Tree: A Life Story“Only God can make a tree,” wrote Joyce Kilmer in one of the most celebrated of poems. In Tree: A Life Story, authors David Suzuki and Wayne Grady extend that celebration in a “biography” of this extraordinary — and extraordinarily important — organism. A story that spans a millennium and includes a cast of millions but focuses on a single tree, a Douglas fir, Tree describes in poetic detail the organism’s modest origins that begin with a dramatic burst of millions of microscopic grains of pollen. The authors recount the amazing characteristics of the species, how they reproduce and how they receive from and offer nourishment to generations of other plants and animals. The tree’s pivotal role in making life possible for the creatures around it — including human beings — is lovingly explored. The richly detailed text and Robert Bateman’s original art pay tribute to this ubiquitous organism that is too often taken for granted. |
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animals ants auxins bacteria bark birds botanical botanist branches buds called canopy carpenter ants cell division centimeters chlorophyll coast Coast Salish conifers deer di€erent dispersal Douglas squirrels Douglas-fir Douglas-fir forest Douglas-fir seeds e€ect eȘcient Earth ecosystem eggs energy fall feed feet female cone ferns fire flowering forest floor fungal fungi fungus gardens genes genetic giant sequoia green ground grow growth gymnosperms habitat hectares hemlock horsetails huge human hundred hyphae inches insects land leaves lichen lignin living male meters million molecules mycorrhizal needles nest nitrogen North nucellus nutrients o€spring oceans old-growth forest organisms ovule oxygen Pacific percent photosynthesis pine plants pollen grains predators produce rain red alder roots salamanders salmon seed cones seedlings single snag soil species spores spotted owl spring springtails spruce stem stomata sugar sunlight survival termites Theophrastus thousand tiny tracheids tree tree’s trunk trușe western redcedar wind winter xylem