Around the World in 80 Trees
29.99 €
Out of stock
Around the World in 80 Trees
29.99 €
Ecologist Jonathan Drury follows in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg and talks about our planet's eighty majestic trees. Botany helps him illuminate the role of trees in all aspects of human life. Trees give us shelter and inspiration, not to mention raw materials for all sorts of things, including aspirin and maple syrup. Readers will walk beneath the lime trees of Berlin's Unter den Linden boulevard that stupefy German lovers and hungry bees, the lush streets of nineteenth-century London paved with Australian eucalyptus, and the forests of sequoias in California, where one can learn the secret of these trees' dizzying heights by looking closely at the properties of tiny water droplets. All these incredible but true stories - with monks turning themselves into mummies, tree-climbing goats and slightly radioactive nuts - are illustrated by Lucille Claire. Her drawings make the journey not only educational, but beautiful. The book combines history, science, and lots of quirky details, so there are surprises in store for everyone. It's perfect for fans of Peter Wohlleben's The Secret Life of Trees and is sure to awaken everyone's desire to take a trip around the world or just check out the local botanical garden. The perfect guide for wildlife enthusiasts. The book has been included in the Evening Standard and The Times lists of books of the year (2018). From the author: Trees on our planet are amazingly diverse - at least sixty thousand separate species are known today. They can't run away from animals that are ready to devour them, so they produce nasty, repellent substances and secrete gum, resin and latex to drown, poison, immobilize insects and other aggressors and keep fungi and bacteria out. These defense mechanisms have given us chewing gum, erasers, and even the world's longest-traded luxury item: frankincense. Some trees, like alder, have learned to live in damp places, their wood resistant to rot. Venice literally stands on them. But trees didn't evolve to fulfill human needs. They have spent millions of years adapting to environmental niches to survive and give rise to the next generation. The best adapted ones produced more abundant offspring and spread more widely. The stories I love most are those in which some aspect of the tree's life has an unexpected effect on humans. A link between mopane and a species of butterfly enriches the diet of millions in southern Africa. The hybridization of Leyland's cypress was a rare botanical event whose consequences say a great deal about the British and their attitude to privacy. For this book I have selected eighty of the most interesting and colorful stories, but they illustrate only a small fraction of the many connections between trees and people. For all nature lovers.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author
- All books in the series MYTH. Culture