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The Tree
The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter | Colin Tudge
23 posts | 6 read | 15 to read
A blend of history, science, philosophy, and environmentalism, The Tree is an engaging and elegant look at the life of the tree and what modern research tells us about their future. There are redwoods in California that were ancient by the time Columbus first landed, and pines still alive that germinated around the time humans invented writing. There are Douglas firs as tall as skyscrapers, and a banyan tree in Calcutta as big as a football field. From the tallest to the smallest, trees inspire wonder in all of us, and in The Tree, Colin Tudge travels around the worldthroughout the United States, the Costa Rican rain forest, Panama and Brazil, India, New Zealand, China, and most of Europebringing to life stories and facts about the trees around us: how they grow old, how they eat and reproduce, how they talk to one another (and they do), and why they came to exist in the first place. He considers the pitfalls of being tall; the things that trees produce, from nuts and rubber to wood; and even the complicated debt that we as humans owe them. Tudge takes us to the Amazon in flood, when the water is deep enough to submerge the forest entirely and fish feed on fruit while river dolphins race through the canopy. He explains the memory of a tree: how those that have been shaken by wind grow thicker and sturdier, while those attacked by pests grow smaller leaves the following year; and reveals how it is that the same trees found in the United States are also native to China (but not Europe). From tiny saplings to centuries-old redwoods and desert palms, from the backyards of the American heartland to the rain forests of the Amazon and the bamboo forests, Colin Tudge takes the reader on a journey through history and illuminates our ever-present but often ignored companions.
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Cheryl_Russell_BookNotes
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A Tale Of Three Trees
One tree clinging to summer.
A second tree conceding it is time for fall.
The third tree embraces fall in red-leafed glory.

These three trees caught my attention yesterday at our local park. Each in different stage of fall, despite their close proximity to each other. 🍃🍂🍁

#fall #falltrees #October #fallcolors

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Gorgeous 🍁🍂 3w
Cheryl_Russell_BookNotes @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Oct. is one of my favorite months. 3w
14 likes2 comments
review
Robotswithpersonality
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Mehso-so

Not sure this book knew what it wanted to be.
It succeeded at being a book about trees written by a zoologist who seems just as happy to talk about other living things.
First part does have tree history, right back through evolution, but it does seem to get snagged up in the greater story of the evolution of life.
The second part has at least as many mentions of beings in Orders that are not trees, as trees themselves. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? Also wasn't really expecting the frequent listing of all the uses that humans put the various tree parts to, apparently there are lots and lots of different timber with different colours and patterns. This makes a bit more sense linked to the point made in the last chapter about a tree-based economy, but it's a long time between evidence and argument. 9mo
Robotswithpersonality 3/? First and second parts could be a reference guide, if colour photos were added.
I think I'd excerpt into a separate paper the many mentions/discussions of the recategorization and renaming of various levels of trees and tree families (order, genus, etc), because it comes up a lot, and isn't necessarily helpful in keeping straight what a tree is, or how it relates to other trees.
I just needed a one time disclaimer that 'this may be out of date in five years and won't match up with older sources based on the ongoing science.'
9mo
Robotswithpersonality 4/? The author seems happy to list encounters with various trees, pleasant and unpleasant, which I think would have been suited better to a brief memoir of his traveling and encountering various trees in various parts of the world; I would have loved to read it. 9mo
Robotswithpersonality 5/6 Probably written with the understanding that people may dip in and out of the book, but it makes a fun fact less fun when I kept encountering them in duplicate.
I think part three was mostly what I thought this book would be, but even it reflects the problems listed above.
9mo
Robotswithpersonality 6/6 I will always be grateful for works written by scientists with last chapters that end with hopes, with suggestions for the future, but I'd rather it not be the only bright spot in a long DRY spell. 9mo
7 likes5 comments
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Robotswithpersonality
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Reasonable given the definition, but still, the name "cloud forest" has such ✨whimsy✨. ☁️?

Suet624 Love it. 9mo
7 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality
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Just when I thought I knew all the players in pollination. Lemurs?!

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Robotswithpersonality
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Busting out the big words just to be cheeky, I swear. 🍌

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Robotswithpersonality
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Trees doin' U-turns...🤷🏼‍♂️

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Robotswithpersonality
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Love how he just slides these opinion pieces/personal philosophies in between tree facts. 😏

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Robotswithpersonality
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"...a fairly common trick..." I had no idea existed! ?⁉️

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Robotswithpersonality
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Very much digging this description of a tree I don't think I've ever seen. Will Google once I'm done savouring the wording.

