Los Remedios

Los Remedios: Traditional Herbal Remedies of the Southwest, by Michael Moore

I picked this up as background research for a novel I'm just starting to write, and it was delightful. Los Remedios is a basic but well-organized and clear encyclopedia of herbal remedies from the Sonoran Desert region, with useful caveats about areas where the author has little knowledge. The reason I need it for book research is still more or less a secret (okay, it's not that secret, but I'm trying not to talk about it so much that I lose interest in it). But I will say that this book has empowered me to identify plants I've seen in the desert and, very importantly, to put them in my mouth and see what they taste like.

Everything is perfectly safe, don't worry! (Acacia beans taste like beans.)