Perthshire, Scotland
Species: Fagus sylvatica
Photographer: Kathy Collins
The forest floor under these beech trees in Perthshire,
Scotland, is low in undergrowth due to the heavy
canopy of the trees, which prevents light reaching the
ground. This creates a distinctive forest scene of heavy
leaf litter late in the year and into early spring when the
beech has finally shed its leaves.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Kathy Collins
Southeastern United States
Species: Taxodium distichum
Photographer: Cece Fabbro
The bald cypress, or swamp cypress, is a species that
is distinctive for growing beside and even within the
shallow waters at the edge of lakes and in other
flooded areas. To do this it has developed particular
features to cope with the apparent suffocation of its
roots underwater. Around permanently swamped trees
it is possible to see "knees", small stumps from the
roots, sticking up above the water. These help stabilize
the tree and may also help it breathe. The appellation
"bald" is given because it sheds its leaves.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Cece Fabbro
Montalcino, Tuscany,
Italy
Species: Cupressus sempervirens
Photographer: Allison Michael Orenstein
A close-ranked stand or line of cypresses is a familiar
site in Tuscany, Italy; providing shade, signalling a
boundary or carrying more potent symbolic weight
alongside cemeteries. This landmark cluster seems
bizarre in its location, as if only for decorative effect, in
the middle of wheat fields near Montalcino, Tuscany,
Italy.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Allison Michael Orenstein
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
Ontario, Canada
Species: Prunus persica
Photographer: Chris Tomaidis
A nectarine orchard in bloom in the Niagara Peninsula
of Ontario, Canada, is a beautiful and increasingly rare
sight. The cultivation of peaches (nectarines are a kind
of peach, but are a cultivar group with a recessive
gene that prevents the growth of the fuzzy skin) is
increasingly less commercially viable in Canada due to
global competition and the marginal weather
conditions of the region. Peaches originally came from
China, but are now cultivated and farmed around the
world, being the second largest fruit crop after apples
in the United States.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Chris Tomaidis
Ashridge in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Species: Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Photographer: Oxford Scientific
Bluebells have evolved to take advantage of the heavy
leaf coverings typical of beech-dominated forests such
as this one at Ashridge in Hertfordshire, United
Kingdom. Bluebells flower early, typically in April and
May, and so thrive ahead of the lowering of the light
levels caused by the heavy summer-leaf canopy. This
then restricts later-flowering competitive plants, giving
bluebell seeds space to thrive in the next spring,
quickly spreading to a dense carpet such as here.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Oxford Scientific
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Species: Acer circinatum
Photographer: Art Wolfe
The vine maple is a small tree or bush found from
British Columbia down to northern California, United
States. Here it overhangs a creek in Mount Rainier
National Park, Washington, United States, displaying
its tendency to bend over. At the extreme, the
branches replant themselves and create a natural arch.
Its attractive coloration has led to its propagation and
distribution worldwide as an ornamental.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Art Wolfe
Hokkaido, Japan
Species: Various
Photographer: Tohoku Color Agency
This winter lakeside scene on Hokkaido, Japan’s
second largest and most northerly island, reminds us
of how trees are remarkable survivors: here a range of
species withstand sub-zero temperatures and
permanently wet conditions that could destroy most
plants. In every climate zone, on every continent
excluding Antarctica, trees have adapted to cope with,
and often thrive in, testing conditions.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Tohoku Color Agency
South Carolina
Species: Taxodium distichum
Photographer: Art Wolfe
The base of this bald cypress grove in South Carolina,
United States, shows the strongly buttressed roots
that connect to a broad root mat that helps the trees
stay upright in the soft ground. The seeds of the tree
are dispersed by animals, but they have also adapted
to cope with floating across water to new sites.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Art Wolfe
Yosemite National Park, California
Species: Sequoidendrom gigantum
Photographer: Art Wolfe
The magnificent size and age of the sequoia belies the
fact that it has been reduced to inhabiting a small area
of the world—the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada,
as here in Yosemite National Park, California, United
States. It does not need to reproduce often, but to do
so requires unusual conditions. Fire is needed to clear
the ground and create the right environment for the
cones to spill their seed in fertile, light conditions. And
then it needs space and to be left quietly alone for
many years...all of which is hard to find outside of a
national park.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Art Wolfe
Tanana River Valley, Alaska
Species: Populus tremuloides
Photographer: Art Wolfe
The white bark of these aspens makes them seem to
almost glow from within in the low northern light of the
Tanana River Valley, Alaska. Aspens may seem
delicate, with their fluttering leaves, but they are
immensely successful, spreading across the boreal
forests at the edge of the northern temperate zone.
With their strong root system and ability to quickly
clone, they often benefit from forest fires, being able to
quickly regrow and take space from other species.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Art Wolfe
United States
Species: Populus tremuloides
Photographer: Art Wolfe
This grove of trembling aspens is also at its southern
limit, requiring an environment that is not too hot in the
day and is cold at night. The likelihood is that all the
trees in this image are genetically identical, being
clones of each other that have originally extended
through roots throwing up new suckers. Aspens
typically replicate in this way, and rarely through seed.
From The Life & Love of Trees by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Art Wolfe
California, United States
Species: Unkown
Photographer: Richard Mack
This award-winning image is called "Tree Cathedral"
by its photographer for good reason. Shot on a tree
farm in California, United States, it shows a plantation
of hybridized fast-growth poplar trees, and makes a
powerful connection with gothic architecture. In doing
so, it reminds us that trees and architecture have
always been joined and not just through timber as a
building material. Trees as structural inspiration have
been there from classical antiquity through to the
steel "trees" that hold up many contemporary airport
terminals.
From The Life & Love of Trees
by Lewis Blackwell. Image © Richard Mack
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