Perhaps more than any other influence Healing Herbs of the Upper Rio Grande helped keep the herbal traditions of the Spanish Southwest alive and well. Moore comments that he has observed well used copies of this book in many adobe village homes, sometimes the only book besides the Bible. Mrs. Curtin lived and worked with the Spanish curanderas and abuelas (folk healers and elders), and Native Americans, learning herbal medicine first-hand from both traditions.
In this new edition Moore has classified Latin names, added vital information on current usage and sources, added remedy and general indexes, and has offered alternative views on a number of plants. Written with precise botanical knowledge, this book is the seminal work on tradition home remedies of the Southwest.