When Trees Testify

Author: Beronda L. Montgomery

When Trees Testify uncovers the histories written into the American landscape—stories of enslavement, survival and resistance carried silently for generations by trees. Through pecans, sycamores, willows, poplars and other species bound to Black history, plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery reveals how botanical knowledge sustained lives, preserved culture and offered refuge in a country shaped by racial violence. Blending science, memoir and cultural history, she transforms trees from background scenery into living witnesses to both suffering and endurance. The result is a profound and deeply affecting book that changes the way you see the natural world and the histories rooted within it.