‘To discover so many intriguing things about trees from around the world is truly wonderful. This beautifully illustrated book reveals just how much these useful, fascinating, dangerous yet beautiful living beings really contribute to our lives’ Dame Judi Dench

More than 60,000 species of trees are found in an amazing variety of forms, sizes and habitats. Every tree has its own story and here are over 60, selected for their particular resonance and connection with humankind and representing most of the world’s major zones and ecologies. In portraits that combine vivid cultural and historical narrative with a firm scientific grounding, the authors reveal the details of trees from around the world, both familiar and strange. We use timbers for building and creating, have discovered which tree fruits and seeds taste delicious, and which can kill or cure us, and which species can add colour and spirituality to our lives – from the timber of mahogany to the delights of chocolate and pomegranate, from the medicinal tea tree to the deadly manchineel, and from fragrant frankincense to the highly prized dragon’s blood tree.

Artists and botanists alike have been inspired by trees for centuries, and a varied and beautiful range of images from the unrivalled archive at Kew illustrate the stories, to create this enlightening and enchanting book.

"Salal" is a unique book about a commonplace plant. Part travel narrative, part literary memoir, part “ ethnography” of a plant that usually goes unnoticed, Laurie Ricou’ s book traces the poetry and culture of salal, while letting readers in on its secrets. Salal’ s high-gloss leaves and delicate salmon-white flowers are compelling, and as a staple of the floral greens industry its impact is global. Through interviews, commentary, and well-documented research, Ricou tells the stories of salal— how it is used, what it means to writers and artists, how it is gathered by itinerant immigrant workers but also housewives, and what the vagaries of the salal industry are all about. Longtime teacher Ricou records visits to Port Townsend and Pacific Spirit Park, to Courtenay and Victoria, to Calgary and San Antonio, to London and Paris, demonstrating that an uncharismatic plant could become an icon. At once about the West Coast region where salal thrives and the global routes and economy that determine its harvesting, "Salal" exposes the artificial divide between nature and culture, ecology and the marketplace.