Book
When trees testify : science, wisdom, history, and America's Black botanical legacy
Audience Adults
Published 2026 by Henry Holt & Company, New York
ISBN 9781250335166
Bib Id 1560863
Copyright 2025
Edition First edition.
Description xli, 275 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
More Details
Leader
cam a22 i 4500
ISBN
9781250335166 (hardcover) $28.00
1250335167
Call #
582.1609 M
Title
When trees testify : science, wisdom, history, and America's Black botanical legacy
Edition
First edition.
Publication Information
2026 by Henry Holt & Company, New York :
Copyright Date
©2025
Description
xli, 275 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-270).
Contents
Preface -- Introduction: Life as testimony -- Pecan trees and the roots of stolen botanical knowledge -- Sycamore trees as a path to freedom -- The secret lives of willow trees -- Poplar trees bear strange fruit -- The sweeping promise of mulberry -- A haven for community in historic oak trees -- Cotton shrubs and seeds of subversion -- The gift of apple trees -- Conclusion: Black botanical legacy reclaimed.
Summary
"The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely. In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees--as well as the cotton shrub--are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants. Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer." --
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