Hope Jahren: Lab Girl and the Secret Life of Plants
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
September 27, 1969
Dearest readers,
On this day, we celebrate the birthday of Hope Jahren, a trailblazing American geochemist and geobiologist whose passion for plants and science has blossomed into a remarkable literary and scientific career.
Working at the University of Oslo in Norway, Jahren examines ancient fossil forests from the Eocene epoch, piecing together stories that have been millions of years in the making.
Yet it is her 2016 memoir, Lab Girl, that has captured hearts as both a poetic ode to nature and a testament to resilience and curiosity.
Jahren’s writing marries the precision of science with the lyricism of a storyteller.
She reflects on the curious “lazy-S” growth curves in plants, writing:
“There are botany textbooks that contain pages and pages of growth curves, but it is always the lazy-S-shaped ones that confuse my students the most.
Why would a plant decrease in mass just when it is nearing its plateau of maximum productivity?
I remind them that this shrinking has proved to be a signal of reproduction.
As the green plants reach maturity, some of their nutrients are pulled back and repurposed toward flowers and seeds.
Production of the new generation comes at a significant cost to the parent, and you can see it in a cornfield, even from a great distance.”
More than a memoir, Lab Girl charts Hope’s journey from an inquisitive child playing in her father’s lab in Minnesota to a tenured professor and pioneering scientist.
Alongside this journey runs a heartfelt story of friendship and partnership with her colleague Bill, whose loyalty and intellect have fueled many adventures—from fieldwork in the Arctic to experiments in tropical Hawaii.
Jahren’s narrative does not shy from the challenges faced by women in science: persistent sexism, funding struggles, and the balancing act of motherhood and profession.
Yet her voice remains lively, candid, and filled with wonder. Lab Girl invites readers to see plants—and indeed the world—with fresh eyes, blending science, personal tale, and a call to cherish our natural world.
As one reviewer marvelled, “Jahren had the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist,” bringing to life the secret rhythms and beauties of plant life in a way that few authors have.
Hope Jahren’s blend of heart and hands has undoubtedly moved mountains—or rather, moved us all to look closer at the leaves beneath our feet.
