Photo of the tree canopy in fall

Native American Heritage Month

November 1–30, 2023

At the Garden | Online

Join NYBG to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. On-site programming in and around the Thain Family Forest as well as digital offerings highlight the plant-based traditions of Native Americans from the Northeast and throughout the Americas.

Fall Forest Weekends

November 4–5 & 11–12; 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Thain Family Forest

The Thain Family Forest—New York City’s largest remaining tract of old-growth woodland—is your fall foliage headquarters! Leaf locally and explore the Forest’s 50 acres full of vibrant fall color.

Learn More

a person in a brown jacket and jeans sitting on the grass pointing up to the trees above with yellow and green leaves

Special Lecture: Seeds of Resilience

November 9; 6–7 p.m.
Online

Join Mohawk Seedkeeper Rowen White to explore stories from the Indigenous Land and Seed Sovereignty movement.

Register

A person in a yellow jacket leans against a wooden farm structure

Enjoy Digital Content From Anywhere

Plantways of the Lenape People

The New York Botanical Garden is located on land that is part of Lenapehoking, the traditional territory and homeland of the Lenape people. The Lenape use hundreds of plants for food, medicine, tools, building materials, and other purposes. Discover more about Lenape Plantways on The Hand Lens.

Learn More

An image of a pressed plant specimen featuring green leaves and pale brown seed pods

Old Man’s Beard: A Medicinal Lichen

Usnea, a genus of lichen known as old man’s beard, is used in traditional herbal medicine in many cultures worldwide—from ancient Greece to China to Native American groups—to treat respiratory and other conditions. It is known to grow on the north sides of trees, earning it the name chan wiziye (“on the north side of the tree” or “spirit of the north wind”) in the Dakota language.

Learn More

photo of lichen