What am I harvesting? Feverfew

Once established Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium or Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Bernh. and Pyrethrum parthenium (L.) is somewhat invasive so you need to keep an eye on it, but I like those types of herbs that don't need to be babied. The flowers are delicate, producing alot of pollen. This herb is most well known as a relief for migraine headaches but can also be used to decrease blood clotting and help with arthritis. It is also very useful as a skin care herb both because it is an an antiinflammatory agent and has been shown to decrease the risk of skin cancer following UV exposure. It is used to calm red and irritated skin. The active ingredient of feverfew is parthenolide, a sesquiterpene lactone derived from its leaves and flowers. Unfortunately, some people do show skin sensitivity to feverfew.

Rue: Do you know this herb?

I'd forgotten how nice and spicy Rue (Ruta graveolens) smells when rubbed, although some plant descriptions describe this as a negative smell. I have this plant in my front garden by the door. It just started blooming but its blooms are rather humble compared to my peony plant that has a place next to Rue. Its a very strong herb that is toxic in large amounts so I've yet to find a good use for it, but I do love the way it looks and stays somewhat green during the winter. It is said to be good for some neuological pain, headache, arthritis and as an insect repellent. Scientists from UC Davis are looking at compounds in rue to make drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes.

There are some recipes for Four Thieves vinegar (said to be effective against the plague) that include Rue although modern recipes rarely have Rue. It is also edible and used to spice cheeses at one time, though again, is rarely used today. It can have an irritating effect on skin and so not used there. Yet I keep it in my garden and enjoy it none the less.

Salad Burnett (Sanguisorba minor)

Cucumber flavored herb. Add leaves to salads and drinks. If you have it, be sure to eat it now as it gets bitter as the summer progresses. I'll have to give it a try in soap and see how it behaves.

Antiaging ingredients: Vitamin C

Antiaging ingredients are hot in skin care right now and there are many to be found. Lets go over vitamin C now.

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is essential for healthy skin and necessary for the synthesis of collagen in the skin. Collagen is a fibrous protein that not only makes up a good portion of the dermis of the skin but also the bones. Scurvy, a rare disease now, occurs with vitamin C deficiencies. Because vitamin C is part of the skin's dermis a deficiency can also show up as increased bruising.

Ascorbic acid is a cofactor for the enzyme prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl hydroxylase. These enzymes are used to add a hydroxyl group (OH) to the amino acids proline and lysine which are found in collagen in high amounts. Once hydroxylated, these amino acids in collagen function to stabilize the three dimensional structure of collagen by cross linking its peptide strands. This is needed to form its fibril structure which is very strong and so gives tissues their strength.

Most plants and animals are able to make their own vitamin C from glucose but not humans. So ingestion of vitamin C is of utmost importance, but topical use is also good. The trouble is that ascorbic acid is not very stable; upon exposure to air it oxidizes rapidly to become not only ineffective but also potentially dangerous. Because of this there have been attempts to alter the molecule somewhat to make it more stable for cosmetic use. Some of these vitamin C derivatives include:

1. Ascorbyl palmitate. This is also referred to as vitamin C ester as it is an ester formed from ascorbic acid and the fatty acid palmitate. This also makes it fat soluble - a useful thing for many cosmetic formulations.

2. Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate. These are both water soluble forms of ascorbic acid that are very similar to vitamin C.

Besides using vitamin C to boost collagen production in skin, several synthetic peptides have recently come to market that have the ability to affect transcription of the collagen gene and stimulate collagen production. But we'll talk about those another time.

Foods and herbs high in vitamin C include of course citrus, but also rosehips, parsley, strawberry and elderberry. Any of these could be used to do a fresh facial for the skin. But if you formulate a cosmetic product you will want to use one of the more stable forms of vitamin C. A fruit mask is also good because of the alpha hydroxy acid content and this is the time of year to enjoy masks.

Strawberry Yogurt Face Mask
2-4 tablespoons full fat yogurt
2-3 fresh strawberries
Mash together or put in a small blender until pureed. Apply to face and relax for 5-10 minutes then wash off. Your face should feel great afterward.

