Tending the Vines: Black Abundance in Eight Plants

This standout creative nonfiction debut explores the lives and histories of plants considered nonnative or invasive as metaphors for the Black experience in America.

In Tending the Vines, Ashia S. Ajaniilluminates how eight unique plants tell the story of the Black diaspora in America. Each chapter is a deep dive into one plant-including eucalyptus, passionflower, wild mustard, and kudzu-exploring their significance in African tradition, their role through the Middle Passage and Chattel Sla...