Trees by Roland Ennos, Natural History Museum via Plymbridge Distributors,
£9.95, ISBN 0565091603
NO, this is not yet another guide to tree recognition. It is a marvellously
informative look at trees as plants, how they developed and how they live. The
first section’s title, “Advantages of being a tree”, sets the tone and it is not
long until some statement drops the jaw. The largest organisms that have ever
lived are trees: a giant redwood can be ten times heavier than a full-grown blue
whale.
The explanations of such mysteries as how trees raise water up to their
topmost leaves,…
