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.