About the Author

COLIN TUDGE started his first tree nursery in his garden at the age of eleven. Always interested in plants and animals, he studied zoology at Cambridge and then began writing about science, first as features editor at the New Scientist and then as a documentary filmmaker for the BBC. He is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and advisor to several farming and environmental groups. Tudge’s books include The Variety of Life and So Shall We Reap. After traveling the world in search of a deeper understanding of the tree, Tudge is unable to choose a favorite, believing that variety’s the thing. He lives in Oxford, England.

Reviews

“Enchanting. . . . Tudge sees grandeur in how trees exist in the world . . . and demonstrates it with fascinating stories.” –New York Times Book Review

“Tudge writes in the great tradition of naturalists such as Humboldt and John Muir. . . . Eloquent and deeply persuasive.”–Los Angeles Times

“To be both scientifically literate and lyrically inclined is a unique gift, and justly celebrated whenever we encounter it, in Lewis Thomas, for example, or in Stephen Jay Gould. Colin Tudge is such an individual.” –Melissa Fay Green, Washington Post

"Through its astonishing revelations about what is related to what in the plant world, Colin Tudge's The Tree reawakens the pleasure of those childish games [of classifying animal, vegetable, or mineral]. But The Tree is a far deeper book than this might suggest, for its author has a remarkable ability to ask fundamental questions about trees and their world--questions that, much to our detriment, most of us stopped asking as we grew up. . . . The Tree is full of . . . wonderful scientific facts and folklore. . . . Profound." –Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books

“English biologist Tudge has synthesized volumes of research and presents his resulting work with humor, passion, even panache. . . . Fascinating. . . . Dazzling. . . . Few books are as relevant for our time as this one.” –Kirkus Reviews, starred

“In an elegant tribute to denizens of nature that humans too often take for granted, British biologist Tudge presents a wealth of intriguing facts about trees. . . . A persuasive call to action for the preservation of the environment so that trees, and humans, can survive.” –Publishers Weekly

"Page after page of astonishing tree-facts … makes us look anew at the familiar, to understand a little more of the hidden and constantly enacted miracles taking place in the woods all around us." –Sunday Times (UK)

“In this comprehensive book, Tudge combines vast knowledge of evolutionary biology with a gift for storytelling.” –Entertainment Weekly

"Reminds us just what we spend our lives not knowing, and all of it is not only wondrous and important but entirely free." –Guardian (UK)

"A love-letter to trees, written with passion and scientific rigour … a pleasure to read. Tudge writes with warmth and wit." –Financial Times (UK)

“Science writer extraordinaire Tudge offers a sumptuously specific tour of the phenomenal world of trees. . . . Tudge’s explanation of how climate change will endanger trees is invaluable. . . . [An] indispensable celebration of one of our most precious resources.” –Booklist, starred

"Tudge’s delight in the world of trees in infectious." –Herald (UK)

“Dig into Colin Tudge’s lovely new book.” –Daily Telegraph

In an elegant tribute to denizens of nature that humans too often take for granted, British biologist Tudge (The Famine Business) presents a wealth of intriguing facts about trees. Basing his information on science and writing "in a spirit of reverence," he explains how biologists identify the different kinds of trees; how trees have evolved over millions of years; how they adapt to their habitats, survive and reproduce. Describing a multitude of species, Tudge emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of each. He marvels, for example, at banyans with their roots hanging down from their branches, palms whose roots grow directly from their trunks, mangroves standing with their roots in the sea, baobabs holding so much water in their swollen trunks that they are extremely resistant to drought, figs in partnership with the minute wasps that pollinate them-"one dedicated species of wasp for each of the 750 species of fig." Tudge concludes with a chapter emphasizing the importance of all types of trees for humankind's well-being-a persuasive call to action for the preservation of the environment so that trees, and humans, can survive. 33 exquisite line drawings. (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

"Enchanting. . . . Tudge sees grandeur in how trees exist in the world . . . and demonstrates it with fascinating stories." -New York Times Book Review

"Tudge writes in the great tradition of naturalists such as Humboldt and John Muir. . . . Eloquent and deeply persuasive."-Los Angeles Times

"To be both scientifically literate and lyrically inclined is a unique gift, and justly celebrated whenever we encounter it, in Lewis Thomas, for example, or in Stephen Jay Gould. Colin Tudge is such an individual." -Melissa Fay Green, Washington Post

"Through its astonishing revelations about what is related to what in the plant world, Colin Tudge's The Tree reawakens the pleasure of those childish games [of classifying animal, vegetable, or mineral]. But The Tree is a far deeper book than this might suggest, for its author has a remarkable ability to ask fundamental questions about trees and their world--questions that, much to our detriment, most of us stopped asking as we grew up. . . . The Tree is full of . . . wonderful scientific facts and folklore. . . . Profound." -Tim Flannery, New York Review of Books

"English biologist Tudge has synthesized volumes of research and presents his resulting work with humor, passion, even panache. . . . Fascinating. . . . Dazzling. . . . Few books are as relevant for our time as this one." -Kirkus Reviews, starred

"In an elegant tribute to denizens of nature that humans too often take for granted, British biologist Tudge presents a wealth of intriguing facts about trees. . . . A persuasive call to action for the preservation of the environment so that trees, and humans, can survive." -Publishers Weekly

"Page after page of astonishing tree-facts ... makes us look anew at the familiar, to understand a little more of the hidden and constantly enacted miracles taking place in the woods all around us." -Sunday Times (UK)

"In this comprehensive book, Tudge combines vast knowledge of evolutionary biology with a gift for storytelling." -Entertainment Weekly

"Reminds us just what we spend our lives not knowing, and all of it is not only wondrous and important but entirely free." -Guardian (UK)

"A love-letter to trees, written with passion and scientific rigour ... a pleasure to read. Tudge writes with warmth and wit." -Financial Times (UK)

"Science writer extraordinaire Tudge offers a sumptuously specific tour of the phenomenal world of trees. . . . Tudge's explanation of how climate change will endanger trees is invaluable. . . . [An] indispensable celebration of one of our most precious resources." -Booklist, starred

"Tudge's delight in the world of trees in infectious." -Herald (UK)

"Dig into Colin Tudge's lovely new book." -Daily Telegraph