Tree history is flora and fauna

"Lives of the Trees," by Diana Wells. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. 368 pp. $19.95.

By Megan Bean

For the Salisbury Post

For those who love a bit of history, culture, etymology, and legend as well as botany, Diana Wells' unique new book, "Lives of the Trees," offers an interesting and comprehensive guide to the relationship between humans and an assortment of 100 different trees.

Wells, also the author of "100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names," "100 Birds and How They Got Their Names" and "My Therapist's Dog: Lessons in Unconditional Love," states aptly in her introduction to this new and interesting book, "This book is not for botanists or dendrologists or taxonomists, or even those who want to identify individual trees. It is for non-experts (like me)."

Indeed, this book is not your average field guide. It does not describe each tree's appearance in detail, or use extensive scientific terminology that only an experienced biologist can understand or even appreciate. Rather, the two- to five-page chapters on each tree begin with the tree's common name and a sketch of the tree's foliage, and the chapters are arranged in alphabetical order, from "acacia" to "yew."

Each chapter contains facts about the tree's uses (both now and in the past), origin and distribution, notable physical characteristics, botanical name and its meaning, its associations in legend and lore, and any unusual facts or features. Some chapters have quotes from the works of famous authors such as William Shakespeare, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Robert Frost mentioning the tree, or anecdotes about historical figures' relationships with these trees (such as Thomas Jefferson's recommendation of birch bark paper to Meriwether Lewis).

Although a bit of historical and literary knowledge could enhance one's reading of this book, it is not needed to understand and enjoy it, and reading this book can actually encourage a reader to learn more about non-horticultural areas.

The book does require some maturity from the reader in its discussion of some plants' mythical or cultural associations. Many spices developed from some trees were, according to the author, considered by some to be aphrodisiac, and some fruits are described in the book as having similar associations.

The suggestive shape and fermentable properties of some plant parts are also discussed. The author does handle such discussions with tact and maturity of her own, however, and without appearing offending.

The organization within chapters is a bit shaky at some points due to the diversity of information contained in single chapters or even paragraphs. However, overall the book is comprehensive and engaging, full of unusual, surprising, or even humorous facts that are simply and understandably stated.

The stories the author tells — from that of the Arab king's wife and the almond blossoms to a failed expedition to bring breadfruit plants to England — are entertaining, and she sometimes includes facts not directly related to trees, such as the tendency of pigs to eat young, helpless animals (as well as acorns).

Not many of us may know how to tell a spruce from a fir, that alder sap turns blood-red when the bark is pierced, that grenades are named after pomegranates, or that the wood of the catclaw acacia is so dense that nails were once made from it to hold ships together.

Indeed, one of Wells' key purposes in writing this book is to bring to light the increasing distance between humans and nature, a relationship she considers important. She stresses humans' past intimacy with, and knowledge of, the plants around them, and the modern tendency to disregard or disrespect such past dependence or reverence toward trees.

Wells observes that "Today most of us are more aware of the importance of trees than we were in the past, but actually distinguishing individual trees isn't really essential to our lives. Trees are no longer intimate friends with their own name. ... This once would have been unthinkable."

She and her husband live in Pennsylvania, where they have planted and continue to plant trees at their home, and she believes one of the "compensations of growing older" is to be able to look up through the branches of a tree one planted as a sapling, and she says she still loves each of her trees.

Throughout her book, she frequently refers to the need to conserve these valuable resources and stresses our reliance on them and their importance in history and literature. After reading this book, one cannot help but share her reverence for these organisms so long associated with life and rebirth.

"Lives of the Trees" is a book for the historian, the writer, the lover of culture, and the gardener alike. By showing us our history from the horticultural perspective, in an entertaining and comprehensive style, Diana Wells gives the "non-expert" reader a new wealth of knowledge and appreciation for the lives of the trees.

Megan Bean, an intern for the Salisbury Post, is a senior at South Rowan High School.