About Beronda Montgomery
Beronda L. Montgomery, Ph.D., is a writer, science communicator, and professor. Her research group investigates how photosynthetic organisms adapt to changes in their external environment.
Her scholarship extends beyond biology and into studying mentorship and faculty development to develop evidence-based strategies to foster equity and inclusion in academia. In 2020, Montgomery was one of the co-founders and co-organizers of the first Black Botanists Week. A Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, she was named one of Cell’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America.
Where to find Beronda
Lessons from Plants
An exploration of how plant behavior and adaptation offer valuable insights for human thriving.
We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. They nourish other living organisms and supply psychological benefits to humans as well, improving our moods and beautifying the landscape around us. But plants don’t just passively provide. They also take action.
Beronda L. Montgomery explores the vigorous, creative lives of organisms often treated as static and predictable. In fact, plants are masters of adaptation. They “know” what or who they are, and they use this knowledge to make a way in the world. Plants experience a kind of sensation that does not require eyes or ears. They distinguish kin, friend, and foe, and they are able to respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity of fight-or-flight. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that allow them to maximize their chances of survival in a dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environment.
Lessons from Plants enters into the depth of botanic experience and shows how we might improve human society by better appreciating not just what plants give us but also how they achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments, and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness rather than reason? Montgomery’s meditative study puts before us a question with the power to reframe the way we live: What would a plant do?