American Botanical Council (ABC)
P.O. Box 144345
Austin, TX 78714-4345
Phone: 512-926-4900 or 800-373-7105
Email: abc@herbalgram.org
Web site: http://www.herbalgram.org
Description: Nonprofit education and research organization that aims to promote herb use and educate consumers, health professionals, researchers, educators, industry, and the media about responsible use of herbs and medicinal plants. Web site includes web page “Common Herbs: An Introductory Guide to Herbal Healthcare” with photographs and brief plant descriptions.
Dues: individual, $50; academic, $100 academic; professional, $150; organization, $250.
Periodicals: (1) HerbalGram: The Journal of the American Botanical Council and the Herb Research Foundation; irregular; $35. ISSN: 0899-5648. (2) HerbClip tm and HerbClip Online tm database; bi-weekly; for members only.
American Herb Association (AHA)
P.O. Box 1673
Nevada City, CA 95959
Phone: 916-265-9552
Web site: http://www.ahaherb.com
Description: Commercial organization promoting understanding and ecological use of medicinal herbs and aromatherapy. Private library includes 1,000 volumes, 60 subscriptions, and a special collection on medicinal botany. Operates private herb farm. Web site includes extensive related web links.
Dues: regular, $20; supporting, $35.
Periodicals: American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter; included in $20 membership.
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA)
8484 Georgia Ave., Suite 370
Silver Spring, MD 20910-5604
Phone: 301-588-1171 Email: ahpa@ahpa.org
Web site: http://www.ahpa.org
Description: A business association of growers, manufacturers, processors, and distributors, seeks to promote industry and trade of herbs and herbal products. Disseminates political and research information; lobbies Congress and Federal agencies; sponsors annual educational symposium; offers business service discounts to members.
Dues: begin at $1,000 for companies with annual sales of or under $5,000; rises with company annual sales. Associate memberships are $1,000.
Periodicals: AHPA Report; monthly, online; for members only.
American Herbalists Guild (AHG)
1931 Gaddis Rd.
Canton, GA 30115
Phone: 770-751-6021 Email: ahgoffice@earthlink.net
Web site: http://www.americanherbalistsguild.com
Description: Nonprofit organization that promotes standards in botanical medicine and standards for education in herbal medicine. Emphasizes professionalism and cooperation for herbal practitioners. Sponsors annual symposium. Web site includes online forums and links to its members’ web pages.
Dues: $60, general; $50, students of herbalism; $120, professional; supporting, varies.
Periodicals: (1) Journal of the AHG; biannual; included with membership; nonmembers, $45. (2) Guild News and Views; biannual; for members only.
Herb Growing and Marketing Network (HGMN)
P.O. Box 245
Silver Spring, PA 17575-0245
Phone: 717-393-3295 Email: herbworld@aol.com
Web site: http://www.herbworld.com
Description: Trade association of herb and herbal product retailers, wholesalers, growers, and manufacturers that works to disseminate business and marketing information about the herb industry, especially about marketing and locating wholesale sources. Web site includes Herbal GreenPages, an online business directory. Offers information to beginners in the field, sponsors annual conference, member business discounts, Internet web site hosting, online listserv, discussion group, and annual conference.
Dues: $95
Periodicals: (1) The Business of Herbs; published online only; monthly; contact is P.O. Box 245, Silver Spring, PA 17575-0245; 717-393-3295; FAX: 717-393-9261. ISSN: 0736-9050, included with $95 membership (2) Ezine, monthly or twice a month [news and sponsored items]; published online only, contact is http://www.herbnet.com/ezine%20signup.htm
Herb Research Foundation (HRF)
4140 15th St.
Boulder, CO 80304
Phone: 303-449-2265 or 800-748-2617 Email: info@herbs.org
Web site: http://www.herbs.org
Description: Nonprofit organization concentrating on scientific herb research and public education about the health benefits, cultivation, and safety of herbs. Maintains private library of over 3,000 scientific articles and reports on herbs. Offers literature searching and writing services. Web site includes extensive resource lists including information on wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, importers, and commercial seed and plant sources.
