A Botanical Treasury: Plant Fibers, Forest Resources, and the Culture of Tea in Northern Burma

Even before it is brewed, a tea leaf is steeped in legend, history, geography, and politics.

In this gallery talk, Charles Peters will offer his perspectives on the ethnobotany and resource management of forest resources—including bamboo, rattan, and timber—in northern Burma. Sebastian Beckwith will then discuss the rich history of tea production in this region. The program will conclude with a tea demonstration and tasting.

Charles Peters is an ethnobotanist and Kate E. Tode Curator of Botany at the New York Botanical Garden. He is also associate professor of tropical ecology at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of Yale University.

Sebastian Beckwith is the owner of In Pursuit of Tea and a ranking tea authority based in New York City.

Erin L. Hasinoff is curator of the Confluences exhibition and a recent BGC–AMNH postdoctoral fellow in museum anthropology.