Scooter Cheatham

Austin | Architect, Botanist

Mr. Cheatham is an architect and botanist who has managed multi-disciplinary land use studies of the Texas coast for the General Land Office, taught architecture at the University of Texas – Austin, rebuilt Native American Caddoan and Pamunkey sites, and provided drawings and photographs for various botanical field guides. His major effort over the past 30 years has been to direct, illustrate, write, edit and lay out the Encyclopedia of the Useful Wild Plants of Texas, a 12-volume, 6000-page work produced by the Useful Wild Plants Project and designed to find and publicize textile, food, construction, and pharmaceutical uses for native plants, ensuring the plants’ survival and the continued viability of farming and ranching families and communities.

Below, please see two Vimeo excerpts. The first is about the Encyclopedia of the Useful Wild Plants, and its effort to educate people about sustainable markets for plants, the marvel of plants as extraordinary chemical factories, and the need to protect and restore native vegetation. The second clip includes Mr. Cheatham’s remarks about the veteran horticulturalist and plant explorer, Lynn Lowrey.