This book is a celebration of trees, with beautiful botanical art at its centrepiece, accompanied by an entertaining and informative text. The paintings by Japanese artist Masumi Yamanaka illustrate the oldest and finest trees growing at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, showing the flowers and foliage and sometimes fruit at different stages throughout the year.

Sir Joseph Banks was a true botanical adventurer and pioneer. Not only did he reveal the floral wonders of the South Seas, New Zealand and Australia to European eyes, but he set Kew Gardens on its path to becoming the world's foremost botanic garden, bringing in a wealth of rare and useful plants, which had far-reaching impact. Banks was uniquely privileged and no-one before or since has had such influence in the sphere of botany. He helped to raise botanical science to new heights and brought many new beautiful plants to Britain, which we now take for granted in our gardens. Here, his life in botany is told through some of the intriguing objects, books and plants from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - the place he held dear until his death in 1820.

To some, trees are green monuments; emerald cathedrals that augment our landscape and bewitch us with their folklore; to others they are vital for survival, providing shade, food, fuel and medicine. Indeed, Britain's own history is entangled with the oak, yew, ash, and other trees that clothe our countryside and it was not so long ago that we used them for everything from weapons to water carriers. The world of trees is an immensely diverse and vitally important one. Kew holds over 14,000 trees in its 132 hectares: a unique mix of the rare, ancient, useful and beautiful. In Kew's Big Trees you can discover how one of the world's best tree collections came to be; learn the stories behind 20 of its most intriguing trees and find out just why trees are so important to us all.

‘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.