Instant Inspiration: Photos from The Life & Love of Trees
Extraordinary images from some of the world's leading nature photographers.
Eastern United States, Southern Canada
Species: Quercus coccinea
Photographer: Michael Swallow
The scarlet oak is easily confused with the pin oak
and the red oak; sharp eyes are needed to spot that
the leaves are hairless on the underside, while the
sinuses between the lobes are even more marked than
on the pin oak. Bucculatrix domicola caterpillars
decline to eat it.
Species: Acer pseudoplatanus
Photographer: Michael Swallow
The sycamore leaf is one of the less colorful: in
autumn it simply turns yellow and brown, curls up and
dies. Popular in parks, as it is a handsome, large tree
that tolerates a wide range of soils, its downside is that
the heavy weight of leaf fall creates plenty of autumnal
work for gardeners.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Michael Swallow
From the
November 2009 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
