The Plant Hunter by Cassandra Leah Quave. A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines
A book review by Janet Wells
Dr. Cassandra Quave is an ethnobotanist, a scientist who studies the ancient traditions of plant knowledge for
medicine, religion, and other uses. She’s traveled the world searching for what’s left of our wild
plants and seeking shamans and town wise men and women who know the healing power of
the rare wild plants and the common ones like blackberry and chestnut leaves. She tags them
all by their botanical names, species, genus, and spells it out for us so that there is no
confusion with any other similar plant that she is exploring.
She embarked on this career because of her childhood. She was born with a rare bone
deformity. When she was only three years old, she had to have her right leg amputated below
the knee. At one point, this caused a Staph infection so bad that the massive amount of
antibiotics barely worked and she almost died. Around 12 years old her Mother wisely gave her
a microscope to amuse her while Cassandra was confined from her many surgeries. Her first
look at the microbes in a drop of pond water changed her life. She became dedicated to finding
solutions to the antibiotics that are failing us. She through her dogged determination and sheer
courage found plants that would help antibiotics do their job again. Through grants and through
intricate collections and lab work she has made many important discoveries. The fascinating
thing about this book is her never-give-up attitude, even when she had to deal with a stump on
her leg walking in woods and swamps collecting her specimens, sometimes with a baby
strapped to her body. This dedication to her scientific work did not preclude her dedication to her
marriage, and the four children that came along with her career. She’s an excellent writer and
her journey is fascinating and inspiring.
Dr. Cassandra Quave is currently Curator of the Herbarium and Associate Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University. She also serves as the Assistant Dean of Research Cores for Emory University School of Medicine. Quave has received many awards, such as the Emory Williams Teaching Award, Charles Heiser, Jr. Mentor Award, American Botanical Council James. A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award, and American Herbal Products Association Herbal Insight Award. She is the co-creator and host of the Foodie Pharmacology podcast, as well as the creator and host of the Teach Ethnobotany YouTube channel. She writes a weekly newsletter on Substack, called “Nature’s Pharmacy,” to reveal the science behind natural remedies and address misinformation on herbs.