Books like Around the World in 80 Trees — picked by fans

I could almost immediately smell the gorgeous scent of citrus wafting from the pages of this beautiful book through the magic of Helena Atlee’s precisely detailed writing.

Who would have thought that the story of Italy’s varied and numerous citrus plantations would take me on a journey all across the country, from Sicily’s west coast to the fragrant lemon gardens of Lake Garda, and in time from when the Arabs introduced bitter oranges up to the workings of the citrus industry today.

I love this book because it simply tells the fragrant story of how fruit, in various manifestations, has come to be cultivated all around the country and to represent something of the soul and the spirit of the Italian people.

This is a brilliant book. Mike Shanahan has done a wonderful job, weaving his meticulous research (he has a doctorate in rainforest ecology) into a highly engaging description of the importance of fig trees around the world, both in terms of their vital ecological functions and their importance to people.

It’s full of fascinating information: from the role figs have played in world religions and human cultures, to the raw materials they supply and the fact that they support more of the world’s animal and bird species than any other trees. 

Illustrated with beautiful black & white drawings, it explains why fig trees are so important to life on earth and how, with their extraordinary capacity to restore degraded lands, they can help create a better future for us all.

This is a fabulous book, a highly authoritative account of the extraordinary story of one of the world’s best-known drinks.  

Beautifully illustrated with archival posters, photographs, and botanical art throughout, it describes the fascinating history of tonic water, taking us from the 17thC discovery by Europeans of quinine, the anti-malarial extract obtained from the bark of South American Cinchona trees to the present day, detailing the history of carbonated water and its pairing with gin along the way.  

Meticulously researched and based on original source material and the unrivalled botanical collections held by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this book does a magnificent job of combining scientific facts with stunning visual imagery.

Yew is packed with fascinating information about these mysterious, exceptionally long-lived trees.

Fred Hageneder has spent years studying every aspect of the yew and his book presents that knowledge in a compact, highly readable form. The botany, ecological interactions, and extraordinary longevity of yew trees are examined, as well as their unique uses, past and present, including the historic supply of timber for longbows and, more recently alkaloids for modern medicine. The tree's symbolism, sacred status, and spiritual significance to people since the prehistoric past are also described.

Richly illustrated throughout and meticulously referenced, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural and natural history of the yew tree.

A visionary book that sees trees and humankind working together for mutual benefit. Steering clear of both the romanticized image of untouched nature as well as greedy exploitation of natural resources it impressively demonstrates how humans and forests have always thrived from each other. It was this highly positive concept of coexistence with nature that really inspires me to this day.

This was the book that made me look again at trees, seeing them for the incredible organisms that they are. Deakin goes on an amazing adventure from Suffolk to Kazakhstan, Australia, and beyond, trying to get to the heart of why wood and trees have such profound meaning for us. If you like Wildwood, you could also try Waterlog, in which he wild-swims his way through the British Isles. He’s the perfect companion for the armchair adventurer, and a very genial writer.

It seems as though Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees kicked off a slew of new books on seeing nature from a fresh perspective. Learning that trees communicate, as do other plants, warning and protecting each other is a sort of modern, scientific parlance for what in Shakespeare’s day might have been the fairyland antics in the anima of plants. But Thirteen Ways takes it a step further, opening an unexpected sensorial ‘conversation’ with our arboreal kin. Naso may be “smelling out the odouriferous flowers” in Love’s Labours Lost but Haskell has us inhaling deeply these silent sentinels that populate our lives with scant acknowledgment, with “every aroma is an invitation to stories of interconnection between trees and people.” And he proceeds to tell us some stories that make you ache for the intimacy of knowing a tree so well. I can’t wait to be able to… show more.

Mitchell is the grandfather of all things tree in Britain and this book is a unique gem that lists most of the nation’s most noteworthy, old, and impressive specimens.

It lit a childhood passion in me for big tree hunting. Growing up in Britain where there are few truly wild forests remaining, it showed me where to look to find the best trees and how to appreciate their size, age, beauty, and importance to all life on earth. 

My copy of Central Park Trees and Landscapes is dog-eared and worn because it is the most useful of the books about the park.

This field guide is all about the trees. I Iove how thorough it is. It really does map every single tree in the park. Still better, each is marked with a number that tells you to which of the more than 200 species found there it belongs.

When I was starting out as a naturalist, I would choose an attraction at random, lean my back up against a bark, and use this book to tell me the names and characteristics of the trees around me.

Plus, the pictures are gorgeous, and the commentary, by providing historical and botanical details, gives greater depth to each featured landmark and environment.

I found this guidebook the best for identifying species and explaining their characteristics within a forest. Knowing the species improved my forest photgraphy greatly.