Hidden Treasures: Botanizing Your Local Cemetery
Many historic cemeteries were never plowed and hold relict plant species long since extirpated from nearby pastures.
We’re going to detour today from all the Fairfield Lake State Park chatter (though I do have some updates after listening to a committee hearing this morning) and branch out into other nature aspects in Texas—because nature does go on, even if a state park’s future is up in the air. The rest of the state’s nature has value, too.
Over the last couple of years I have spent my lunch breaks once or twice a week going to either a nearby city park or a nearby county park. Both are great but I’ve seen a lot of what they have to offer. On social media I follow a lot of botanists and plant enthusiasts and several of the more hardcore folks are known to scope out cemeteries for plants. Cemeteries aren’t a place I regularly hang out, though I have found them interesting in the past from a historical perspective. I hadn’t totally wrapped my brain around the fact that some really cool plants are hiding in these cemeteries. Most cemeteries hold remnants of the recent past in natural history because there is typically minimal disturbance. While an adjacent field may have been plowed or maybe now there’s a housing development next door, the cemetery often has a snapshot of the plants that once inhabited the local area.
I’m a heavy user of iNaturalist and highly recommend readers to check out the app. The AI technology has gotten better in recent years because so many users have spent time taking photos, uploading them, and then identifying species for people. It’s a great place to start learning about insects and plants in your own backyard (literally) and in your greater region. Some people don’t care about the log-book aspect of the site so you may want to try the sister app Seek for identifying something relatively quickly, or at least getting you to a Family or Order and helping you figure it out from there. Pairing these apps with some field guides and a good old fashioned Google Search will do wonders on broadening your natural history knowledge.
So, what about the cemeteries? How do I find them? Well, maps. Google Maps is a great place to start and you can quickly look for small green spaces on the map or input “cemeteries” into the search bar. From there I would recommend going to Google Streetview to get a glimpse, if possible, of the entrance or any issues you may encounter with regard to access. I pair this with Find A Grave, a site that has photographs of headstones in individual cemeteries across the country. Find A Grave will often have photos of the area, some may be more out of date than others, but you can get a glimpse of habitat as well as more information about access issues. Some cemeteries are on private property and may not be easily accessible and I would recommend you learn any local or state laws about access for those properties before you randomly walk across someone’s field to access a cemetery. However, most I have found are easily accessible with public roads and there will be plenty for you to explore!
With Find A Grave, you can also look to see if anyone is requesting a photo of a particular headstone. While many dedicated volunteers have already documented so many, there may be smaller cemeteries with fewer caretakers, and descendants of a person buried at that cemetery may request photos. I’ve requested photos before and it’s been immensely helpful for genealogical research! If you are able, pair the trip with some additional goodwill and see if you can help out. You may come to find out that some cemeteries are not well cared for, with sinking graves, headstones in disrepair, and there will be unmarked graves. When visiting, remember this it is a solemn place and be respectful.
While walking the cemetery, you can note the interesting flora but walk slower and notice the fauna, particularly the insects. I’ve even found interesting crawfish burrows and crawfish exoskeletons in some and that’s always a useful thing to document as well. Many smaller cemeteries will have historical significance to the area, perhaps town founders or prominent names you may recognize from the area. Others may be burial grounds of the enslaved or freedmen. While development creeps up and covers up the original façade of a town, the cemeteries usually hold the hidden history.
And even if you aren’t interested in taking photos and documenting what you find, it can be a peaceful respite and a place to remember and appreciate not only the people who are buried there but any reflections on your own family members who have since passed.
Let me know if you haunt a cemetery and I encourage you to find one this weekend to check out. There’s a good chance you’ll find some wildflowers blooming there!
*No essay next week as it is Spring Break. I’ll be enjoying the outdoors! See you in two weeks!*