A vital part of the atmosphere; a rich source of building material, fuel and food; a benefit to our wellbeing – humankind’s dependency on trees is as obvious as it is broad and it seems there’s always something new to discover about them. After browsing our collection, from beautifully illustrated volumes introducing some of the world’s most remarkable species to personal reflections on individual specimens, we’ve pulled together some insights into the history of trees, how they have been used and their place in culture.
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Coined in a scientific paper as long ago as 1990 the term ‘wood wide web’ gained traction among the broader public much later and is a springboard for Peter Wohlleben’s bestselling book. Treating trees as living beings, with a means of communication and a survival instinct, he explores topics such as the complex interactions that take place in their root systems, revealing how, for example, beech trees huddled together provide support for one another and share nutrients, but a single beech sapling growing close to an oak can spell disaster for even the mightiest specimen.
Trees of Life by Max Adams
Among the 80 species chosen for inclusion in Max Adams’ attractive volume as being ‘the world’s most important’ is the UK’s hazelnut. While the birch was the first species to colonize northern regions after the last Ice Age, the hazel soon followed and was an essential source of food as well as building material for early hunter-gatherers. Archaeological surveys have found instances of it being used for fencing, causeways and homes – from round houses to medieval wattle and daub constructions – and the carbonized remains of hazelnut shells have been discovered in campfires made in the earliest known inhabited structures of Scotland.
The Heart of the Forest by John Miller
Set on an alien planet but inspired in part by aspects of Native American and African belief, the connection between the forest-dwelling Na’vi and the lush forest of Pandora in the 2009 film Avatar has a spiritual aspect that magnifies the way in which the Earth’s woodlands can foster an emotional response. In a broad-ranging account that takes in Druids, the ‘arboreal nostalgia’ of Robin Hood, fairy tales, literature, film and art, John Miller explores the cultural value of trees and how their conservation relies upon our instinct to protect them as much as any ecological need.
Tree-Spotting by Ros and Nell Bennett
While most people could readily identify a good number of trees from their leaves, naming them in winter is much trickier. In addition to profiling Britain’s native species and offering a history of them, Ros and Nell Bennet explain how, with ‘lots of patience and a good hand lens’ it is possible to use twigs and buds for identification. Alongside line drawings, they talk through the way in which paying attention to the arrangement of buds, and their shape, alignment and colour, can be a much better indicator of species than the overall shape of the tree and its branches.
Urban Arboreal by Michael Jordan
With its brilliant red and orange autumn foliage, and its tolerance of pollution, poor soil and low levels of water, the Japanese keyaki has become a popular choice for urban settings and is said to embody grace and strength – qualities that have seen it adopted as a symbol for the growing city of Miyakonojo. While it can be successfully cultivated as a bonsai specimen it is able to reach 30 metres (98 feet) given enough space, and the 1,000-year-old ‘Great Noma keyaki’ near Osaka has been designated a national monument. The species is one of 70 discussed in Urban Arboreal, which profiles those trees that provide shade, food and refuge in built-up areas.
Jungle by Patrick Roberts
Patrick Roberts brings together cutting-edge science and a new understanding of how humans evolved to show that tropical jungles, now considered ‘pristine’, in fact have the longest record of modification. In addition to taking starchy plants such as yams to grow in new locations, early humans dispersed animal populations, with seafaring people in Near Oceania carrying bandicoots and cuscuses to the Bismarck Archipelago some 20,000 years ago. By shifting the focus of early agriculture away from its Western perspective Jungle aims to encourage better management of these primordial environments.
Oak Papers by James Canton
While seeking solace under an ancient oak James Canton was drawn into learning more about humankind’s relationship with the species. Among his sources was John Claudius Loudon’s 1838 Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, or The Trees and Shrubs of Britain, which explains that druids generally worshipped under oak trees, lighting sacred fires on a pile of stones named a cairn, from ‘kern’ or ‘acorn’. Although the practise came to be considered pagan (a term derived from the Latin pagus, meaning ‘of the countryside’) the spiritual importance of oak trees endured – in the Green Man carvings in churches and into the present day, with Canton discovering he was not alone in experiencing a profound sense of ‘peace and calm’ when nestled in an oak.
Orchard by Jane McMorland and Chris Kelly
Before exploring different types of fruit tree in more detail, this book delves into the history of orchards. It traces their origin to the walled and irrigated gardens of ancient Egypt and Persia, and notes that in the 6th-century King Darius of Persia encouraged growing fruit trees in enclosures called pairidaeza, which became paradeisos in Greek. Conjuring the notion of paradise, orchards were a source of food as well as beauty; within Britain’s monasteries they were also places of contemplation and considered symbolic of pre-fall Eden.
