J.T. Michel C‘24
Block Undergraduate Herbarium Fellow (2022-2024)
Student Herbarium Curator
My passion for herbaceous organisms began with a fascination for houseplants. I wanted to feel nature and plants all around me, but it wasn't until soon after I came to Sewanee that I began positioning myself in the outdoors to learn about the flora, rather than bringing plants indoors. As a Fellow in the Sewanee Herbarium, I am within reach of a vast biodiversity of native greenery on the Domain, as well as tropical plants in the Webb Greenhouse. My true love for these organisms has grown into a calling to pursue ethnobotany, merging my greatest interests in plants and culture, reflected in my majors; Biology and Anthropology. My interest in human interactions with a variety of biota manifests in being President of the Farm Club at Sewanee as well. Additionally, I am fostering intimate connections and learning from the native flora of the South through foraging and wildcrafting. I recently received funding from the Garden Clubs of America to support my research with Dr. Evans examining the genetic basis for the spatial segregation of morphotypes in purple phacelia populations in Shakerag Hollow on the Domain.