Plant of the Month: Sarsaparilla
From an early modern treatment for syphilis to Saturday-morning cartoons, the meaning and significance of the plant has transformed through time and space.
Plant of the Month: Tree of Life
Indigenous people in North America used the conifer as an effective cure for scurvy during cold winters.
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.
Some Plants Use Stickiness to Fend off Hungry Insects
For some sand-dwelling plants, stickiness is a defense tactic that keeps predators at bay.
Plant of the Month: Agarwood
Agarwood has long been prized for its olfactory splendor. Its essential oil is even known as liquid gold today.
Why Some Plants Are Parasites
Tap into the underground network of plants and fungi with mysterious myco-heterotrophes.
Plant of the Month: Heliconia
Heliconias can distinguish among pollinators like hummingbirds and respond selectively to their visits.
A Recipe for Ancient Wildfires
The earliest wildfires raged long before humans, and they only needed three ingredients to get started.
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.