ve-meta title="Plant Humanities Lab" description="Explore the cultural histories of plants and their influence on human societies."
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Featured Resources
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How to Read an Herbarium Specimen
How to Read an Herbarium Specimen
This essay provides an approachable overview of herbarium specimens and how they are used.
Featured Plant Narratives
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What We Know Now: Tracing the Tamarack
What We Know Now: Tracing the Tamarack
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The Sensitive Plant: Meaning and Movement
The Sensitive Plant: Meaning and Movement
- Elaina Foley, Sabrina Freidus, and Jordan Norviel
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The Broad-Leaf Bark: Friend or Foe?
The Broad-Leaf Bark: Friend or Foe?
- Bethany Kidd and Sierra Roark
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Pecan: Beyond Thanksgiving Pie to Indigenous Reciprocity
Pecan: Beyond Thanksgiving Pie to Indigenous Reciprocity
- MaryKathryn Underwood, Stefania Rocca, and Paolo Taffaro
!
Okra: An Enduring Kitchen Staple
Okra: An Enduring Kitchen Staple
- Allison Caban and Malek Charchour
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Indigo: Layers of Paint, History, and Art
Indigo: Layers of Paint, History, and Art
- Jordan Noelle Smith, Gianna Welty, and Hayley Blair
Soybean: The Versatile Miracle Crop
Soybean: The Versatile Miracle Crop
!
All Plant Narratives
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Agave: A Plant with an Intoxicating History
Agave: A Plant with an Intoxicating History
Arbor Vitae: In Search of the Tree of Life
Arbor Vitae: In Search of the Tree of Life
Ayahuasca: Amazonian Plant Lessons
Ayahuasca: Amazonian Plant Lessons
- Ashley Thuthao Keng Dam, Diana Heredia-López, Rachael Nelson, and Erin Wrightson
Bananas: Chaos out of Order
Bananas: Chaos out of Order
Black-Eyed Pea: Crop, Culture, Class
Black-Eyed Pea: Crop, Culture, Class
- Sarah Mallory, Emily Kamm, Haley Price, and Christina Hourigan
Boxwood: A Plant That Took Over the Garden World
Boxwood: A Plant That Took Over the Garden World
The Breadfruit’s Reinvention: Pacific to Caribbean
The Breadfruit’s Reinvention: Pacific to Caribbean
The Broad-Leaf Bark: Friend or Foe?
The Broad-Leaf Bark: Friend or Foe?
- Bethany Kidd and Sierra Roark
!
Cacao: Indigenous Network to Global Commodity
Cacao: Indigenous Network to Global Commodity
Carolina Rice: An Agricultural Legacy of Enslaved Peoples
Carolina Rice: An Agricultural Legacy of Enslaved Peoples
Cassava: From Toxic Tuber to Food Staple
Cassava: From Toxic Tuber to Food Staple
- Christina Emery, Rachel Hirsch, and Melinda Susanto
Cinnamomum verum: Discovering “True” Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum: Discovering “True” Cinnamon
Cryptomeria japonica: Climate Change, Cultivation, and Culture
Cryptomeria japonica: Climate Change, Cultivation, and Culture
- Kira Bre Clingen and Edyth Jostol
Dittany: Women’s Herbs and Reproductive Control
Dittany: Women’s Herbs and Reproductive Control
Dracaena draco: The Mystery of Dragon’s Blood
Dracaena draco: The Mystery of Dragon’s Blood
- Thomas C. Anderson, Cati Kalinoski, and Lucas Mertehikian
Eggplant: Food, Sex, and Poison
Eggplant: Food, Sex, and Poison
- Ana Carolina Carmona-Ribeiro, Nathan Cornish, and Sheila Scoville
Heliconia: Evolution at Work
Heliconia: Evolution at Work
- W. John Kress and Yota Batsaki
Indigo: Layers of Paint, History, and Art
Indigo: Layers of Paint, History, and Art
- Jordan Noelle Smith, Gianna Welty, and Hayley Blair
Maize: Sacred Plant, Global Commodity
Maize: Sacred Plant, Global Commodity
Mint: The Ubiquity of a Commercial Crop
Mint: The Ubiquity of a Commercial Crop
Okra: An Enduring Kitchen Staple
Okra: An Enduring Kitchen Staple
- Allison Caban and Malek Charchour
!
Opium Poppy: A Cursed Beauty
Opium Poppy: A Cursed Beauty
- Carol Chang, Heather Rose Craddock, and Alejandro Garay
Peanut: From Luxury Food to Livestock Feed
Peanut: From Luxury Food to Livestock Feed
- Maria Job, Elizabeth Chant, and Katherine Enright
Pecan: Beyond Thanksgiving Pie to Indigenous Reciprocity
Pecan: Beyond Thanksgiving Pie to Indigenous Reciprocity
- MaryKathryn Underwood, Stefania Rocca, and Paolo Taffaro
!
Pelargonium: By Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet?
Pelargonium: By Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet?
- Daisy Reid, Verónica Matallana Chaves, and Yao Jiang
Peony: Pretty and Powerful
Peony: Pretty and Powerful
The Sensitive Plant: Meaning and Movement
The Sensitive Plant: Meaning and Movement
- Elaina Foley, Sabrina Freidus, and Jordan Norviel
!
Sunflower: Knowledge, Myth, and Meaning
Sunflower: Knowledge, Myth, and Meaning
Soybean: The Versatile Miracle Crop
Soybean: The Versatile Miracle Crop
!
Quinoa: From Indigenous Crop to International Superfood
Quinoa: From Indigenous Crop to International Superfood
What We Know Now: Tracing the Tamarack
What We Know Now: Tracing the Tamarack
!
Tamarind: From Shady Refuge to Versatile Foodstuff
Tamarind: From Shady Refuge to Versatile Foodstuff
- Allison Fulton, Amara Santiesteban Serrano, and Jeannette Schollaert
Turmeric: Herb of the Sun
Turmeric: Herb of the Sun
Venus Flytrap: Queen of the Carnivorous Plants
Venus Flytrap: Queen of the Carnivorous Plants
Watermelon: Stereotypes of Race and Class
Watermelon: Stereotypes of Race and Class
- Anna Lawrence, Camilo Uribe Botta, and May Wang
Wild Yam: The Rhizome of the Pill
Wild Yam: The Rhizome of the Pill
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