Prunella vulgaris (Self Heal)

This low growing weed is commonly found in lawns in the Eastern US but less so in the Western US. It is commonly called Self-Heal and being in the mint family will grow prolifically. It may be more common in Chinese Medicine where it is used for cardiovascular problems than in Western Herbalism. It is not native to North America but has of course become naturalized and grows mainly as a weed, but has its place in my garden. Prunella is antioxidant rich and contains rosmarinic acid. This phenylpropanoid is an antioxidant and has been show to inhibit cancer. Prunella has also been found to have activity against the Herpes virus that causes cold sores as well as antiinflammatory activity, pain relieving activity and wound healing activity; hence its nickname Self Heal. To me this says it has a place in healing balms and I use it in my healing lip balm. You could also use it as a poultice for various wounds or as a tea to relieve mouth pain from various sores.

The small purple flowers of the plant are edible and can be used in salads, soups or in a tea. Use it as a diuretic, liver stimulant,astringent and antispasmodic. Its nutritional value includes vitamin C, K and B1 as well as antioxidants. Its always great to know how important some of our 'weeds' are.

CrabApple Blossoms

Wordless Wednesday: looks like a wedding, but these are crabapple blossoms blown off the tree, beautiful.

Using Herbs in Skin Care - an Interview

I was recently interviewed by Beth Byrne about using botanicals in soaps for an article in The Saponifier. This is a summary of that interview.

1. Name, location, business name, any other background info.

My name is Cindy Jones. My business name is Sagescript Institute and I've recently started calling my line of products "Colorado Aromatics". We moved to a 9 acre property in Longmont CO (45 min north of Denver) almost 3 years ago after spending several years on a large lot in one of Denver's older suburbs. It was my love of herbs that played a big role in my interest in skin care products. It started off as a hobby making products for friends and family and eventually grew into a business when I realized it really encompassed most of my loves including chemistry and physiology.

2. What are some of the botanicals you use most in soapmaking?
Calendula is my favorite and I use it in soap to give a nice color. I use the petals either whole or ground added at trace. Calendula is a wonderful herb that contains a variety of carotenoids. Calendula has been found to improve wound healing so is great for regenerating epithelial cells of the skin. The calendula soap I make also has oatmeal in it and customers have told me it helps their eczema. It makes a very mild soap. Other herbs I use in soap include mint, rosemary, lavender and rosehips. Actually I also just made a chocolate soap with choke cherry skins in it, sort of a Black Forest Soap! I love thinking of herbs to put in soap.

3. Why do you use them?
The main reason I use herbs is because I love them and love growing them! My business has evolved as an agricultural business and to be part of my local farmers market requires that my products be agricultural and so they all contain herbs that I grow. Since herbs have many beneficial properties for skin this has been easy. Of course the benefits of herbs in a wash off product like soap is not going to be as much as a leave on product. But the idea of herbs in soap is definitely aesthetically pleasing and we all know that is important with skin care. Herbs are high in antioxidant flavonoids which are water soluble and extracted in a tea. Flavonoids are stable in high pH like lye so their benefits should come through in a soap. You can use a tea to replace any or all of the water in your soap. Ground herbs used in soap is slightly exfoliating.

Extracts of herbs can also be used in leave on products where they provide more benefits. I sometimes use tinctures because that way I know any microbials have been destroyed. Green tea and rosemary are two that I use frequently as tinctures. Infused oils and water extracts can also be used. When using herbs in skin care though its important to remember that whatever is good for your skin is also good for bacterial or fungal growth so preservation is important. And of course, you know that microbiology testing is another thing Sagescript does!

4. Where do you get your botanicals?
The reason we moved to our farm was so that we could grow plenty of herbs. I am working towards growing all my own herbs but am not there yet. It takes a few years to get good growth on many herbs so patience is important. I am also limited by the amount of time and energy I have and trying to fit everything else in. I grow calendula, mint, comfrey, yarrow, lemon balm, clary sage, plantago, parsely, lavender, fennel, feverfew, sage, thyme, oregano, rose, artemisia, raspberry, rosemary, prunella, hops, chamomile, and others I'm sure I've forgotten. I also grow rose geranium but not alot since it is one that has to go in my sunroom/shed/greenhouse during the winter. I also use these herbs to distill. I love to use the aromatic distillates alone or with added herbs as a toner or haircare product, or in a lotion/cream. When I don't have enough of something I first search for someone local who will let me harvest and if that doesn't work I purchase it from a supplier.

