The Forgotten Spices: What if they never disappeared, but were simply no longer transmitted?For thousands of years, spices shaped civilizations. They were traded across continents, valued like gold, and integrated into daily life for nourishment, healing, and ritual. Yet many of these ancient spices have quietly faded from modern awareness.
Silphium. Costus. Zedoary. Mastic. Grains of Selim.
Once essential to traditional medicine, agriculture, and cultural practices, these plants played a vital role in supporting the body and maintaining balance with the natural world.
The Forgotten Spices is an illustrated ethnobotanical book exploring 20 ancient and forgotten spices through history, culture, and traditional knowledge. Rather than focusing on recipes, this book reveals the deeper role spices played in human societies.
Through an interdisciplinary approach combining ethnobotany, botanical history, and traditional plant knowledge, this book uncovers how spices were used to nourish, protect, and support the body across generations.
Inside this book, you will discover:20 ethnobotanical profiles of rare and ancient spices from around the worldThe cultural, geographic, and historical origins of each plantThe role of medicinal spices in traditional healing systemsHow spices were integrated into daily life, rituals, and seasonal practices4 practical guides inspired by ancestral plant knowledgeA scientific and cultural perspective grounded in traditional agricultural wisdom
This is not a cookbook.It is a historical and ethnobotanical exploration of forgotten spices, traditional herbal knowledge, and the deep relationship between plants and human health.
This book is ideal for readers interested in:
history of spices and spice tradeancient medicinal plantsethnobotany and traditional herbal knowledgebotanical history and plant traditionsnatural medicine and plant-based healingrare and forgotten plants
About the AuthorVergers du Monde is an organization dedicated to preserving traditional agricultural and botanical knowledge. Through research and documentation, it works to protect the cultural heritage of medicinal plants, ancient spices, and ecological farming traditions.
