Plant of the Month: Yerba Mate
The biological and cultural profile of mate has affected its global expansion, unlike other plants native to the Americas, such as cacao and maize.
Black Conquistadors and Black Maroons
Some formerly enslaved Blacks and freedmen accompanied the Spanish invaders; others formed their own communities.
Ynés Mexía: Botanical Trailblazer
This Mexican-American botanist fought against the harshness of both nature and society to follow her passion for plant collecting.
Bolívar in Haiti
Simón Bolívar was a man of contradiction. He was willing to set in motion the gradual abolition of slavery, but that would be as far as he would go.
The Woman Agrostologist Who Held the Earth Together
When government wouldn't fund female fieldwork, Agnes Chase pulled together her own resources.
Mexican-Americans Have Always Battled Movie Stereotypes
Stereotyping and discrimination in Hollywood has elicited different responses from Mexican-Americans and Mexicans in Mexico.
What Poinsettias Have to do with U.S.-Mexico Relations
Poinsettias were named for the first US diplomat to Mexico. The flower was more successful than he was. How it went from Aztec dye to Christmas decoration.
Women’s Fight for Scientific Fieldwork
How did women scientists fit into the naturalists and botanist mix during their earliest days in the field?