by the common name or by the meaning, making it an indispensable companion for gardeners, chefs, and anyone with a passion for herbs and their diverse uses. S. Theresa Dietz has masterfully crafted a reference that seamlessly combines beauty and knowledge, making it a must-have for those who seek to deepen their understanding of the language of herbs.

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group- Wellfleet press, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own:
I love it! The book contains interesting and concise information about herbs. I like that it is organized by number, including the scientific name of the herb, common names, symbolic meanings (i.e., what it means to receive this plant), potential energy powers, toxicity symbols, and a brief folkloric tale of the herb. It is beautifully organized, with a delicate aesthetic. It has compiled information from many plants! And the book has good bibliographic references. I believe it would be an ideal book for every practitioner of green magic, green witches, kitchen witches, and all herb enthusiasts. Highly recommended.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This is a collection of non- scientific information about various herbs. As this was a DRC, a lot of the images were either of poor quality or missing, so that was disappointing to not get to see those. I also thought it was weird that in the little disclaimer, it made the book feel a bit more "woo-woo" (for lack of a better term) and said to use Google to get the real info. But despite that, I do think the historical folklore and symbolism of plants is interesting to read about. I'm giving this a higher score assuming that the artwork will be beautiful in its finished form. Hopefully, the binding will be, too, to make for a good coffee table type book, if people use those anymore.

Almost everything you'd ever want to know about more than 500 herbs and spices, with gorgeous illustrations and brief descriptions of each. This pocket encyclopedia also contains helpful indexes that make it easy to look up a particular herb: culinary, common names, meanings and powers. Only thing missing: recipes using culinary herbs and spices. Nonetheless, a helpful gift for herbalists at any level.

Updated review— this is being released again, as i got another ARC of it. I do wish it even mentioned traditional or modern medicinal uses. It lists many plants as toxic that I absolutely would not consider toxic and leaves out common herbs like elder. Not a favorite but charming for what it is.

Wow! This book is a wealth of information about hundreds of herbs and spices!

A few things to note:
1. The herbs are organized by scientific name with a full listing of common names and common varieties.
2. The listing for each herb provides symbols regarding toxicity, medicinal use, and culinary use, symbolic meanings, possible (magic) powers, and Folklore and Facts.
2. Each herb is portrayed by a drawing- either in color or black ink. Some are more detailed than others, but they are all beautiful in their own way.
3. This book is more for reference about magical/folklore uses than actual uses, so it's more of a general reference book than actual instructions for use.

I reviewed an ARC ebook copy. Thank you to Wellfleet Press and NetGalley for the opportunity! I can imagine this will be a gorgeous print book!

What a wonderful read and resource! Beautiful illustrations and such carefully selected language. Anyone interested in herbs for cultural, decorative, cooking, gifting, and/or paganistic reasons and beyond should purchase a copy. Simply delightful! A beautiful gift for your green-thumbed loved ones, and a special treat for individual bite-sized knowledge.

This book is filled with fun and interesting information on all the herbs you could possibly dream of. Each page was full of information regarding the herb's scientific name, common names, symbolism, and uses. I would recommend this book to anyone with a magical interest in herbs. The illustrations were nice, but actual photos would have enhanced this book. A really enjoyable read! I would definitely recommend this book as an addition to our collection.

A beautiful guide to folklore, magic, and the glory of herbs. Herbalists and witchy folks who love plants should consider adding this book to their reference shelves.
This is not exactly a book you sit down and read though, I will acknowledge that. Its a reference book that you turn to when you want information about a specific herb or plant. As long as you keep that in mind, it is fantastic - well written, researched, indexed, and beautifully put together.

Personally I love the idea of this being a small pocket sized book for foraging or when at the supermarket. Pictures could be clearer and doesn’t work well as an e-book, however has lots of information and was very clear in what is poisonous and what can be used in food.

I adore all of Theresa Dietz's work! I already have a copy of an older edition, plus others in this series - so this was an instant pick for me! I love the illustrations (although I would prefer more realistic images, if only because I am a very visual person), plus the symbolic/powers and folklore/facts. Each herb has uses, of course, but the added knowledge of how they were used historically is absolutely fantastic. I will definitely be adding it to my self as soon as I can!

I love the cover for this book, for one, and the illustrations are just delightful. I adore reference books and as someone who is really interested in herbology this really was a delight to flip through. If someone gave this to me for Christmas I would be so happy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to rate the book 3 stars - until I acknowledged what bothered me about the book... it's a similar issue to books of this type and it's actually an encyclopedia, and not marketed as that. I bumped the stars up because the illustrations are beautiful. If you have some knowledge of plants, essential oils, and folklore, the book might not go deep enough to satisfy your search for further knowledge. But the folklore and magical properties were quite interesting (to let your dogs eat pineapple so they don't eat their own poop - who knew?) That alone was worth 4 stars. Great book to pick up and flip through or as a quick reference to plants and herbs.

I can't wait to add this book to my collection. The book is full of knowledge on herbs including folk lore, uses and wonderful watercolor photos of the herbs for reference. This is a just something that the naturalist will refer to for information as well as fun fact/folklore details. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

Delicious with every savory spice of saucey and herb infused in the season of greatness and beauty abiding the love of food, light, and family amongst the traditions of our time again and again.