ADVANCED PREVIEW
Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast
British Columbia and The Pacific Northwest, Expanded Edition
Designed for both amateur and professional naturalists, gardeners, and foragers, Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast: British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest by Collin Varner is now available in a newly expanded and revised edition.
In this new edition, content relating to Indigenous uses has been reviewed and expanded based on expert feedback from ethnobotanists T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss and Senaqwila Wyss. A brand new section also indicates traditional Indigenous territories within the coastal Pacific Northwest bioregion.
More entries have also been added, bringing the total to more than 250 species, along with additional recipes. This compact, full-colour forager’s guide offers clear photography, descriptions, safety tips and warnings, as well as culinary and medicinal uses from both Indigenous and settler traditions, for every type of wild-growing flora species in the region. It also highlights some of the ethics and risks of foraging.
This bestselling field guide details edible and medicinal plants and fungi that grow wild throughout the west coast of BC and the Pacific Northwest states. With more than 10,000 copies sold since the first edition in 2020, readers have chosen this compact guidebook for its practical and user-friendly information.
“Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast is well-written and thoughtful while also leaving room for the individual to build a relationship with nature, and to also further their research by combining it with other resources that they may use to ID wild native plants.”
—Sen’ákw, Senaqwila Wyss, ethnobotanist, Squamish Nation
“This book is a potpourri of plant knowledge – to enjoy out in the wild, in your own backyard and kitchen, or sitting at the fireside. The accompanying photos, most by the author, are spectacular. From ocean to forest, from orchard to garden, plants valued by humans everywhere are celebrated here.”
—Nancy J. Turner, ETHNOBOTANIST, Professor Emeritus of University of Victoria, and co-Author of Luschiim’s Plants
“Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast is a clear, concise and beautifully photographed guide to coastal plants. It is one I intend to keep on my shelf of frequently consulted books.”
—Dan Jason, author of Some Useful Wild Plants and Medicinal Herbs to Know and Grow
Collin Varner is a horticulturalist/arboriculturalist. He began his career at the University of British Columbia’s Botanical Garden, and over the next forty years he assumed responsibility for conserving 25,000 trees across campus and taught courses in native plant studies. Now retired, Varner is an avid photographer, world traveller, and bestselling author of The Flora and Fauna of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Invasive Flora of the West Coast, and The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park.