TWELVE TREES

The lifestyles of 12 magnificent trees conveyed through science and history.

Lewis, author of The Feathery Tribe, could not have chosen a group of trees more biologically and culturally fascinating than this variously endangered dozen. Each has captivated the human imagination even as we have drastically reduced their numbers, from the coast redwoods of Northern California and baobabs of Africa to the olive trees of the Middle East and the bald cypress of the southeastern U.S. coastal plain. The author, environmental historian and curator for the History of Science and Technology at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in Southern California, offers a meticulous survey of these species, as well as their personal histories and importance, without succumbing to familiar bromides. He writes not in a hectoring, calamitous tone, but in a comradely one, hoping we are as concerned as is. He deals with the complexities of conservation efforts (and resistance to them) with an even hand, and the book is as rigorous as it is readable. The author, who also serves on the faculty at Caltech, reminds us that the time to campaign for a species’ survival is when it is at its most prolific, rather than being in decline, because abundance offers more lessons than loss. He also questions our certitude as to what, over the passage of time, is and is not an indigenous or “invasive” tree—such as the alternately loved and loathed blue gum eucalyptus, introduced to California from Australia. Lewis also explores the strategies, old and new, involved in aiding species’ survival. The author clearly regards trees as the heartbeat of the world, providing “a bulwark against a changing climate, offering nourishment, rest and sustenance for other species, and space and quiet in their midst.”

A well-informed, staunch defense of trees’ capacity to multiply biodiversity and support life on Earth.