Sentient Sidewalk: Lessons From New York City’s Wild Medicinal Plants follows the author’s discovery of medicinal plants and personal growth after moving to Brooklyn. Both a story and a field guide, Sentient Sidewalk illustrates the multicultural, medicinal, and mystical attributes of nine city plants: mugwort, reishi, datura, pokeweed, ginkgo, hawthorn, violet, clover, and dandelion.
Mugwort, with celestial silver leaves used for lucid dreams, grows wild in abandoned lots. Reishi, known as the “mushroom of immortality” in traditional Chinese medicine, emerges from trees on the sidewalk. Datura, an enchanting yet deadly poisonous flower, blooms amongst chain link fences.
Containing lush brush-and-ink illustrations, Sentient Sidewalk has been printed with Risograph and hand-bound with care. The author hopes to inspire readers to connect with plants — and their own resilience — wherever they live.