Matt Candeias, Botanizer and Home Gardener

Name: Matt Candeias

Occupation: Ph. D. Student, Botanizer, Home gardener

Place of Residence: Illinois

Background and Personal History: Matt Candeias is a plant fanatic. From finding and photographing to research and writing, every aspect of his personal life is wrapped up in plants.

Current Projects: Matt’s current research is focused on how plants respond to changes in their environment. This work takes him to the southern Appalachian Mountains where ample topography and seemingly endless plant diversity offer a window into how and why plants grow where they do. He is always reading and writing about plants on his blog, In Defense of Plants. He also produces a (mostly) weekly podcast where he has the opportunity to meet and talk with plant researchers from all over the world.

Other Fun Facts: Matt is obsessed with houseplants. He devotes a lot of his down time to growing and propagating species that he finds interesting. His goal is to have his own miniature botanical garden that houses species with incredible ecological and evolutionary stories to tell.

More Places to Find Matt on the Web:

In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants on Tumblr