Multispecies storytelling in botanical worlds: The creative agencies of plants in contested ecologies

This paper argues for engaging in multispecies storytelling with plants to better conceptualise the ethics and contested ecologies associated biodiversity loss. It focuses specifically on proteas, iconic species of South Africa's threatened fynbos biome, explore possibilities an ethical dialogue between human more-than-human diversities, consider what might be gained from understanding as both agentic figures worthy attention. The draws John Ryan’s conceptualization phytography a way plants. teases out interwoven botanic histories, ways which proteas have written themselves into narratives their interlocutors context European settler colonialism, conservation, floral nativism post-apartheid nation-building. case is developed through examination corporeal rhetoric two examples. first concerns Mace Pagoda, protea that resists extinction by writing back its percipience, agency, resilience stories anthropogenic habitat second botanical traces result absence, non-appearance recent years Cederberg area Western Cape. suggests absence form write rapid climate change final section explores questions emerge storytellers, reflects kinds human-plant relationships are possible environmental catastrophe, examines provides engagements plant life.