As True as the Barnacle Tree, Second Edition

Artist, herbalist, and historian Anita M. Smith celebrates herb lore throughout history and in the Woodstock area, where she was known as the Herb Lady of the Catskills.

Anita M. Smith (AMS), a Quaker and a high-society refugee from Philadelphia, arrived in Woodstock in 1912 to study art. When a family crisis forced her to give up painting, she took up gardening, and in 1933 she founded Stonecrop Garden. By 1939 she was selling herbs in all forth-eight contiguous states and had independently published As True as the Barnacle Tree. The book was based on the work of early herbalists such as John Gerard, Nicholas Culpeper, and John Evelyn—with chapters on Native American, Quaker, Shaker, and early-settler lore. Also included were a suggested plan for a herb garden, favorite culinary herbs, and recipes. The enduring popularity of this book resulted in a reprinting by The Practical Press in 1988 and the adoption of the cover woodblock of AMS (artwork by Maud and Miska Petersham) as the icon used by The Herb Quarterly. This new edition of As True as the Barnacle Tree features an introduction by Weston Blelock and Julia Blelock (who knew AMS in the 1960s), a list of selected sources, and an index.

The title refers to John Gerard’s assertion that along the coast of Lancashire, England, there were Barnacle Trees that produced little shells; these barnacles matured into living beings—and if they fell into the water, they swam away as brant geese.

Softcover with a trim size of 5.5 by 7.75 inches; 66 pages. Published in 2024 by WoodstockArts.