Plant of the Month: Cordyline
Plantfluencers? Back in the nineteenth century, it was the dazzling leaves of cordyline that set trends in domestic style.
Plant of the Month: Fuchsia
Too popular for its own good? The career of a flower so powerfully beautiful, fashion would inevitably declare it over.
Plant of the Month: Venus Flytrap
The carnivorous plant, native to the Carolinas, has beguiled botanists and members of the public alike since the eighteenth century.
Plant of the Month: Cascarilla
Epidemics revive old remedies and accelerate experimentation with new ones.
Plant of the Month: Heliconia
Heliconias can distinguish among pollinators like hummingbirds and respond selectively to their visits.
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.
Plant of the Month: The Dragon Tree
Dragon's blood is all the rage now, but where does the scarlet resin come from?
Plant of the Month: Agave
The international popularity of tequila threatens the quantity, health, and biodiversity of all species of agave.