What does it mean to "know" a plant?
As any avid gardener knows, gardening necessitates at least a basic understanding of the plants in their garden. Through practice, the gardener learns how to sprout the seed, nurse young plants, and maintain the growth of a healthy plant. Learning to grow plants well means lots of trial and error, plenty of patience, and at least a couple doses of humility.
But what does it mean to know a plant?
More specifically, what does it mean to know a native plant, or a plant that has grown and evolved in a specific region without human introduction1? While most people can recognize a tomato plant, or identify hostas, tulips, and lilies, if you were to send them out to a natural area mid-summer many would likely struggle to identify a single plant. This is certainly not a dig - it is a global phenomenon. As countries Westernize and can outsource food and materials, it becomes unnecessary to rely on local plants to survive2. An industrialized, or “modern” society, doesn’t need to rely on the availability of local, native plants for food, shelter, and clothing. And if modern societies no longer require the use of these plants in day-to-day life, then the stories, folklore, and spiritual connections begin to disintegrate.
However, there has been a revival in plant and nature interest, especially over the last few years. We are increasingly witnessing what happens when our children spend more time indoors, in front of screens, and have been unhappy with this cultural shift. Nature-based schools are becoming popular. Adult gardening clubs and programming are increasingly available and now a popular pastime. Millennials in particular have progressively taken to their gardens, not just to grow vanity plants like roses and peonies, but to support local pollinators by growing native plants3.
As a fellow millennial, my interest in gardening burgeoned during the COVID pandemic. I happened to be taking the Minnesota Master Naturalist class during this time and that’s when I was first introduced to the concept of native plants. Of course, I had an intuitive sense of what native plants were, but the framework of a native plant and its role in the ecosystem was an exciting discovery. For me, it unlocked a whole new world of not only gardening, but climate action. Something I could easily do in my own backyard that would make a difference. And down the rabbit hole I went.
Snapping photos using the iNaturalist app, I began to learn what plants were considered native and which ones were introduced through human intervention. I began to take pride when I could walk down a trail and name each plant. As a no-lawn advocate, I began ripping out my grass, laying down cardboard, and planting the native seedlings I had carefully winter sown in milk jugs. But this was just the beginning of my budding relationship with plants.
The true deep dive into plants and ethnobotany didn’t take root until I started paying attention to the non-native plants. Until then, non-native plants were largely ignored; I had only paid them any mind when the goal was eradication. They were the enemy.
But were they?
Non-native, or introduced plants, come to new geographic areas through human intervention, either intentionally or accidentally4. Plants were brought here for agricultural use, their medicinal value, or simply because they were beautiful. Hundreds of years ago, people didn’t know that plants taken outside of their natural habitat can potentially become destructive. Invasive plants can misplace native plants, the plants that our local pollinators and other wildlife may need for survival. Some introduced plants aren’t aggressive and tend to ‘play nice’ with local species, therefore, we often considered them to be naturalized after a period of observation.
While I find both beauty and ecological value to our native species, the introduced species often have interesting stories to tell. For example, tansies, Tanacetum vulgare, are native to temperate Europe and Asia. It is quite common to see it growing in old farm fields, ditches, and disturbed areas in the Northern US. Historically, it was used as a medicinal herb, to treat ailments ranging from gout to intestinal worms5. It was also noted in medieval texts as one of several herbs to ward off the plague6. Tansy was brought to the US for all of these practical purposes, although today, we now recognize there is no safe dosage of tansy and it should not be used internally. It is classified in most parts of the US as a noxious weed, which means it must be eradicated. What I find most interesting, is that a common, household medicine went from being highly praised, to a weed, and later a noxious weed, that many people don’t even know the name of.
Nearly every plant, introduced or native, has a story
This is, of course, not unique to the tansy. Nearly every plant, introduced or native, has a story. When we weave a plant’s story, we begin to understand why it’s there, and can understand how it is connected to the greater world we live in. It could be a particular plant’s prowess at preventing the plague, or a plant’s apocryphal history that persists in legend even today, or even a plant’s symbolism or usage in spiritual practice. Most plants have a story because they were such an integral part of human life - they still are, even if it’s now behind the veil of industrialized agriculture.
I bring up the plant stories because it is a vital way to encourage plant-human connection. While I hope for a world where everyone can walk down a nature trail and identify most plants, we are not at that point quite yet. We can combat plant blindness, or the inability to notice plants in one’s own environment7, by bringing attention to and naming the plants in a person’s lived environment. However, pointing at a plant and saying, “this here is goldenrod. You can tell it’s a goldenrod because of the way it is,” is a rather boring way to learn plants. And simply memorizing a plant, without any context, isn’t truly knowing a plant.
Historically, humans disseminated important information through storytelling. There are often interesting uses, rich histories, and spiritual meaning behind both native and introduced plants. Cultures with robust oral histories often pass down not only a plant’s name and perhaps its medicinal uses, but also the folklore or spiritual significance behind it. These robust stories add value and significance to the plant. It gives humans an opportunity to express gratitude to the earth, appreciate its gifts, and understand their place in the world.
That’s a big deal.
If a person values and appreciates something, they likely want to preserve it. That person would likely be protective of it. If people can’t name it, can’t identify it, and don’t understand its significance in the natural environment, then there is simply no reason for them to care about it.
When I began to recognize plants on my hikes, I was proud of my ability to essentially memorize and recite. It wasn’t until I became interested in gardening for pollinators that I began to start the process of knowing plants. It started with the same questions every gardener needs to know, like the ideal growing conditions and how best to germinate seeds. It evolved into a curiosity about where the plants naturally thrive and what insects like to visit them. Books on gardening with native plants began to fill my shelves. My internet search history was abundant with plant questions. I was filled with the desire to understand what I was growing, but it didn’t stop there.
For some, they may connect with native plants through understanding the growing conditions and natural habitat of the plants around them. Many people with an interest in gardening may feel that is quite enough. However, this knowledge may be lacking in its ability to build a relationship, particularly with those who don’t have a green thumb.
I don’t expect every individual to have the time, interest, or capacity to learn their entire native flora. However, knowing a few plants in the backyard, on the way to work or school, or in a local park, can blossom into a meaningful relationship and connection to the natural world. To know something is to value it. Protect it. Cherish it. We must see nature as something we are part of - not as a separate entity. Because without native plants, there would be no us.
Resources
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/extension-gardener-handbook/12-native-plants
Freeman, M.B. “Herbs for the Mediaeval Household: For Cooking, Healing and Divers Uses.” 1943. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Frisch, K.J., Unwin, M.M., & Saunders, G.W. “Name that plant! Overcoming plant blindness and developing a sense of place using science and environmental education.” The inclusion of environmental education in science teacher education, pp. 143-157. Editors: Bodzin, A.M., Klein, B.S., & Weaver, S. 2010.
