The American persimmon and Osage orange once played central roles in everyday life across much of what is now the United States. Long before European settlement, these trees supported Indigenous food systems, material technologies, and regional trade networks.
This presentation traces how these culturally foundational native species moved from widespread reliance to relative obscurity. It explores how colonization, agricultural industrialization, and changing land use practices disrupted long standing relationships between people and perennial plants. What were once trees of daily use became fencerow remnants, forgotten fruits, or hedgerow curiosities.
Speaker: Eliza Greenman
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The American persimmon and Osage orange once played central roles in everyday life across much of what is now the United States. Long before European settlement, these trees supported Indigenous food systems, material technologies, and regional trade networks.
This presentation traces how these culturally foundational native species moved from widespread reliance to relative obscurity. It explores how colonization, agricultural industrialization, and changing land use practices disrupted long standing relationships between people and perennial plants. What were once trees of daily use became fencerow remnants, forgotten fruits, or hedgerow curiosities.