Information from this interview (and others) was published in the May/June 2010 issue of The Saponifier in the article "How You Can Use Botanicals in Soap and Cosmetics" by Beth Byrne.

Dill Lip Balm and I Won!

I had a new product this weekend at the market; Dill Lip Balm. This balm is not yet on my website but I'll try to get it up asap. Dill has a wonderful fragrance, is good for the skin and improves the mood - where better to use it than on the lips? The lip balm has infused dill oil and dill essential oil. At some point I'll do an entire blog on dill.

Do you ever enter giveaways on blogs? You should. I just won a blog giveaway from Beth Byrne at Soap and Garden. Beth is a writer, herbalist and a soapmaker. I know Beth writes both for The Essential Herbal and for The Saponifier and she probably does alot more that I don't know about. She gave me a Whipped Shea Body Butter and let me choose two soaps. I chose vanilla sandalwood because I love the scent and rarely have it on hand. I also chose the 'Stain Stick' because my son had just gotten an ink stain on his shirt and we are always getting stained up here on the farm. I haven't used it yet though since laundry is a rushed thing for me.

Blog giveaways are great; I'll need to do more blog giveaways myself!

HSMG Cleans Up Denver

Some entries in the 'Best Looking Soap' Contest

I spent this last weekend with 303 handcrafted soapmakers in Denver Colorado and what a weekend it was. If you are a soapmaker you should certainly consider this even for next year. It was a wonderful, educational, and entertaining weekend.

Living an hour away, I drove in on Friday morning in time to hear keynote speaker, Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun encouraging us to take 'care' and think about how our decisions and actions (both personal and business) influence the world. It was quite an inspiring speech with great thoughts for small business owners and a great way to start the conference. The rest of the day was packed with great talks that made some choices difficult.

One of the talks was mine on "The Nature of Chemistry". I was nervous wondering how many soapmakers would be interested enough to sit through an hour of chemistry, but people actually came! I thought it went well and got some good feedback. It encourages me to get my chemistry class and skin physiology class finished and online. If you were there feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments. On Friday night Debbie May from Wholesale Supplies Plus hosted a party and gave away thousands of dollars of gift certificates as well as shared great business advice.

The next day started with aromatherapist Robert Tisserand. Wish I'd brought my copy of "The Practice of Aromatherapy" for him to sign. Robert has a gift for critical thinking and puts alot of information in perspective. If you don't read his blog you should; http://roberttisserand.com/blog/. After that it was again a day packed with hard choices. I enjoyed the open business advice given by both Debbie May of Wholesale Supply Plus and Kayla Fioravanti of Essential Wholesale in separate talks.

Later that evening was a party thrown by Essential Wholesale that included drinks, dinner, and exceptional entertainment; a very generous gift from Kayla and Dennis Fioravanti! I think Dennis and Kayla agree that being able to laugh hard is probably a very good thing we can all do for our businesses!

Sunday's programs were just as good and included Donna Marie Coles Johnson who talked about using video on your blog, Marie Gale on labeling and Kevin Dunn educating and entertaining us with his scientific soapmaking (and thoughts on white flecks). This was followed by the Awards Dinner which ended the 2010 conference.

Throughout the meeting were raffle drawings (tickets were sold 25 for $20). The prizes went on and on. I won a bag of clays and kelp from Essential Wholesale (any ideas on how to use kelp?) and a kit for a hair mask from MakingCosmetics.com. I'll enjoy playing with both of these. Sagescript donated a microbiology testing as well. I didn't see who won that so hopefully they will get in touch with me.

Although everything about the conference was good one of the best things was being able to meet people that I have known for years but never meat in person. I look forward to future meetings.

The Farm in Spring

Colorado had a long cold winter with lots of snow and a good amount of rain in April. With temperatures gradually warming the gardens should do well this summer as long as we can keep them watered during the heat of summer. Chives, clary sage, mint, parsley as well as hops and southernwood are all growing well so far.

