In this episode of Plant People, host Jennifer Bernstein, CEO and The William C. Steere Sr. President of NYBG, sits down with Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan, Director of the Cocoa Research Centre at the University of the West Indies, to talk chocolate. Together they explore the ancient history of cacao tree cultivation, dating at least as far back as the Olmec civilization in what is now Mexico. Today, crops of cacao and the many types of chocolate they produce face threats in climate change and plant diseases, creating serious challenges for the future of this important food.

In this episode, we’re joined by Anya Stansell, Western New York Small Fruits Specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension, to discuss the largest fruit native to the United States—one that you may never have heard of. Sometimes called a Custard Apple, the Pawpaw grows throughout much of the eastern wilderness, and was long a staple in many Indigenous diets. So why is it so obscure to most of us today? Listen in as host Jennifer Bernstein, CEO and the William C. Steere Sr. President of the New York Botanical Garden, joins Anya to uncover the story of this unique fruit.

UPDATE: While squash are botanically considered a fruit, the large ones are a result of domestication and human selection. Pawpaw is the largest wild fruit native to the United States, and squash is the largest native only if you include domesticated crops.

In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Rob Naczi, Arthur J. Cronquist Curator of North American Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. Listen in as he and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG President and CEO, discuss pitcher plants—carnivorous plants with unique leaves that function as traps for insects. They might look exotic, but there’s even a species native to New York. In summer, you can find them growing alongside the boardwalk here in the Native Plant Garden! Come explore why these important plants still have much to teach us, and the environmental threats they currently face.

In this episode we’re joined by Dr. Melissa Abdo, a Floridian whose work in conservation has brought her face to face with countless captivating yet threatened plants in the swamps of the southeast—including the ghost orchid. Long coveted by poachers, and central to the plot of author Susan Orlean’s bestselling book, The Orchid Thief, this ethereal flower faces an uncertain future, inspiring calls for its protection under the Endangered Species Act. Join us as we dive into this orchid’s story, one of passion and even obsession.

In this week’s episode of Plant People, Michael Goergen of The American Chestnut Foundation joins us to discuss the tragic history—and hopeful future—of one of North America’s most iconic trees.

In the early 20th century, chestnut blight arrived in North America, a parasitic fungus that went on to kill an estimated four billion American chestnut trees. But more than a century later, work is underway to cultivate a chestnut tree that can resist the fungus—and thrive doing it.

In this episode, we’re joined by amateur mycologist, food and nature writer, and NYBG instructor Eugenia Bone to revisit the world of fungi—the not-quite-plant, not-quite-animal lifeforms that keep our planet’s biological processes churning. And as researchers continue to find, mushrooms can benefit our own human processes, too. Listen in as Bone and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG CEO & President, explore the ways that species like turkey tail can help our bodies fend off disease, and the promising scientific studies investigating psychedelics.

Have you ever stopped to admire a patch of green moss—really gotten up close and SEEN the tiny forest of plantlife in all its complexity? For the first episode of Plant People Season 3, we’re doing just that.

Today we’re joined by botanist and best-selling author Robin Wall Kimmerer, who sees moss and other up-close experiences in nature as the doorway to greater curiosity about our world. In today's episode, Kimmerer and host Jennifer Bernstein, NYBG CEO & President, explore the things ancient plantlife can teach us about surviving and truly thriving as people.

From the tallest chestnut trees to the strangest pitcher plants, the botanical world is FULL of fascinating stories. And this season on Plant People—the third for NYBG’s award-winning podcast—we’re doing a deep dive on a different plant each episode.

Tune in every other week starting February 2 as Jennifer Bernstein, the Garden’s CEO and President, joins authors, scientists, and other experts to explore the lives of particularly unique plants on our planet.