African American Herbalism: A Practical Guide to Healing Plants and Folk Traditions – Paperback by Lucretia VanDyke

Why We Shelved It:

An essential, reverent, and long-overdue tribute to the roots of American plant medicine. Lucretia VanDyke—an experienced herbalist, holistic educator, and ceremonialist—brings forward the rich legacy of Black botanical wisdom that sustained generations through survival, migration, and community care. Shelved proudly at the center of our Lifestyle & Botanical Wellness sanctuary, this volume celebrates plant medicine not just as a physical remedy but as spiritual resilience, ancestral remembrance, and holistic ritual.

The Guide:

African American herbalism is woven directly into the soil of American folk healing, rooted in African traditions, adapted through enslavement, and enriched by mutual knowledge sharing with Indigenous and Caribbean cultures. In this practical and historically grounded guide, Lucretia VanDyke provides an accessible, soul-nourishing bridge between traditional plant wisdom and everyday modern wellness.

Inside, readers and holistic practitioners will explore:

• Profiles of Essential Healing Plants: Detailed monographs on heritage botanicals—including hibiscus, elderberry, rosemary, dandelion, sassafras, poke root, and yellow dock—highlighting their energetic properties, folklore, and physical actions.

• Remedies, Blends & Rituals: Step-by-step guidance for formulating herbal teas, healing salves, spiritual baths, infused honeys, and restorative tonics.

• Honoring the Ancestors: The historical context of rootworkers, midwives, granny women, and healers who kept folk medicine alive outside institutional systems.

• Everyday Botanical Self-Care: Integrating plant allies into modern daily life for nervous system regulation, immune resilience, emotional grounding, and sacred self-tending.

Whether you are beginning your herbal journey, seeking to expand your apothecary, or honoring ancestral folk traditions, African American Herbalism is an empowering manual for tending the body, mind, and spirit with plant medicine.