Dues: $40-$500 depending on publications received; $260-$6000 for professional and commercial memberships, depending on publications received.
Periodicals: (1) HerbalGram: the Journal of the American Botanical Council and the Herb Research Foundation; quarterly; $35; ISSN: 0899-5648. (2) Herbs for Health; bi-monthly; $29.94 or included with membership; ISSN: 1086-1955.
Herb Society of America (HSA)
9019 Kirtland-Chardon Rd.
Kirtland, OH 44094
Phone: 440-256-0514 Email: herbs@herbsociety.org
Web site: http://www.herbsociety.org
Description: Nonprofit organization devoted to promoting the knowledge, use, history, cultivation, and enjoyment of herbs. Sponsors annual conference and symposia and a seed exchange for members. Sponsors awards, a national demonstration garden, and regional plant collections. Maintains library of almost 3,000 items, open to the public. Web site includes calendar of U.S. herb events by geographic district. This society planned and funded the National Herb Garden.
Dues: individual, $50; joint, $75; student, $30; international, $110; honorary $50; individual life, $2000; joint life, $3000; individual benefactor, $4000; joint benefactor, $6000.
Periodicals: (1) The Herb Society of America Newsletter; quarterly; included with membership. (2) The Herbarist; annual; $12. ISSN: 0740-5979.
International Herb Association (IHA)
P.O. Box 5667
Jacksonville, FL 32247-5667
Email: info@iherb.org
Web site: http://www.iherb.org/
Description: Professional trade association that promotes the herb industry, works for education and information exchange about herbs and the herb industry, and aims to encourage entrepreneurs. Established and promotes IHA Herb of the Week and National Herb Week.
Dues: business or individual, $100; student, $25; educator, $50; nonprofit organization, $50.
Periodicals: Quarterly newsletter; written by and for members.
Web Sites with Online Content about Herbs and Herb Growing
See also the web addresses listed under organizations, above.
Agricultural Marketing and Resource Center, a joint project of departments from Iowa State University, Kansas State University, and the University of California-Davis includes “Herb Industry Profile” by Christa Hartsook, Oct. 2003 and other articles. Web site covers commodities and products; market and industries; business development; directories and state resources. Offers an “ask an expert” email service.
http://www.agmrc.org
Alternative Farming Systems Information Center at the National Agricultural Library specializes in identifying and accessing information related to alternative agricultural enterprises and crops as well as alternative cropping systems.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic
ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service is managed by the National Center for Appropriate Technology, a private, nonprofit organization. It offers full text of ATTRA papers such as “Ginseng, Goldenseal, & Other Native Roots” by Katherine Adam, Jun. 2002; “Market Gardening: a Start-Up Guide” by Janet Bachman, Mar. 2002; “Considerations for Organic Greenhouse Herb Production” by Katherine Adam, Apr. 2003, and more. The web site also provides farmers, ranchers, agricultural educators, farmer-focused organizations the opportunity to interact with sustainable agriculture experts by phone or email.
http://attra.ncat.org/horticultural.html#Herbs
BC Specialty Crops Fact Sheets & Publications produced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries, British Columbia, Canada. Online publications include “Ginseng Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2003 Edition,” “Echinacea – Purple Coneflower,” and “Planning for Profit Enterprise Budgets: Herbs & Specialty Crops.”
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/speccrop/factsheets.htm
Center for New Crops & Plant Products at Purdue University, offers directories, links, and text of some publications such as “Chinese Medicinal Herbs: Opportunities for Domestic Production by Lyle E. Craker and J. Giblette, 2002. The web site also includes also links to the full text of USDA’s Farmers’ Bulletin no. 1977, “Savory Herbs Culture and Use,” 1946 and USDA Miscellaneous Publication no. 77, “The Herb Hunters Guide American Medicinal Plants of Commercial Importance,” 1930.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/default.html
Dr. Duke’s Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases, provided by the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Germplasm Resources Information Network. Searchable database of information on plant chemicals, plant chemicals’ concentration and activity, and ethnobotanical uses of plants. Browsable databases cover plant ecological ranges, worldwide plant uses, Native American food plants, medicinal plants of Native America, and plant chemicals.
