Concrete Botany: The Ecology of Plants in the Age of Human Disturbance

by Joey Santore

Concrete Botany is a gritty, kick-in-the-guts look at the ecological disturbance humans have caused and the resilience of the plants living amongst it.

Delivered in his raw and unapologetic yet botanically accurate tone, Joey Santore—the unforgettable host of Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t—offers an often unsettling view of human-caused ecological destruction and its impact on the natural ecosystems our very lives depend on.

The choices of modern civilization have led to a f***ed-up planet, scraped bare and covered in concrete and invasive species. We’ve wiped out entire ecosystems, moved invasive plants to new continents where they don’t belong, and, in a few hundred years, we’ve managed to muck up the intricate balance of a planet that has been evolving for eons. The consequences of our actions are now at our doorstep, ready to strike a match.

But not all is lost. In this groundbreaking examination of plants and their role in the Anthropocene (the age of human disturbance), we see light through the cracks in the concrete and learn that humanity’s course correction starts with an understanding of plant ecology. With this knowledge comes the realization that the lives of humans and plants are interconnected in ways humans cannot live without. Plants are the base of every terrestrial ecosystem on the planet, and their presence can heal the damage humanity has caused. Our willingness to restore native plant communities and the biodiversity they support (starting in our immediate surroundings) is an essential first step in the right direction.

While returning every abandoned brownfield and old rail corridor into a native plant–filled, fully restored ecosystem may be out of reach for the average citizen, fostering the native ecology and biodiversity of our own backyards is not. Concrete Botany is ultimately about how the choices we make as individuals can help ensure humanity’s survival on a very disturbed and rapidly changing planet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Gardening, Biology, Environment, Ecology

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 7, 2026

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a big fan of Joey ever since discovering his YouTube channel several years ago. His no nonsense style was as refreshing then as it is now in Concrete Botany. Joey is right, our society has constructed itself to only value contrived intangible goals. This has cascaded to deprive most people of a connection to the land they live on and the ecosystem we are all a part of, which then leads to a whole host of other issues.

The book is about his journey with this topic of native plants and the "real world" that we all exist in. It's moderate on narrative, but I found it relaxing and enjoyable.

My one criticism is that sometimes he can belabor the point he is trying to make. But that may be more of an issue for me as I've already heard a lot of what he said in the book through his podcast and videos. If you're familiar with his work you may not find a lot of new information. But this is good as a manifesto for how the world is botanically screwed up and some methods to fix it. All in all, I recommend.

[Joe N · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book. a really good blend of interesting information and fun stories. if your even remotely interested in the natural world this a definite read

[Dillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first audiobook! liked this a lot - its very relatable and humorous and god do i agree with everything he said. i too think society is stupid and plants are neat. not quite there with bugs, tho.

[Sarah Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique and fantastic take on botany and ecology. Passionate and profanity laced, his enthusiasm for natives and habitat restoration is infectious. Becoming a native guerrilla gardener is almost an imperative after reading this book and he gives you the beginning tools to kill your lawn and start your own native habitat restoration. I just wish there were more pictures in this book. I particularly would have liked to see before and after pics of his habitat restoration projects.

[Haley Huseby · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What does it mean to exhibit gratitude and respect for plant life? The best indicator of respect for anything including people is an innate curiosity and willingness to learn about it, pay attention to it and study it. People aren’t curious about a thing unless they’re attracted to it. Innate curiosity does wonders, as does the excitement when the brain makes the connection between two disparate subjects.”

Until I came across this book I was completely unfamiliar with Joey Santore, but it took me all of ten minutes in to follow him on Instagram for more. Santore is a self-taught botanist who narrates his plant stories and knowledge in such a way that feels like the perfect combination of smart assy and matter of fact without any notes of arrogance. It’s like I’m sitting at a local bar having a few beers with an uncle but instead of complaining about the work week we’re excited about plants the same way people get excited about animals. (Plants also have disguises that protect them from predators just like animals!) The underlying topic of conversation being “Why don’t we care? What if we DID care? Here’s why you SHOULD care!” in regards to the ecological ignorance most of us have.

I decided to listen to the audiobook and I’m so glad I did, because the author also narrates his audiobook and I didn’t feel like I had to try really hard to understand the matters he was discussing. Even with all of the scientific terms for plants he used, it rolled out of his mouth so easily that it made me feel like I could dive into botany myself and memorize those terms one day, and he has the sort of accent where he doesn’t sound pretentious but he does want you to care. What I really loved about this book was that it was just NEAT. Super rad. Fun to listen to. The way we grow up learning about animals and bugs and why each of them serve a specific purpose in their native areas, this is how the author speaks about flora. I had never really considered that while animals evolve over time and have different species, plants are the same and their paths are endless. I sat and looked at my yard in a new perspective. Humans have cleared out entire ecosystems to put up homes and businesses that eventually end up abandoned and have dug up and moved plants to other areas where they shouldn’t be, causing extreme consequences for plant life world wide. The way he explains down to detail how the simplest of weeds and flowers we see on a daily basis may or may not beneficial to where it’s now growing and why that is, and how we as a human race are responsible for essentially fucking up the natural order of plant development BUT how we as a human race can learn, grow and right the wrongs to save our environment. How upon the settlement of this land, the east coast suffered greater than most regions of the US and how the children and grandchildren to come will never know the plant life that our ancestors did in those areas simply due to settlement and development of lands. There’s so much history in the plants we look over and walk over and pave over every day and if we care enough to take it upon ourselves to take an interest in it, we can learn about it just like him and make conscious efforts to look at our lands as a gift versus something that is owed to us. We can look to flora for education and answers and care for it the way it was made to care for us.

