Flora's Daughters

Now available! Flora’s Daughters: Seven Plants Through the Lens of Eclectic Medicine, Contemporary Herbalism, and Botanical Illustration.

As 2025 Curtis Gates Lloyd Fellows, Meghan Henshaw and Julia Orquera Bianco collaboratively created this 48-page herbal zine, combining art, research, and storytelling. The publication features concise monographs on seven plants, paired with original illustrations inspired by historical texts found in the Lloyd Library Collections.

The zine spotlights motherwort, sage, horehound, valerian, tulsi, calendula, and tobacco—plants that flourish in the Ohio River Valley. Each chapter explores the plant’s chemical constituents and actions, historical significance, traditional and contemporary uses (with particular attention to female herbalists), cultivation methods, and conservation considerations. It also includes instructions for making herbal preparations and a resource list highlighting herbal books housed in the Lloyd Library.

By weaving together archival research, hands-on practice, and visual storytelling, the project honors the legacy of female botanist-illustrators and Cincinnati’s Eclectic medical pioneers, while contributing a new, accessible voice to the evolving conversation around medicinal plants in the Ohio River Valley.