Around the World in 80 Trees

Product Information

As the book takes the reader on a journey around the world, it reveals trees that give us food and medicine, trees with ancient legends, record-breaking trees and more. Each of these strange and true tales - populated by self-mummifying monks, tree-climbing goats and ever-so-slightly radioactive nuts - is illustrated by Lucille Clerc, taking the reader on a journey that is as informative as it is beautiful. An iconic fruit in all the cultures of the region and a staple food containing up to two-thirds sugar, the date has altered the course of history by enabling large numbers of people to live in deserts. Liquid urushiol causes extreme rashes, and even its vapour promotes itching that can linger for months. In Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori uses plant science to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable.

An arboreal odyssey" - NATURE"One of the most quietly beautiful books of the year" - DAILY MAILEvening Standard Books of the Year 2018The Times Gardening Books of the Year 2018Discover the secretive world of trees in Jonathan Drori's number one bestseller. Whether by accident or design, Neolithic sailors are thought to have brought the species with them from the Iberian Peninsula some time between 10000 and 3000 BC. By day, the distinctive monochrome pattern of snow-clad birch forests is dazzling and disorientating, but during long boreal nights, their moonlit, ghostly forms take on an eerie power. The classic Christmas tree is also prized for its ‘tonewood’, which is used to make the soundboards of the world’s most valuable stringed instruments. He starts with the London Plane, “a tree of pomp and circumstance”, first planted in Berkeley Square, Mayfair, in 1789.Stops on the trip include the lime trees of Berlin's Unter den Linden boulevard, which intoxicate amorous Germans and hungry bees alike, the swankiest streets in nineteenth-century London, which were paved with Australian eucalyptus wood, and the redwood forests of California, where the secret to the trees' soaring heights can be found in the properties of the tiniest drops of water. The edible date originated somewhere between northeast Africa and Mesopotamia and may have been cultivated in the Middle East for six millennia. 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. Nimble goats have learned to avoid the thorns and leathery leaves of the argan to gorge on its sweet-smelling fruit.

View image in fullscreen ‘The Creator exasperatedly flung the baobab upside down with its roots in the air’ … baobab trees near Rufisque, Senegal. 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. The Blastophaga wasps that pollinate the common edible fig are female, stingless and just a couple of millimetres long. Each tree is beautifully illustrated by Lucille Clerc using a subdued but rich palette of greens and browns, with occasional splashes of more vibrant colour.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. Its clusters of pretty cream flowers have a strong scent and plenty of nectar to attract hordes of pollinating insects. 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. Bestselling author and environmentalist Jonathan Drori follows in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg as he tells the stories of 80 magnificent trees from all over the globe. Its weird appearance is explained by one folk tale as due to the tree having ideas above its station: “The Creator exasperatedly flung the baobab upside down with its roots in the air.

Guardian Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, waters and community.

Nature writing at its best, skilfully weaving science with fascinating folklore and the sheer wonder of trees. The book combines history, science and a wealth of quirky detail - there should be surprises for everyone. 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. Jonathan Drori is a Trustee of The Woodland Trust and The Eden Project, an Ambassador for the WWF and was for nine years a Trustee of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Stiff materials make the best soundboards because they can transmit vibration efficiently from molecule to molecule; in a more elastic material, energy is squandered as the sound waves travel through it.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. A hybrid of the American sycamore and the Oriental plane, they have set an example to urban planners around the world. 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.