“Every plant possesses clues that allude to their evolutionary and ecological history though they might be more subtle.”

Not only that, but the incredible amount of species of plants we’re missing out on learning about simply because research for the benefits of capitalism and consumerism have pushed for answers that land money in the pockets of leaders and billionaires versus having research done just because our earth deserves that, and that should be enough.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love people as individuals. In large groups when we know other people are watching us, we become predictable, conformist, performative and too easily persuaded….We’re the only species of animal that thinks it’s not an animal. We believe we have free will and choice yet the vast majority of us remain entirely unaware of how narrow our world views are, and unaware of the factors that shape them.”

I didn’t feel like I was hearing another lesson of reduce/reuse/recycle. Between interesting and unique facts and personal stories about his adventures and studies in various regions across the world, this was really, really cool and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone even if you’re not a beginner gardener like me or someone who just loves learning about our earth. Everyone could benefit from reading this book!! I’d like to think I’m not completely unaware about the subject matter, but this opened some brain doors for me. I’ll definitely be adding more books like this to my list and tuning into his YouTube channel!

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part auto-biography part science book, this is the descent of one man's obsession into plants. It starts with something small, like seeing a weird plant growing where there shouldn't be anything growing, wondering what it is. Looking it up, learning why it might be able to survive. Before you know it you're obsessed.

This is a great starting point for anyone looking to educate themselves on nature. If you think “damn, I need to go touch grass” then this book explains why that is and how important it is to connect with plants.
It's full of information about what is happening to the world around us and why plants are the answer.

As a bit of a plant nerd I was so excited to read this, I just want more people to love plants as much as I do.
If you're okay with eco-activism and cursing please read this.
Thank you to NetGalley and Cool Springs Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Tim Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lively, passionate, and informative book on urban and suburban wild plants, their ecology, and the positive and negative roles human play by Joey Santore, the host of the YouTube channel Crime Pays but Botany Doesn’t. An extremely knowledgeable self-taught botanist, the author discussed how his job working for the railroad as a switchman, brakeman, conductor, and engineer in California, Oregon, and Nevada led him to studying the plants of waste places in industrial, retail, and suburban areas, hating and appreciating invasives that so often dominant such places, and learning what can be done to return native plants to even the worst places in cities.

Chapter one was the author’s journey in learning botany, ecology, evolution, biogeography, and taxonomy, describing how he came to study the plants in the industrial wastelands where he worked, appreciating how each area he went to had its own flora. He discussed not only plant blindness but how culture instills a hatred for “messy” or “vermin-filled” wild plants and areas of natural growth, how plants need to have value to be of interest at least according to society, and how learning the local plant can species can make the environment more interesting for the average person.

Chapter two discussed how plants are part of a living system in an area along with insects, fungi, and other organisms, how the local flora reflects local soil conditions and type, elevation, and climate, how plants carry the traits associated with such environments such as spines or hairs in plants originating in deserts, natural dispersal invents versus invasive events of non-local plants, disjunction in plant ranges either from range fragmentation or reflecting the results of natural dispersal events, how invasive a plant is a function of temporal and geographic separation (the more separation, the more invasive; also the more similar local conditions are to conditions where it evolved, the more invasive), how not all non-native plants are invasive but all invasive plants are non-native, how native plants can be aggressive but never invasive, discussed the concept of shifting baselines as far as people understanding local flora, and gave examples of the author’s journey with plants including illegally planting rare California cypresses in a median in California and how invasive European Buckthorn in the Chicago area meant for years the author never knew spring ephemerals existed.

Chapter three discussed the concept of the weed, how urban plant ecology is a “Frankenstein ecology” of invasives from all over the world and some native species, how successful invasive species that grow in “anthropic landscapes” and “concrete hellscapes” like powerline easements and in chain link fences are pioneer species, highly tolerant of stress, disruption, fast growing, produce many seeds, have efficient seed dispersal, don’t need insect pollinators, and are able to quickly develop as a population resistance to herbicides. In addition, some plants like Tree of Heaven and Garlic Mustard produce natural herbicides that cuts down on plant competition. The chapter closes with a tour of the botany of urban wastelands along the Los Angeles River, as seen from a deflating dingy In Queens, New York City, in Mexico, and along the Chicago River, profiling a number of plants like Giant Reed, Russian Thistle, and Fennel.