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke
e-answers Your Extension Information Service “is a searchable Web site that provides reliable, research-based information on a wide range of Extension or Outreach-oriented subjects. From this source you can access the knowledge of Land Grant universities around the nation.” This is an excellent source for practical information. You may search by keywords and you may limit a search to a particular region or institution.
http://128.227.242.197
Growing for the Medicinal Herb Market Selected Sources and Resources, by Suzanne DeMuth, Mary V. Gold, and Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (U.S.). Beltsville, MD: Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library, ARS, USDA, 1998. This 12 page guide lists and describes organizations, databases, and publications, mostly dating from 1992-1996. Print copies are available from AFSIC, National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD, 20705, 301-504-6559.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC%5Fpubs/mherb.htm
HerbMed database, provided by the Alternative Medicine Foundation, Inc., lists herbs alphabetically and for each herb, organizes references into these categories: evidence for efficacy (based on human data); methods of preparation; evidence of activity; PubMed [literature] search; history of record; safety data; formulas/blends; and other information, i.e., pictures and distribution maps; cultivation, conservation, and ecology; and related links.
http://www.herbmed.org
Herbs and Herb Gardening: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide , compiled by Suzanne DeMuth, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agricultural Library, 1996. This 90 page resource guide lists and describes books, guides, proceedings, videos, bibliographies, periodicals, selected articles, indexing and abstracting services, organizations, and mail-order suppliers. Most references cover the 1980’s through 1995. Print copies are available from AFSIC, National Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore Ave., Beltsville, MD, 20705,
301-504-6559.http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/srb9606.htm
Horticulture on the Internet: Herbs, prepared by Erv Evans, Consumer Horticulturalist, North Carolina State Extension Service, has links to many extension pages on herb gardening and on specific herbs.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/hortinternet/herbs.htm
IBIDS, the International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements Database, from the Food and Nutrition Information Center at the National Agricultural Library and the Office of Dietary Supplements, National Institutes of Health, includes references from three sources: MEDLINE for biomedical-related articles, AGRICOLA for botanical and agricultural science, and AGRIS for worldwide agricultural literature. It includes references about the growth, production, use, and function of herbal and botanical products used as dietary supplements.
http://ods.od.nih.gov/showpage.aspx?pageid=48
MedlinePlus Herbal Medicine, from the National Library of Medicine, links to consumer-oriented web sites and articles.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/herbalmedicine.html
Missouri Alternatives Center, from the University of Missouri, provides information on a wide range of alternative agricultural opportunities and how to make alternative operations profitable. Many links to "Extension Information on Alternatives," organized by topic (culinary, medicinal, essential oils, etc.) are provided on the web page
http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/links/index.htm
A Modern Herbal by Margaret Grieve, was first published in 1931. Now available online, it is a resource for herbs' culinary, cosmetic and economic properties, and their cultivation and folklore. This standard reference also includes a plant and herb index, recipes and a list of poisons.
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/mgmh.html
National Wholesale Herb Report, by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, Market News Branch, provides prices paid for wholesale herb sales to retailers in 15 U.S. cities. From
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/mncs/termherb.htm, click “Herbs.”
Native American Ethnobotany: A Database of Foods, Drugs, Dyes and Fibers of Native American Peoples, Derived from Plants provided by Dan Moerman at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. “The database now contains 44,691 items… represents uses by 291 Native American groups of 4,029 species from 243 plant families. About half of them are medicinal.”
http://herb.umd.umich.edu
Plant Net, from Michael Minter, has links to the GardenWeb Hortiplex Database, USDA’s PLANTS National Database, the Missouri Botanical Garden’s TROPICOS Database, and other horticultural web sites. These sites provide nomenclature, photographs, and information on plants, and include links to online forums, seed and plant trade and purchase opportunities, dictionaries, and more.
http://michaelm.customer.netspace.net.au/plant.html