Using herbs remains widespread; in fact, the World Health Organization estimates that up to 80 percent of the population in Asia and Africa use herbal medicine for some part of primary health care.

In the US, herbs are used widely, but usually as a form of alternative medicine – medicine that would not necessarily be available in a severe survival situation.

What Is a Materia Medica?

Materia medica, also called a monograph, is just a fancy name for a system for keeping plant information organized. As you study and take notes on specific plants, if you were interested in keeping a materia medica, it is where you would store those precious notes.

How Will I Organize My Materia Medica?

Others use systems that employ index cards, or even files on their computer, but whatever way the information is stored, it should be done in such a way that the information can be easily accessed when needed.

What Will I Contain in My Materia Medica?

There are so many different pieces of information that can be included on each herb’s page. Having all of this information would make for a very comprehensive herbal resource for my shelf, but to keep it simple, I’ll just start with 5-6 pieces of information.

The type of information you choose to include in your materia medica is entirely up to you, but some of the possible information that can be included are: the name, properties, parts of the plant used in herbal medicine, growing and harvesting, effects/energetics, safety issues/drug interactions, preparation and doses.

A materia medica is one way of keeping track of herbal knowledge, but it can also be used to document herbs that are not necessarily used for medicine – having a section reserved for observations on regular vegetables and fruit plants could be useful if you grow your own food.

Even if you use it just for herbs, having a repository of the things you know or learn is always a smart thing; for more information on starting and maintaining a materia medica, please visit The Mind To Homestead.