Around the World in 80 Trees

Product Information

In a confined space the smell of the durian fruit can be overwhelming, and signs telling people not to bring durians into hotels or aircraft are common in Malaysia and Singapore.

Perfect for fans of Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees, this new book will certainly whet the appetite of any tree lover to take an around-the-world trip, or simply visit your local botanic garden.Travelling eastwards from his London home, he chooses 80 trees from the 60,000 or so species on the planet.

He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Zoological Society of London, and a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He is on the board of Cambridge University Botanic Garden, and is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, the Zoological Society of London and the Royal Geographical Society.

Liquid urushiol causes extreme rashes, and even its vapour promotes itching that can linger for months. From India’s sacred banyan tree to the fragrant cedar of Lebanon, they offer us sanctuary and inspiration – as well as raw materials for everything from aspirin to maple syrup.

From the trees of Britain, to India's sacred banyan tree, they offer us sanctuary and inspiration - not to mention the raw materials for everything from aspirin to maple syrup. Nature writing at its best, skilfully weaving science with fascinating folklore and the sheer wonder of trees. This is a wonderful tour of the Earth’s trees, revealing their unique characteristics and the vital roles they have played in human life and culture. Proust played on this in À la recherche du temps perdu, in which the narrator dips a madeleine cake into lime-blossom tea, triggering a chain of involuntary memories. Focus spreads will explore subjects such as the life cycle of trees, how they communicate with each other, why trees are vital to the Earth's health, and their importance to us.The smooth bark of the beech has long been associated with writing: beech boards once enclosed vellum books and in many languages the words for this tree and for the written word are similar. Its clusters of pretty cream flowers have a strong scent and plenty of nectar to attract hordes of pollinating insects.

Jonathan Drori CBE is a Trustee of The Eden Project and Cambridge Science Centre, an Ambassador for the WWF, and was for nine years a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and The Woodland Trust. The book combines history, science and a wealth of quirky detail - there should be surprises for everyone. A hybrid of the American sycamore and the Oriental plane, they have set an example to urban planners around the world. In Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori uses plant science and natural history to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable, together with captivating illustrations by Lucille Clerc.The strawberry tree is native to the western Mediterranean and the southwest of Ireland – but not Britain. The Blastophaga wasps that pollinate the common edible fig are female, stingless and just a couple of millimetres long. After a brief rest, the female also exits, dousing herself in pollen produced by male flowers as she goes. Lucille Clerc is a French illustrator and graphic designer based in London, who works with a diverse range of international clients including cultural institutions, textile designers, musicians and architects.