Learning from the Sumerians of Ancient Mesopotamia, the Ancient Egyptians, and from Ayurveda which originates in India, to the legendary Chinese emperor Ch'ien Nung who wrote the foundational Materia Medica, Plants have been used for centuries to support the body's systems and encourage healing in the mind, body, and soul.

The explosion of printing made written accounts of herbal practice much more widely available. In 1708, an English herbalist, botanist, apothecary (what we'd now call a pharmacist), physician, and astrologer by the name of Nicholas Culpeper (1616 - 1654), finally had his books make its way to the American colonies. His famous herbal "The English Physician" (now known as Culpeper's Herbal) was printed in Boston, MA, making it the first medical text and the first book on herbalism printed in America. Culpeper was committed to making medical information available to all by translating into and writing his own texts in English and distributing his books at a very low cost.

Herbalism made a return in America in the 1960's and 1970's. It has slowly gained acceptance and popularity in the last few decades and has even begun to enter conventional medicine. As part of the integrative or functional medicine movement, herbs are often used by licensed practitioners of osteopathic or naturopathic medicine. But they are available all around us. Not only in the grocery store or apothecary, but in our gardens and backyards!