Familiar Flowers of Field and Garden is a reformat and re-release of an herbal by F. Schuyler Mathews. Originally published in 1895, this edition from Dover is 320 pages and available in paperback format (other editions available in additional formats).

This is an appealing and nostalgic look at wildflowers and hedgerow plants by a noted naturalist and botanist from a hundred years ago. The prose is meandering and gentle. It definitely reads like a product of its time, and I found it quite charming. The illustrations are hand drawn, there are no color illustrations or photographs.

The introduction provides a short exposition by the author on the desirability of having more in depth knowledge of the names and particulars of the wild plants which are familiar to most people who spend any time out in nature. It should be noted that some of the classifications of the plants included in this volume have been changed in the intervening century. There is no table of contents, though there is an index included in the back of the book along with a table including names and flowering times, range, color, and other distinguishing features of each plant. The body of the herbal is arranged chronologically by the flowering periods of each plant starting in March and April and progressing through the spring and summer months.

The illustrations are appealingly old fashioned, but I'm not at all sure I would want to depend on them for positive identification (especially since mistaking similar plants can be dangerous). The book is also peppered with poems, reminiscences, and tidbits about plants and the natural environment.

This is a lovely book, not particularly scientifically accurate for the current taxonomy, but would be a great choice for lovers of plant history and natural history.

Four stars. (Five stars for Dover being the repository and champion of so many cool books which would otherwise pass into obscurity forever).

It's important to note that this is a newly republished edition of a book first published in the late 1800's. As such, don't expect color or photographs. The book is filled with black and white sketches of wildflowers and garden flowers, along with charming text that waxes poetically about how much the author loves them.

This is the sort of book you'll love if you like to have a cup of tea and sit in the sun room with a historic nature book and a sleeping cat on your lap, particularly if you're a gardener. This is not a book that will teach you very much that's useful about these flowers, or one that is particularly comprehensive. Mathews does not even mention elderflowers (tsk), other than to say that some other flower can often be found underneath elderberries. And yes, I know that I'm partial when it comes to elderflowers since I wrote a book about them, but really -- how can you ignore a flower that grows wild in every state in the country, looks beautiful, and is used for syrups, wine, tea, medicine and even (back then) beauty treatments? Nevermind, moving on... :)

Mathews is clearly from a certain social standing, and as such, he has no knowledge at all about the many wonderful ways these flowers can be used. He writes about so many that I know have wonderful uses (tansy repels insects, mullein is one of the best healing plants for a wide variety of ailments, many of these plants are healthy and delicious...) but he almost never mentions any uses of these flowers except occasionally in a rather demeaning way he'll tell you that "country folk" use it for food or medicine. As an example, he mentions that tansy makes a "vile tasting" tea that country folk use for treating measles in children and then says "Alas, the children!" because they have to drink such swill. Later he says that most people have heard of boneset tea (boneset is literally named for its ability to help broken bones heal well) but again he trashes it ("Who has not heard of "boneset tea" and who likes it?") and then he goes on to say that children used to like boneset taffy when it was given for coughs. He does mention that purslane is edible, but he says that it's because people used to eat it as a green before it was replaced by spinach and beet leaves. For the most part, though, he does not mention medicinal or culinary uses of the plants even for "country folk" and seems to look down on anybody who eats them or uses them medicinally.

Mathews also leaves out important information about dangers of some of these plants and not all of his information is correct. For instance, he writes about the "fine flowers" of "wild meadow parsnip" that he then calls Zizia aurea -- which is golden Alexander, similar looking but a totally different species. True wild parsnip is Pastinaca sativa (which he then briefly mentions as similar) and if you make the unfortunate mistake of touching it when the sun is shining, you may end up with severe blisters all over your skin since it causes phytophotodermatitis.

The sketches are basic, fairly detailed, but nothing spectacular. Mathews' tone is sometimes fun and charming. He uses lots of exclamation points and writes the way you would imagine someone's adorable elderly British aunt would talk. I am not mocking him -- it really is charming and people who enjoy this sort of writing will love it.

This would make a lovely read for a winter afternoon, especially if you have said cup of tea and sleepy cat for your lap. Just look elsewhere for your truly informational flower books or proper ID guides.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.