Based on the original Materia Medica of Western Herbs by Carole Fisher and Gilian Painter, this volume has been expanded and updated to include botanical, scientific, pharmacy and safety information. It is designed for worldwide use and contains detailed monographs of medicinal herbs. This volume is based on the original Materia Medica of Western Herbs for the Southern Hemisphere by Carol Fisher and Gilian Painter and has been expanded and updated to include botanical, scientific, pharmacy and safety information. It is designed for worldwide use and contains detailed monographs of medicinal herbs. herbs for primary symptoms and adding supporting botanicals for obvious secondary problems. I was using a therapeutic approach very similar to the British Medical Herbalists, but relying mostly on plants I gathered myself in the western half of the United States. I knew a lot of plants, had a retail store full of herbal.