The Southern Appalachian Mountains are among the most biologically diverse temperate regions on Earth and have long been considered a living pharmacy for North America. Home to medicinal plants such as ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, yellowroot, sassafras, and pine, which have influenced Indigenous healing traditions, African medicinal practices, Appalachian folk medicine, and modern herbalism.

In this lecture, herbalist and author Patricia Kyritsi Howell examines how the Southern Appalachians became a hub of medicinal plant diversity and use. Using insights from ecology, history, and folk tradition, the talk details how these plants were utilized—and how Appalachian plant knowledge still shapes modern herbal practices today.

Free and open to the public. No registration is required. This program will be live streamed on the Garden’s Facebook. If you have any questions or concerns about this program, please contact classes@atlantabg.org.

The Philip and Elkin Alston Lecture Series is made possible by generous support from the estate of Elkin Goddard Alston.