The University of Arizona Press
Date: Monday, June 22, 2026
Time: 7 p.m., MST
Place: Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive, Tempe, AZ
, author of The Unruly Wild: Embracing Ecological Change in the Southwest, will read from her book at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona. Stromberg, professor emerita at Arizona State University, is a plant ecologist who specializes in riparian ecosystems. She studied plant community dynamics and vegetation-hydrology interactions in the American Southwest for several decades and authored one hundred peer-reviewed publications. She continues to write about plants while also tending a food forest in the city. After a short reading, Stromberg will be in conversation with Annie Weaver-Bryant, PhD candidate in Environmental Life Sciences at Arizona State University, about the author’s vision for a more inclusive and adaptive approach to wild plants. The event is free and open to the public.
About the book:
What is considered a beneficial plant? In this era of global change, The Unruly Wild is a timely and relevant look at plant conservation and the evolving plant communities of the American Southwest.
Challenging the traditional invasion biology paradigm, Juliet C. Stromberg invites readers to reconsider the “alien invader” narrative and explore the beneficial roles that newly arrived plants can play in our ecosystems. Drawing from her extensive experience as a plant and restoration ecologist, Stromberg introduces a cast of plant characters that includes longtimers as well as newcomers. Through compelling stories and scientific insights, Stromberg explains why some plants are thriving while others are in decline. Stromberg’s engaging narrative, enriched with personal anecdotes and detailed vignettes, encourages readers to pause, reflect, and deepen their relationship with the plant world.
