Eric Burkhart, Ph.D.

I am a professional botanist, ethnobotanist, and agroforester. In my position as Associate Teaching Professor here at Penn State University, I contribute to the following educational areas:

• Instruction: I teach University level courses on plant identification, biology, ecology, conservation, and management.
• Research: I am PI, co-PI or research partner for botany and ethnobotany projects involving plant ecology, non-timber forest products, and forest product enterprise development.
• Extension/Outreach: I lead workshops and field days for landowner and agency audiences, often in collaboration with partners.

Courses that I Teach at Penn State

Fall Semester

• FOR 203 Field Dendrology (every fall)

Spring Semester

• FOR 303 Herbaceous Forest Plant Identification, Ecology and Ethnobotany (every spring)
• FOR 403 Invasive Forest Plant Identification, Ecology and Management (in odd years, upcoming 2025)
• FOR 418 Agroforestry: Science, Design and Practice (in even years, taught spring 2024)

My Research Program and Graduate Students

I maintain a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary botany and ethnobotany research program focused on wild plant conservation, husbandry, and horticulture. For the past 20 years, I have worked on topics that assist with forest-based stewardship and agroforestry cropping of Appalachian specialty forest products or non-timber forest products (NTFPs).

My students and I continue to conduct research on questions relating to Appalachian Forest plant botany, ethnobotany, ecology, phytochemistry, horticulture, agroforestry, and invasive forest plants. Our collective research to date has focused on the following culturally and economically important eastern North American forest plants: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), ramps/wild leek (Allium tricoccum), ghost-pipe (Monotropa uniflora), and prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum spp). I am also interested in non-native, introduced (“invasive”) forest plants, and conduct research and teaching on topics relating to their introduction, impact, and spread in eastern North American deciduous forests. 

Graduate Students Advised and Co-advised

Current Graduate Students

Houston, Ezra. 2022-2024. Habitat modeling and comparisons in ramp species (Allium burdickii, A. tricoccum) in Northern and North Central Appalachia. M.S. Student, Ecosystem Science and Management, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 

Lawson, Kirk. 2021-2025. Incorporating ethnobotanically important native flora into agroforestry applications in the Appalachian region and the U.S. Virgin Islands: riparian and forest farming crops using Zanthoxylum and Allium species. Ph.D. Candidate, Ecosystem Science and Management, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.

Wrobleski, Amy. 2020-2024. Food sovereignty and foraged foods: understanding how traditional knowledge is formed and shapes the distribution and physical traits of traditional foods. Ph.D. Candidate, Ecology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.     

Anez, Savannah. 2022-2025. Indian-pipe (Monotropa uniflora) uses, phytochemistry, and chemical ecology. Ph.D. Candidate, Biology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.   

Palkovich, Rachel. 2021-2024. American ginseng morphometric studies. Ph.D. Candidate, Anthropology, the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.     

Peer-reviewed Publications (examples):

Stark, C., Nilson, S.E., and Burkhart, E.P. 2023. Two ramp taxa, Allium tricoccum Ait. and A. burdickii (Hanes) A.G. Jones), differ in abiotic habitat characteristics and floristic associates in Pennsylvania. Natural Areas Journal 43(3): 185-195.

Nilson, S.E., Burkhart, E.P., Jordan, R.T., and Lambert, J.D. 2023. Seasonal observations of bulb development in ramps (Allium tricoccum Ait.): implications for wild plant stewardship and forest farming. Agroforestry Systems 97: 97-107.

Burkhart, E.P., Nilson, S.E., Pugh, C.V., and Zuiderveen, G.H. 2021. Neither wild nor cultivated: American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) seller surveys provide insights into in situ planting and trade. Economic Botany 73(2):126-143.

Liu, H., Burkhart, E.P., Chen, V.Y-J., and Wei, X. 2021. Promotion of in situ forest farmed American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) as a sustainable use strategy: opportunities and challenges. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9: 652103.

Zuiderveen, G.H., Burkhart, E.P., and Lambert, J.D. 2021. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloid content in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) is influenced by phenological stage, reproductive status, and time-of-day. Phytochemistry Letters 42: 61-67.

Zuiderveen, G.H., Burkhart, E.P., and Lambert, J.D. 2021. Influence of post-harvest drying temperatures on alkaloid levels in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.). HortScience 56 (2): 242-243.

Maynard-Bean, E.E., Kaye, M., Wagner, T., and Burkhart, E.P. 2020. Citizen scientists record novel leaf phenology of invasive shrubs in eastern U.S. forests. Biological Invasions 22: 3325-3337.

Chittum, H.K., Burkhart, E.P., Munsell, J.F., and Kruger, S.D. 2019. Investing in forests and communities: a pathway to sustainable supply of forest farmed herbs. Herbalgram 124 (Nov-Jan): 60-77.

Burkhart, E.P. and Zuiderveen, G.H. 2019. Wild goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis L.) root alkaloid content in relation to colony and harvest stage. Journal of Herbs, Spices, and Medicinal Plants 25 (2): 128-140.

Burkhart, E.P. 2013. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) floristic associations in Pennsylvania:guidance for identifying calcium-rich forest farming sites. Agroforestry Systems 87 (5): 1157-1172.

Burkhart, E.P., Jacobson, M.G. and Finley, J. 2012. Stakeholder perspective and experience with wild American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) conservation efforts in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.:limitations to a CITES driven, top-down regulatory approach. Biodiversity and Conservation 21 (14): 3657-3679.

Burkhart, E.P. and Jacobson, M.G. 2009. Transitioning from wild collection to forest cultivation of indigenous medicinal forest plants in eastern North America is constrained by lack of profitability. Agroforestry Systems 76 (2): 437-453.