If you had lived in Virginia during the 17th or 18th century, what would you have done to ease a headache or calm an upset stomach or relieve the symptoms of a cold or other illness? You likely would not have had access to a physician, and you couldn’t have run to the neighborhood pharmacy for over-the-counter medications. You would have relied on the supply of dried leaves, flowers, berries, bark, and roots you had brought to the new world from England. If you were skilled in the herbal arts, you might create herbal teas, tinctures, salves, or syrups to serve as medicine for acute and chronic illnesses or conditions. The medicinal products brought from England wouldn’t have lasted forever, though, and without seeds and an environment similar to that of northern Europe, plants and medications couldn’t be replicated. Ultimately, you would have relied on native plants growing in your vicinity, but how would you know which ones were safe to use? There must have been a lot of trial and err...