The South Cumberland Plateau: A Noah’s Ark for Plants

Mary Priestley is curator of the Sewanee Herbarium and active member of the Friends of South Cumberland State Park. She has authored several books, both for adults and children, including Fiery Gizzard, Voices from the Wilderness and the newly-released Sewanee Wildflowers in Watercolor. She and her husband, retired mathematics professor Mac Priestley are longtime Sewanee residents.

A favorite topic of Mary’s is the plant diversity of Tennessee, and particularly of the South Cumberland Plateau. In this talk,similar to one that she presented last spring to Lunch and Learn, she discusses some factors contributing to the rich biodiversity of our area.