Herbalist's Primer

Herbalist's Primer is a system-agnostic illustrated guide to real-world magical plants. Inspired by the 19th-century herbalists and the millennia of folklore, myths, and legends, it brings a wealth of easily-accessible, organized information straight to your gaming table. From screaming mandragoras to shape-shifting deadly nightshade to hawthorns holding portals to the fey realms - the world of plant folklore is full of fascinating stories, magical rituals, and simple spells that are quite unbreakable.Every entry lists—if possible—their culinary, medicinal, magical, and poisonous properties. Each entry includes basic botanical information, a handy scale reference, commonly used names, and a short description, so there’s no need to read the whole thing if you’re just browsing for inspiration!We have chosen the most interesting magical plants of the world’s folklore, from the Arctic to Cape Horn. We’ve read numerous herbaria, and took a deep dive into the planet’s biodiversity.And now we bring it all to you: nicely organized for your convenience and fully illustrated!About the book: A full-color, hardcover book (6" x 9") with 360 pages of botanical, ethnobotanical, folklore, and tabletop roleplaying material.  100 illustrated, detailed descriptions of magically-inclined plants from around the world - from aconite to yew. Short, sweet, and useful lore chapters on the basics of botany, herb gathering, preparation, alchemy, poisons & antidotes, and more! Recipes for magical and medicinal concoctions, written in-world and in accordance with occult lore of the ages past (mix aconite with animal fat, then rub it on a broom handle for an excellent flying experience!). Tools for creating original magical plants, plot hooks, quest ideas, and a botanical Latin primer to give your custom, fantastical plants a semi-proper scientific name.Convenient tables with magical and medicinal properties of plants, astronomical correspondences, and the language of flowers - all according to the highest authorities in the fields.An index, a detailed table of contents, references, bibliography—everything you’d expect from a popular-science publication that will make your herbalist cry the tears of joy.   About the plants:Each of the hundred entries includes: a common and scientific name  other names, as they appear in folklore and older sources (did you know that parsley is called devil's oatmeal? Now you do!)a short description with main properties for quick browsing (TL;DR version for your convenience!)a detailed botanical illustration in the style of 19th-century herbal books, showing various elements of the planta silhouette of the plant for scale reference  quick-reference tabs, informing about the plant's basic propertiesa table with botanical data (plant family, habitat, size, life cycle, parts used in herbalism, and descriptions of flowers and leaves)a detailed physical description (including scents and flavors!)notes on habitat and cultivation advice on foraging and preparation of plant material (harvest time, tools, and traditions and superstitions surrounding the gathering) culinary properties (while technically everything is edible if you're brave enough, some plants are edible more than once) medicinal properties (as used in traditional herbal medicine; not real medical advice) magical properties (spells, charms, rituals of the occult new and old!) poisonous properties (if applicable; covers symptoms, doses, and antidotes)