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Robotswithpersonality
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Oh good, so I'm even tightly wound on the cellular level! 🤦🏼‍♂️

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Robotswithpersonality
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Definitely the most romantic reasoning for classification I've encountered. 🥰🌲

5 likes1 stack add
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Lesliereads
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EvieBee Beautiful! I do too! I‘m known to hug them. 🤓 3y
sharread Me too especially the Willow Tree. ❤ 3y
batsy Yes! 🌳🌳🌳 3y
20 likes3 comments
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ValerieAndBooks
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Today is my birthday and I‘m relaxing, enjoying it and had my free birthday Starbucks PSL. Yesterday was a good day, too! My #BOTM order arrived (Dark Matters). Then hubby and I went to our local indie bookstore and had dinner afterwards. Got the two on the right, plus picked up a free ARC (“Burn”).

And happy birthday to the other Litsy birthday triplets @mabell and @thebluestocking !!

manirudh2000 Happy Birthday to you! Have a readelicious year ahead!! 4y
Ruthiella Happy Birthday! 🥳🥳🥳 4y
KVanRead Happy Birthday 🎉🎁🎂🎈 4y
See All 29 Comments
Tanisha_A Happy Birthday 🎂🥳🎈! 4y
Aims42 Happy birthday!!! 🥂🧁🎁 4y
quietlycuriouskate Happy birthday!📚🎂 4y
LeahBergen Happy Birthday! 📚📚📚 4y
rubyslippersreads Happy 🎂🎂🎂! 😊 4y
MicheleinPhilly Happy Birthday! 4y
SW-T Happy birthday! 🥳 4y
Jess Happy birthday! 🎈 4y
Hooked_on_books Happy Birthday! 🎁🎂 4y
CrowCAH Happy belated birthday! 📚🎂🎁 4y
mabell Happy Birthday! 🎉🎂 I got my free birthday PSL too! 😄 4y
thebluestocking Happy happy birthday! (Belatedly.) Thank you for the birthday wishes. I hope you had a good day. 💙 4y
ValerieAndBooks @manirudh2000 thank you 😊! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @KVanRead thanks 😊! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @Aims42 thank you! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @LeahBergen thank you 📚! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @rubyslippersreads thank you 👠👠 😊 4y
ValerieAndBooks @SW-T thank you! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @Jess thanks Jess! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @mabell thanks! Yours looked like a good one too — and yay for PSL ! 4y
ValerieAndBooks @CrowCAH and happy belated birthday to you too 😘 4y
ValerieAndBooks @thebluestocking thanks — hope yours was good too 💖 4y
59 likes29 comments
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SW-T
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😂😂😂

#humor #litsyhumor

BiblioLitten Ouch 😄 4y
Hooked_on_books Oh daaaannnnnggggg! 4y
37 likes2 comments
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charl08
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Crazeedi ❤️💜😊 6y
51 likes1 comment
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KimHM
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The sky cleared and the sun and the moon made magic in the trees. #eclipse2017 🌙🌞🌒🌤

2 likes1 stack add
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Suelizbeth
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"A tree is a big plant with a stick up the middle--and a big plant with a stick up the middle is not an easy thing to be." ???#reademandeatathon

DGRachel 😂 7y
Lcsmcat 😂 7y
StolenBookmobile 😂😂😂 7y
45 likes3 comments
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Suelizbeth
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"Animals faced with such a mob would surely have packed themselves off to Russia." I love Colin Tudge's sense of humor. #reademandeatathon

47 likes1 stack add
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Suelizbeth
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"Nature was not designed to make life easy for biologists." There are many funny lines in this book. It's not all dry science and it answers questions that I've always had about trees. I am super obsessed with trees, but I can never talk to anyone about my obsession because I get very strange looks. This and other books about trees fills my need for treeish information and answers. Yay, trees, but they're weird. #reademandeatathon

rockpools Sounds great! 🌳 7y
Suelizbeth @RachelO 🌲❤️ 7y
48 likes1 stack add2 comments
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callunakeep
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I love it when I find myself in a book!!

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callunakeep
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Starting this one tonight!

2 likes1 stack add
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callunakeep
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Very excited to have found this book, quite by accident as it happened!

WingsOfGlass That sounds really cool! 9y
3 likes1 comment