Chapter four discussed why the author preferred the term the living world or the real world over nature (nature as a term he thought separated man when man is always part of the living world), discussed why you would want to kill your lawn and how to do this, discussed the practical, pragmatic reasons to use native plants such as drought tolerance, flood tolerance, pest tolerance, little to no maintenance, helping local wildlife, combating urban heat islands, and psychological benefits, ways to get involved in restoring local plants if you can’t kill your lawn or don’t have a lawn, and while careful not to praise invasives, does discuss how they are better than nothing and can prepare the way for natives to be restored by such elements as building up soil, humidity, and creating habitat.

[Rike · Rating 5 out of 5]

“We have a responsibility to the land we live on, to nurture and support it, not just plant what we find whimsically attractive, using the most chickenshit and stereotypical metric of taste. These filler plants of modern ecologically blind horticulture are the live laugh love sign of the modern American landscape - uninspiring, culturally irrelevant, and overused to the point of becoming meaningless. Most importantly, they are useless to the other elements of the living world here. Conversely, the plants I see when I am out in the living world, studying ecosystems, represent freedom. They are a product of the places where they evolved and all the living and non-living elements of natural selection there. They were forged by the land itself.”

I really enjoyed learning about Joey’s path towards botany. This book deals with humanity’s relationship with the living world, especially plants. We have mostly banished native plants from our human made areas. And yet some still manage to thrive in the “anthropic landscape”, in abandoned lots and near railroad lines. These ruderal plants have adaptations, which help them survive harsh conditions. I have always enjoyed botanizing in the city, but I have never really given much thought to what sets the plants I find there apart from those in more intact ecosystem. I am hopeful, that books like this will encourage more people to respect and appreciate the plants around us and to support biodiversity in urban centers by planting native plants.

[Rory Clingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I want to thank Joey Santore, Cool Springs Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book before its release to the general public.

Concrete Botany is a sobering read into the far-reaching consequences of humanity's wholesale destruction of our natural habitat. Joey simultaneously provides a thorough education into the subject of botany, whilst not being afraid to exact pointed criticism, something that is uncommon in educational books and is refreshing to see here.

Far too often educational media timidly avoids getting political or holding a strong stance on contemporary issues. This book is an example of the opposite, and I mean that as a compliment.

Joey is a self-taught botanist who got into the field perhaps a little later than some do, but is not a layman by any means, and has clearly invested a great deal of time and effort into refining his knowledge, and is subsequently well respected within his field.

A considerable amount of information is presented in this book, and in a way that never feels dry or clinical. With each concept introduced he gives real-world examples of how that knowledge can be applied in practice to our daily lives.

[Deepak Dhapade]

I have read this book recently. I like its title "Concrete Botany". This book is written by Joey Santore. This book is related to science. It has a large amount of description of many species of plants. It is a very useful book to know about the life cycle of plants. It has found information about the evolution of plants. It has a lot of knowledge about geography, culture and nature etc. It explains the behavior of human beings to the other living beings. This book describes how nature make the rules for everyone but human always break them. They also create a horrific circumstances for every one. They also destroy the Ecosystem of Earth. This book gives an ides how we can make pure environment in our planet with the help of plants and trees. This book could have been extraordinary if it had been more diagrams.

[Rachel Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have followed Joey's work for some time, and enjoy the online content quite a bit. I was excited to support his new book! The first two chapters were a bit weak in my opinion but I really got into the later sections.I learned some new things about plants and got an insight into an overall philosophy for dealing with the devastation we have caused to the living world. I found myself inspired by several ideas and appreciated some new mindsets around invasion philosophy. Highly recommended for those who appreciate his style and are interested in some more broad strokes understanding of plant evolution in disturbed landscapes. This isn't an in-depth plant ID or ecology book which I think might be what fans would expect.

[Rey Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot of food for thought in this book when it comes to the way Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t views the relationship of plants and the world of humans.

It definitely reads like a journal and collection of essays to me. I really like this as a companion text to his more popular work of YouTube videos and instagram posts.

The illustrations are beautiful and I look forward to his next written project if he decides to undertake one.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you think about our current and developing situation with growing cities and its connection to nature, this book can not only give you a botanical introduction but also show you the many different resistant plants that you can find everywhere you go: next to your supermarket, on the sidewalk, or right next to your door.

[Anna Nesterovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't say I learned much from this book, but that's an expected occupational hazard for me. I'm giving it 4 stars regardless, because if this book helps to inspire even one person to make a difference and plant a native, it's worth it.

[Johnny Altomonte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book from a brilliant educator and botanist. No frills, no nonsense, just a lot of truth and insight.

[Dylly Wonkz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute GOAT Joey. I loved this book so much that I didn’t want it to end.