author
Alice Henkel
1869–1916
A USDA botanist with a gift for practical science, she turned medicinal plants into clear, useful guides for everyday readers. Her books helped document how roots, barks, leaves, and even weeds were gathered and used in early American plant medicine.
4 Audiobooks
Weeds used in medicine
by Alice Henkel
American medicinal barks
by Alice Henkel
Peppermint
by Alice Henkel
American root drugs
by Alice Henkel
About the author
Born in 1869, Alice Henkel was an American botanist and writer best known for her work on medicinal plants. She worked with the United States Department of Agriculture, where she prepared practical publications that explained useful wild plants in a straightforward, accessible way.
Her best-known works include Wild Medicinal Plants of the United States (1906), American Root Drugs (1907), American Medicinal Barks (1909), and Weeds Used in Medicine (1915). These books and bulletins focused on identification, collection, and traditional uses of plant materials, making technical botanical knowledge easier to use.
Henkel died in 1916. Although she is not widely known today, her writing remains valuable for readers interested in botany, herbal history, and the early scientific study of medicinal plants in the United States.