In anthropologist Justin Nolan's book Wild Harvest in the Heartland: Ethnobotany in Missouri's Little Dixie, he examines people, plants and their interrelationships in a cultural region of central Missouri. His study has implications far beyond Little Dixie.

His three summers of field research yielded a picture of a relatively unstudied area. In Little Dixie, gathering, using and understanding wild plants is part of a sense of place.

Of the 40 residents of Little Dixie interviewed by Nolan, half were experts, including herbalists, medical practitioners, conservationists and shopkeepers who market botanical products. Half expressed an interest in wild plants but had less experience or formal training.

During individual interviews, the participants identified a total of 187 wild plants representing 75 families.

The participants told interviewers the ways each plant was used, such as for food, medicine, furniture construction, animal grazing or ornamental purposes.

In addition to analysis of how experts and novices categorize and understand wild plants, the book includes botanical drawings and descriptions of habitat, history and uses of the most commonly used wild plants. It is written for a broad audience.

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