author
David Fairchild
1869–1954
An adventurous American botanist and plant explorer, he helped reshape what people in the United States grew and ate by introducing thousands of useful plants from around the world. His travels and curiosity left a lasting mark on American agriculture and gardens.
1 Audiobook
Book of monsters : Portraits and biographies of a few of the inhabitants of woodland and meadow
by David Fairchild, Marian Fairchild
About the author
Born in Lansing, Michigan, on April 7, 1869, David Grandison Fairchild became one of the best-known plant explorers of his era. He worked with the United States Department of Agriculture and devoted his career to finding plants that might thrive in the United States and prove valuable to farmers, gardeners, and cooks.
Fairchild traveled widely through Asia, the Middle East, the tropics, and other regions in search of promising species and varieties. He is widely credited with helping introduce many plants and crops to the United States, including foods and ornamentals such as soybeans, pistachios, mangos, dates, bamboo, and flowering cherries. His work connected botany, exploration, and everyday life in a very direct way.
He later settled in Florida, where his home and gardens reflected his lifelong fascination with useful and beautiful plants. Fairchild died on August 6, 1954, but his influence can still be seen in American agriculture, horticulture, and the wide range of plants now familiar in gardens and markets.