author
Alice Henkel
1869–1916
A pioneering American botanist, she wrote practical early-20th-century guides that helped readers identify and use medicinal plants found across the United States. Her work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture made specialized plant knowledge clear, useful, and widely read.
5 Audiobooks
Weeds used in medicine
by Alice Henkel
American medicinal barks
by Alice Henkel
Wild medicinal plants of the United States
by Alice Henkel
Peppermint
by Alice Henkel
American root drugs
by Alice Henkel
About the author
Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry, Alice Henkel built a reputation as a careful writer on medicinal and economic plants. Government publications from the period identify her as an assistant in drug-plant and medicinal plant investigations, and her manuals were designed to be practical for growers, collectors, and readers interested in plant-based remedies.
Her best-known books include Wild Medicinal Plants of the United States, American Root Drugs, American Medicinal Barks, and American Medicinal Leaves and Herbs. These bulletins gathered botanical description, harvesting advice, and commercial information into clear references, helping make technical knowledge about native medicinal plants easier to use.
Although not a household name today, her work was important enough to be gathered and cited after her death, and later compilations of American medicinal plants noted that they drew heavily on her earlier USDA bulletins. That lasting usefulness gives her a quiet but notable place in the history of American botany and medicinal-plant writing.