Over the winter I have gone over what herbs I used the most of and what I need more of. This summer I will find more room for calendula. I probably use calendula more than any other herb in my products. It is high in carotenoids which help skin cells grow to promote wound healing and help replenish epithelial cells. This is always important but becomes more so as we age. I’ll need more calendula for my own products as well as with hopes of selling calendula extracts this summer. I will also be offering green tea extracts, rosemary extracts, plantain, red clover and raspberry extracts for those interested in using them in products. They are all very good herbs for skin care.

Mint is also low but I know that just being one year older will make a big difference in how abundant their stems are. I make a mint infused oil to use in many of my products as mint helps to soften the skin and leaves a nice feel. I’ll be putting in more lavender of course, probably one to two more rows and then have to decide if I want to dig up pasture for additional lavender. Perhaps another rose bush, but again, with one more year’s growth my roses should be flourishing this summer. I choose my roses based on having high fragrance. I use ground rose petals in soap, salt scrub and facial steams and would like to have enough to distill for the aromatic water. I also make infused oil from rose petals that I think will be an ingredient in my olive oil cleanser.

Much of my time right now is taken up in getting products ready for the Farmers Market. Summer of course is busy for all gardeners and sometimes its hard to find enough time for anything else. Having a high number of products at the beginning of the summer makes it easier to fit in time for weeding, watering, planting, harvesting and drying. I may have to look for help this summer in the form of an apprentice who will trade work for learning experience. If you are interested or know someone who is please point them in my direction.

Besides planning for this year’s plantings I like to go through what dried herbs I have from last year and use up what I have leftover. One fun way to use up these herbs is to do a steam facial. Almost any herbs will work for this but rose, lavender, fennel and mint are especially good for a steam facial. Put a handful of dried herbs in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Hold your head over the bowl with a towel over your head to help hold in the steam. Let the steam rise to your skin to hydrate, clean your pores and relax your body. What herbs do you have to use up before you harvest this summer?

Skin Deep - Scratching Below the Surface

I've been part of an ongoing discussion on the Cosmetics and Beauty Network on LinkedIn recently regarding safe cosmetics. We all agree that cosmetics should be safe but their are several groups that are spreading falsehoods on the internet with the intent of scaring the consumer. For instance, you may have read an article recently that women are using 515 chemicals on their body each day in their skin care products. Well, I'm not saying whether they do or not, but what are those 515 chemicals and what does it matter as long as they are safe? I mean water is a chemical as is oleic acid in olive oil. This story is being used by many Arbonne representatives with the implication that their products are safer. Since Arbonne does not put ingredient lists on their products its hard to say. I for one would never buy cosmetics that did not have an ingredient list on them though; not telling the consumer what is in a product does not make it safe. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group are two other groups working hand in hand to scare consumers by spreading falsehoods not only about ingredients but about the way FDA regulates cosmetics. FDA does have regulations on cosmetics that can be read here http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm074162.htm

These discussions on safety introduced me to Dene Godfrey, President of the Society of Cosmetics Science in the UK. Thanks go to Dene for writing this guest blog addressing some of the problems he sees with the Environmental Working Group and their safety ratings of cosmetics. Myself and many of my colleagues who have small skin care and cosmetics businesses and also produce high quality, safe, natural and organic products feel the need to stand up for the truth so that consumers have an option to read reliable information rather than the hype that is put out there by groups promoting sensationalism rather than truth. Now here's Dene's post:

SKIN DEEP
Scratching Below The Surface
by Dene Godfrey

From the EWG web site:
“The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles.
In 2002, we founded the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.
EWG specializes in providing useful resources (like Skin Deep and the Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce) to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.”

From the Skin Deep home page:
“In 2004 we launched Skin Deep, an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. Our aim was to fill in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn't require companies to test products for safety before they're sold. EWG's scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating our in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.
Now in its fourth year and third major update, our Skin Deep database provides you with easy-to-navigate safety ratings for nearly a quarter of all products on the market — 54,866 products with 8,983 ingredients. At about one million page views per month, Skin Deep is the world's largest and most popular product safety guide”

The aims of both the EWG and their Skin Deep database are laudable – who could disagree that cosmetics should be safe? I doubt that any responsible manufacturer would ever knowingly put their customers at risk by placing products on the market that are not safe for their intended use. EWG insist that there is virtually no regulation of cosmetics in the USA, but this is not the case. The FDA requires that manufacturers do not place products on the market that are unsafe to human health and, whilst there may not be the same level of regulation as in , for example, the European Union, it is not true to say that cosmetics are unregulated. The EWG/Skin Deep promote themselves as the champions of safety (in cosmetics, for the purposes of this paper), but this is not actually what they achieve.

