OUR STORIES TOLD THROUGH PLANTS

The Center for Plants & Culture is a platform dedicated to exploring what plants tell us about society—where we’ve been and where we’re going.

SPECIAL PROGRAM

We are thrilled to feature the transdisciplinary project, a post-colonial inquiry of invasive species by Miguel Sbastida! Centering on fourteen plants declared ‘invasive’ by the European Union, this project explores the movement of these plants, their ecological takeover, and the colonial figures who they were named after (via scientific nomenclature).

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS:

SCIENCE, RACISM, AND LINNAEUS

SPECIAL PROGRAM

Derek Haynes (The Crazy Botanist) and Alexandria Douziech (Center of Plants & Culture) discuss the racial biases of Carolus Linnaeus—the father of taxonomy—and the ongoing refusal to acknowledge the erasure committed by colonial European botanists.

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SPECIAL PROGRAM

Join Anthony Folks as he shares the cultural significance of the Kuba cloth, and how it’s made from the leaves of the Raffia palm! His short presentation will be followed by a Kuba inspired collage workshop.

IG CONTENT SPOTLIGHT:

On Native American Heritage Day we’re continuing our call for #landback “Land back is the umbrella and it’s the metanarrative for all of that work to happen […] Because once Indigenous peoples reclaim our land, once we reclai
“Weeds are plants which fail to co-operate with the plans of human beings, so it is from the viewpoint of the plan that the invasion of the wild becomes a problem…” Source: Parker, Martin. “Weeds: Classification, Organizatio
Long before the rise of the Inca Empire, Indigenous Quechua and Aymara communities in the Andes cultivated quinoa. Early Andeans discovered that wild quinoa seeds, often spread by llama and alpaca droppings, grew well near their villages. Over time,
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day! The story of cassava is one of Indigenous innovation, colonialism, and adaptation. This incredible tuber can be made into flour, breads, tapioca, laundry starch, and alcoholic beverages. And if y’all haven’t
The hidden history of Mexican yams and the birth control pill… “Products derived from barbasco [a Mexican wild yam] altered modern medicine, aided advances in science, and, arguably granted millions of [people] some control over reprodu
As women’s reproductive rights face increasing challenges in the U.S. and around the world, this colonial history offers another perspective on how reproductive health and abortifacients (substances to induce abortion) have been historically su

LATEST NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS:

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Decolonizing Botany at Creature’s Plants and Coffee
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FLORXL ZINE
FLORXL ZINE

“Colonialism’s Hidden Collectors” for FLORXL zine

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We’re learning as we go.

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