Biology professor Joel Gramling, Ph.D., stands in front of a palmetto tree, a group of cadets gathered around him. The state
tree is everywhere in South Carolina—on license plates, t-shirts, even coffee mugs and Citadel flags. But most cadets don’t know its history until they take Gramling’s class. The palmetto was used during the Revolutionary War to build Fort Moultrie. Cannon fire from British ships ricocheted off the spongy wood, and Revolutionary troops secured an important victory. Long before that, native people dined on its heart of palm.
“We make that connection between the history of the plant, the distinctiveness, how we’ve embraced it as an icon,” Gramling said, “and also how it has adapted to make it best suited to surviving in a maritime forest like we have right here.”
His course, Foraging Wild Plants, is a 300-level biology class that combines ecology, evolution, botany and nutrition. There’s no prerequisite, so it attracts a wide range of students, including non-science majors. The class is designed around interpretive walks through campus and Hampton Park, and cadets search for plants that are edible, medicinal or poisonous.
“The level of engagement for students, especially for non- science majors, has increased tremendously,” Gramling said. “The buy-in is there for a class that isn’t tied to their profession, but they still see how this knowledge can be useful.”’
Students begin to notice things they once passed by—differences in shades of green, leaf textures, plant profiles. Gramling’s walks are spontaneous, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
On a given morning, he might dig up the tuber of Florida betony. Its roots resemble rattlesnake rattles and taste like a cucumber-radish mix. And taste it he does, to the amazement of his class. He might also pass around a beautyberry branch with its bright purple fruit, or point to yaupon holly, whose leaves were brewed in Colonial times to make blockade tea.
Gramling also points out plants that can be harmful. Plants found in many Lowcountry yards, like sago palms and azaleas, are highly poisonous. Even mistletoe, widely used for holiday decor, is toxic.
Over the semester, cadets learn to identify 50 to 100 plant species. They’re quizzed outside. Gramling might pause at a tree, pluck a leaf and ask them to identify it. Students need to know its name, its past and present uses, and how it fits into the ecosystem.
The goal is to change the way students see the landscape around them. A lawn full of weeds might be a dinner salad, and an ornamental shrub might be a hazard. “Hands- on botany,” Gramling said, “gives them a different lens. Once you start noticing, you can’t stop.”