In this Berkshire Botanical Garden slide-illustrated talk — July 12, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — we will explore medicinal plants in New England, from Old World introductions and the Doctrine of Signatures to Native American remedies and cures. Early colonial practitioners blended European herbal lore with Native American knowledge resulting in a uniquely American medicinal tradition. Topics will include the evolution of natural toxins and their uses in drugs, tonics and bitters, and food preservation in colonial and 19th century American homes.

Professor Judith Sumner is a Massachusetts-born botanist who specializes in ethnobotany, flowering plants, plant adaptations, and garden history. She has taught at the college level and at many botanical gardens, including the Arnold Arboretum and Garden in the Woods. Her studies have taken her to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the British Museum (Natural History). For several years, under the pseudonym of Laura Craig, she authored a column, “The Gardener’s Kitchen,” in Horticulture
Magazine. Her most recent book is Plants Go To War: A Botanic History of World War II. This lecture is jointly presented by BBG and the Lenox Garden Club.