Ever since I converted to plant worship, I’ve been learning how to identify native plants in my area. And by native plants, I mean plants that evolved to live a certain region and its conditions and belong to a wider community of mammals, birds and insects, as well as fungi, and other organisms, that co-evolved along with the plants.
So while I can now identify a respectable amount of plant species native to the Chicagoland region, I don’t have a great deal of knowledge about the bigger picture of plant families and plant taxonomy — someday I’ll take a proper botany class!
But for now, I’m dipping my toes into those waters by getting an introduction to plant families through the foods we eat. Nature journalist Yvea Eaton, who is also a botanist and restoration ecology practitioner, has a series of nature journaling workshops on YouTube called Plant Families in Our Foods. Each video in the series looks at a certain plant family and the foods that we eat in it. You can journal along with it, as I have done in my sketchbook, which you can see in the gallery above (apologies for any spoilers).
The concept of the video series is that by familiarizing ourselves with the key characteristics of plant families through the foods we eat, we can more easily recognize them when we meet a new plant out in the field. Prior botanical knowledge is not necessary to enjoy the series and Yvea goes easy on the botany vocab.
It’s been a satisfying way to not only learn more about plant families but also keep up a nature journaling practice when there are several inches of snow on the ground. I’ll sometimes hear from people that they’re interested in nature journaling but it’s either too cold, too humid, or there are too many bugs. If nature journaling outdoors is uncomfortable or inaccessible to you, you can find nature journaling subjects in your crisper drawer any time of the year.
If you’d like to journal live with Yvea, she is launching another series of plant families in foods workshops beginning Monday, February 7, 5-6 pm PST. Visit John Muir Laws’ website for the workshop link and more information.