This book is one of a series of Little Books which are little books but they pack a big punch. They will remind many readers of Observer books because they are a similar size, but don’t let the small dimensions make you think that these books are lightweights. Not at all.
This volume (I will come to Spiders in a future review, but also see Butterflies – click here, and Beetles – click here) deals with leaves, trunks, roots, seeds, evolution, forest dynamics, conservation and has a lot of interesting facts about these large plants.
The closest relative of the Platanus plane trees is not another tree, but the aquatic lotus Nelumbo nucifera. This came as a surprise to me, but then plants are full of surprises for me. Trees are just large woody plants and such plants have multiple origins. I don’t find that surprising now I know it, but until reading this little book I hadn’t given it a moment’s thought.
The cover? Simple but adequate. I’d give it 7/10.
The Little Book of Trees by Herman Shugart and Peter White is published by Princeton University Press.
Signed copies of my most recent book book, Reflections, are available from me.
Contact me at [email protected]
Softback – £20 (incl UK P&P)
Hardback £26 (incl UK P&P)
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