Sassafras: From Scent to Science in American Medicine
How did sassafras go from cure-all to carcinogen? Its history links Indigenous knowledge, colonial trade, and modern scientific debate.
Cucumber: The Plant That Moves More than You Think
Be it with its curling tendrils or because of its desirable properties, the cucumber is defined by motion: vertical, horizontal, geographical, and digital.
Wild Rice and the Rights of Nature
A groundbreaking lawsuit asks whether wild rice, or manoomin, can hold legal rights under tribal law and the growing rights of nature movement.
The Medicinal Wood That Turned Water Blue
For nearly half a millennium, botanists sought the "true" identity of Lignum nephriticum, a mysterious marvel that confounded early modern science.
Za’atar: From Ancient Texts to Modern Conflict
More than an herb, za’atar shapes, narrates, and anchors identity and political dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean and Sinai Peninsula.
Greening Philly’s Neglected Lots
Spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, an urban beautification program transformed neighborhoods in the city of brotherly love.
In the Sharing Garden
How one family physician fosters food justice, social connectivity, and better health at a local community garden.
The Tamest Grizzly of Yellowstone
Adored by tourists and studied by scientists, a grizzly mother named Sylvia became an emblem of the fragile balance between humans and the wild.
The Mythical Mahogany that Helped Build the American Empire
How “Philippine mahogany” became America’s tropical timber of choice, thanks to a rebrand from a colonial logging company that drove deforestation.
Tonka Bean: The Tale of a Contested Commodity
The rise and fall of the sweet-smelling seeds of Dipteryx odorata stands in stark contrast to the tree’s lasting presence in global markets.