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Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix


Arizona Agriculture in the Classroom

Companion Resource

Rooting for Plants: The Unstoppable Charles S. Parker, Black Botanist and Collector

In 1882, Black botanist and mycologist Charles S. Parker sprouted up in the lush, green Pacific Northwest. From the beginning, Charles's passion was plants, and he trudged through forests, climbed mountains, and waded into lakes to find them. As a botanist and teacher, Charles traveled the United States, searching for new species of plants and fungi. After discovering the source of the disease killing peach and apricot trees, Charles was offered a job at Howard University, the famed historically black college where he taught the next generation of Black scientists to love plants and fungi as much as he did.

Author
Janice N. Harrington
Lessons Associated with this Resource