Ynés Mexía: Botanical Trailblazer
This Mexican-American botanist fought against the harshness of both nature and society to follow her passion for plant collecting.
The Unsung Heroine of Lichenology
Elke Mackenzie’s moments of self-citation illuminate the hopes of someone who, against ease and tradition, did not wish to separate her identity from her research.
Plant of the Month: Dittany
Did women in the premodern world have much agency over reproduction? Their use of plants like dittany suggests that they did.
iNaturalist and Crowdsourcing Natural History
The citizen-science app iNaturalist lets you record observations of plants and animals. The data can be used to study biodiversity.
Freshwater Fish of Virginia
Roanoke College's Ichthyological Collection of over 800 freshwater fish documents the biodiversity we're losing at an alarming rate.
Corn Is Everywhere!
Two educators use the history of corn, from the domestication of maize 10,000 years ago to today's ubiquitous "commodity corn," to teach about biodiversity.
Plant of the Month: Guava
Often classified as an invasive species, guava ignites a longstanding, transnational battle over foreign invaders and local customs.
Sharks Before and After Jaws
The blockbuster Jaws (1975) provoked fear by portraying sharks as "mindless eating machines." But what did people think of sharks before then?
Plant of the Month: Peony
Peony's effectiveness as an ancient cure translated into a tool of statecraft in the eighteenth century.
Plant of the Month: The Dragon Tree
Dragon's blood is all the rage now, but where does the scarlet resin come from?