The database uses an impressive array of numbers (of products and data sources) and an impressive-looking amount of detailed explanation as to how their system of classification works, including some complicated-looking formulae. For the fine detail, click on

www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/about.php#3

The mainstays of this system are the following:

“Hazard (concern) rating. We developed a hazard rating that represents a synthesis of known and suspected hazards associated with ingredients and products. Hazard ratings within Skin Deep are shown as low, moderate, or higher concern categories, with numeric rankings spanning those categories that range from 0 (low concern) to 10 (higher concern).

Data gap rating. We developed a data gap rating within Skin Deep, primarily to describe the extent to which low hazard scores associated with some ingredients or products are based on definitive data demonstrating safety or, at the other extreme, on a near absence of data either demonstrating or disproving hazard. Data gap ratings are represented within Skin Deep by a numeric percentage ranging from 100% (complete absence of safety data) to 0% (comprehensive safety data). “

Already, several concerns creep in:

1) It is not possible (at least, not without a high degree of subjectivity) to assign a numerical value to a hazard. A hazard is a hazard. It is not logical to compare something that is highly corrosive to something that is toxic by ingestion – it is the same as comparing apples with pears.
2) On whose authority is the “suspected” hazard determined. Again, this is highly subjective. If there are no data, how is it possible to suspect a hazard?
3) How is it possible to rate a data gap so empirically? The impact of any data gap is wholly dependent upon the nature of the data that are missing.
4) They make the statement – “A hazard rating of "low concern" (shown as a green circle in Skin Deep) might be rated in that category because of definitive data proving its safety, or because of a near absence of any safety studies that would illuminate hazards.” How can absence (or near absence) of data ever be shown to illuminate hazards?
5) They claim to offer “safety ratings” – they do not – they only offer hazard ratings.

On looking more closely into the database and, specifically, at various products and their hazard scores, there are many obvious issues. There is a group of closely-related compounds that are assigned hazard scores entirely the opposite of their true relative hazardous nature. There are examples of the same chemical being listed under two different names with different hazard scores.

One word that has arisen many times in this discussion, and on the Skin Deep database is “hazard”, and therein lies the basic issue with Skin Deep. It is entirely based on hazard, with no attempt whatsoever to evaluate risk. It is not possible to evaluate safety of the basis of hazard alone. If a chemical was in existance that required only a single molecule to kill a human, that would be described as extremely hazardous. However, if only one molecule of that chemical actually existed, then the chance of human exposure is insignificant, and the risk to human health is also insignificant. I use an extreme example to better explain the relationship between hazard and risk, which may be summarised as follows:

RISK = HAZARD x EXPOSURE

Because the database only highlights the hazard of the ingredient, there is no possible way the consumer can know the actual risk involved in its presence in a cosmetic product. In our daily lives we constantly assess risk, albeit mostly subconciously. If we avoided every hazard without ever considering risk, we would never cross a road, and we would never stay in our homes (as the majority of accidents occur in the home, so there is a definite hazard associated with being at home). As it is nonsense to live our lives with assessing risk, it is equally nonsense to avoid any particular chemical without assessing the risk. It may even be the case that high exposure to a product classified by Skin Deep as zero is less safe than low exposure to a product classified as 10 on this database. Therefore, the database offers no useful information on the safety of cosmetic products, and is misleading to consumers.

Regarding hazard, it is possible, given the correct dose and route of administration to establish a hazard for EVERY chemical in existence, be it natural or synthetic. If anyone decided to carry out an inhalation study using any chemical either in vapour, mist or powder form, it would result in death. The only substance that would not have this effect is air (although the individual components of air would cause death), and even inhalation of too much air too quickly can result in dizziness and unconsciousness. Therefore every chemical is hazardous.

