Balm in Gilead: Botanical Conversations From Montserrat.

Balm in Gilead: Botanical Stories from Montserrat, explores the medicinal plant heritage on the volcanic Caribbean Island where the people have had a long tradition of using weeds and herbs not only as food and as medicine but also for spiritual wellness. The botanical varieties found on the island are rich and their uses indispensable to the island's traditional healing practices. Rooted deeply in their African heritage, these healing methods have been passed down over the generations. The devastation from the 1995 volcanic eruption rendered three quarters of the island inhabitable and with that came the invariable loss of much of its ethnobotany. The author shares the concerns of many on the island that if not documented and preserved, the peculiar relationship which the people have always had with the plants in their ecosystem, will be forever lost. This book re-introduces some of the many plants found on the island and their healing properties in the hope that this, and future generations will continue to appreciate the life sustaining properties hidden in all the foliage around them.