Justyn "Doc" Marchese

FLAT TOP, W.Va. — With the exception of corn, perhaps no vegetable is as all-American as the pumpkin. Carved as a Jack-O’-Lantern or pureed into a Thanksgiving pastry, the pumpkin—and the pumpkin pie—are as American as, um, well, apple pie.In many ways, pumpkins are especially important in West Virginia, where they sustained families isolated in … Read more

The sunflower has long been one of the most familiar garden plants in West Virginia, and many of its uses were passed along to early settlers by their Native American neighbors.Members of the sunflower species can be found growing in the wild in the Mountain State, and I was lucky to find a pasture full … Read more

A common West Virginia wildflower, though not an American native, Queen Anne’s Lace appears to have traveled ahead of European settlers as they arrived in the region. Belonging to the carrot family, Daucus carota is native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia and is naturalized to North America and Australia. It’s a biennial … Read more

One of West Virginia’s best-known native shrubs, American Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), has long been regarded as a cold-and-flu remedy in Appalachia, was highly regarded by the Celts, and was sacred to many Native American tribes. It’s an ideal plant for managing transition zones in woodland areas as well.For all its notoriety, it’s a common plant … Read more