Robin Lee Carlson

My article, “Lonely Emissaries: Eucalyptus in California,” has come out in the Winter 2025 issue of Arnoldia.

Here’s the announcement from the Arnoldia newsletter:

“Though there are countless introduced plant species in California, remnant of European colonization, migration, and trade, eucalyptus stand out for their size, their charisma, and their relationship with fire. And they have aroused great passions. Loved, hated, and sometimes feared, eucalyptus are integral to the psyche of the state.”

—Accompanied by her own brilliant illustrations, Robin Lee Carlson takes on the complex ecological history of Eucalyptus in California, providing critical ways of thinking about introduced species in our current environmental moment. Personal, poetic, and deeply knowledgeable, Carlson sets an impressive standard for what it means to see introduced species on their own terms. If we are, as Carlson suggests, to “learn from eucalyptus as travelers out of their home context . . . as bridges between their home fire-sculpted ecosystems and ours,” we must learn to recognize that partnership is the way forward.

These artful, expansive pieces that engage our rich enmeshments with trees appear in the Winter 2025 issue of Arnoldia magazine. To subscribe, join the Arnold Arboretum, and we’ll deliver tree-entangled art, science, and culture straight to your mailbox. You’ll also be part of a worldwide community who cares about the nature of trees—and is helping to safeguard their future for millennia to come.