Michael Moore’s works need to be at the top of any discussion in this area. His trilogy of books is a classic and a much used and appreciated masterpiece. While written in an irreverant, humorous style, these books contain 40 years of field, teaching and clinical experience. If you are the type of herbalist who likes to be outdoors with the plants, these copies will be well worn in a few months. Good for all levels.
Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West - 2nd edition.
Covers plants from the pinyon-juniper zone and above. In most of the Southwest, this would from about 5000’ and up.
Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West
Covers plants from about 5000’ and lower.
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West
Officially, this book covers plants from Baja California to Alaska. In reality, there are enough southwestern plants described in this book that it is very worthwhile for the dedicated SW herbalist to have.
Books by Other Authors:
Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest by Charles Kane
I like his writing style: very concise, organized, no-nonsense. The information here is backed with experience and clinical work. Extremely well done. The best work for Sonoran desert plants.
The one weak point for me is that the plants included are limited to about 5000‘ and lower so the title is slightly misleading. Good for all levels.
Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants by Christopher Nyerges
One the the best books out there for food foraging in this part of the world. The author has been active in the bushcraft and primitive skills community for many years and has personally collected and eaten the plants discussed in this book.
Use this title for edible foods. Some medicinal plants are covered but not in detail. This book may be hard to find but worth the effort. Good for all levels.
Botany in a Day by Tom Elpel
The main focus of this book is to teach the field of plant identification in a way that is accessible to everyday folks. He succeeds very well. Clear instructions for understanding families, genera and species and well illustrated. His approach is slightly different than standard academic texts but every bit as accurate and often more useful.
The author has been an instructor in the bushcraft and herb communities for many years so he includes some general yet helpful information in those areas.
This is the book I use for teaching botany in my own classes and I have personally found it to be quite helpful over the years, A standard text in many herb schools.
Excellent for beginner botanists. Because his format is a bit different from academia, it might be initially confusing for those with a college level taxonomy background.