For a little light relief, I suggest that you investigate the extreme hazards posed by dihydrogen monoxide by clicking on the link below:

www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp

The treatement of data gaps is of particular concern. This is, again, highly subjective. Some ingredients with 100% data gaps are assigned zero, but others are assigned 3, or higher. How is it possible to assign a hazard rating when there are no data? It is entirely possible that many companies, appreciative of the marketing benefits of being able to claim a zero hazard rating on Skin Deep, are designing products specifically using ingredients with a zero hazard rating. There is certainly at least one company using this tactic. This means that products are being manufactured using ingredients with no safety data! Given that the EWG make great play of their claim that the USA do not regulate cosmetics, is it wise of them to encourage this practise, albeit tacitly?

The use of hazard classification alone enables Skin Deep to provoke concern amongst consumers. Without this concern, they would get little in the way of donations.

Another quote from the EWG site:

"Under federal law, companies can put virtually anything they wish into personal care products, and many of them do. Mercury, lead, and placenta extract — all of these and many other hazardous materials are in products that millions of Americans, including children, use every day," said Jane Houlihan, Vice President of Research at EWG.

This strongly implies that mercury and lead are deliberately added into cosmetic products which (apart from a few mercury-based products used as skin-whiteners) is simply not true. Again, the comment focusses on hazard only. I am not going to comment on placenta extract as I don't know why anyone would want to use that in the first place, and I am not sure of the potential risks involved in its use., but this is more evidence of manipulation of information in order to scare consumers in a misleading manner.

At the 2010 Expo West (which, for the benefit of those not based in the US, is the largest natural products show in the country) the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Safety Review Group's booth reportedly had a banner which read "If you can't pronounce it, it can't be safe"!

Following this logic it must be the case that if you CAN pronounce it, it must be safe. Try pronouncing “hydrogen cyanide”.

Two final quotes from the Skin Deep web site:

“This scoring system does not account for individual sensitivities or differences between the severities of different health endpoints within a particular category.”

And at the head of every product’s hazard rating:

“Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to one or more ingredients in this product -- not the product itself -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.” (My bold type; not Skin Deep’s)

Does the average consumer looking at the database even read these disclaimers, never mind understand that they are saying that their ratings refer to the individual ingredients and that information on the ACTUAL health risks of the product in question is not available in Skin Deep?

In summary, the Skin Deep database does not offer any insight into the true safety in use of any cosmetic product. Indeed, by encouraging the use of ingredients with no supporting toxicity data, they are risking the health of the very consumers they pupport to be seeking to protect. This database should be radically amended (and corrected) to better reflect it’s true worth, or closed down.

Dene Godfrey, 20 April 2010

Book Review: Botany in a Day

Although it actually took me more than a day to read this book, I enjoyed every minute of it. Rather than using the laborious method of “keying out” plants, this book discusses similarities that plants within a given family share. For instance, all roses have 5 petals and numerous stamens. The majority of plants in this book are found in the Rocky Mountain region, but plants from across the county are represented. Looking at patterns seems a more natural way to learn any type of biology as it is a way of categorizing and keeping things straight. Elpel describes ach family of plants by just a few key words to remember. For instance, the Saxifrage family (Saxifragaceae) is a small plant with small flowers, usually 5 separate petals, plus an oblong ovary with 2 styles.

The book starts with a tutorial to bring the reader up to speed on basic taxonomic information, classification systems, evolution of plants, terminology and basic information on some plant families. Elpel then introduces each botanical family with a short description of anatomical features and then significant genera within that family are listed with a brief description. There are no photographs in the book but the illustrations are detailed. There is also a short section on medicinal properties of plants which is presented from the perspective of the phytochemicals in plants.

Now that I know that members of the mustard family have 4 petals with 6 stamen – 4 tall and 2 short and they are all edible, family hikes become much more interesting. We identify the mustards along the way and compare their taste!

Being more of a human biologist than a plant biologist, keys have always caused me grief. Elpel also gives some basic instruction on how to use a key. I suppose a seasoned botanist might find this book a little boring, but a good audience would be the herbalist, hobbyist, gardener or beginning botanist – as well as those of us on the other side of biology who don’t want to be burdened by a key.

This is the fifth edition of Botany in a Day, the first one being printed in 1996. I haven’t compared all of them, but each edition has been expanded and revised. Rather than being just a guide to accompany a field trip, this is actually a book you will enjoy reading by the fire! Some of the proceeds from sales of this book are donated to a Montana park founded by the author, 3 Rivers Park.