New Zealand’s Native Trees

Description

John Dawson and Rob Lucas.  576 pages. Hardcover

New Zealand’s Native Trees celebrates the uniqueness and incredible diversity of this country’s trees and forests. A landmark book, of the kind that is published only once in a generation, it describes and generously illustrates more than 320 species, subspecies and varieties. It is organised in three main parts: conifers, tree ferns and flowering trees. After authoritative introductions to each part, genera are covered in alphabetical order. The botanical features of each species are then described in detail, along with its distribution, habitat and key relationships with other plants and animals.

More than 2300 superb photographs illustrate fascinating close details of flowers, fruits and other features, and show the form of specimen trees, while wider views of habitats place the species in context. Clear-cut illustrations of leaves are included for each species, arranged in plates for easy identification of larger groups.

New Zealand’s Native Trees, by respected author–photographer team John Dawson and Rob Lucas, with the collaboration of several of New Zealand’s leading botanists, is a wonderful contribution to the documentation and understanding of the richness and diversity of New Zealand’s native trees and forests. Valuable as an identification guide, a reference, a resource for landscapers and gardeners, and an inspiration for a new generation of New Zealanders, this is an essential book for every home, school and library.