New Zealand’s Native Trees

From the massive kauri – the third-largest tree in the world – the showy pohutukawa and rata, and the ubiquitous cabbage tree to rare and endangered species found only on offshore islands, New Zealand’s Native Trees is a landmark book, the kind that is published only once in a generation.

It celebrates the unique and magnificent native forests, and describes and generously illustrates more than 320 species, subspecies and varieties. This edition has been completely brought up-to-date with a significant number of botanical revisions, as many new species have been described or reclassified in the years since the book was first published. Invaluable as an identification guide, a reference, a resource for landscapers and gardeners.

Beginning with the magnificent conifers and iconic tree ferns, and giving full treatment to the numerous flowering species, including the distinctive southern beeches, the often-overlooked coprosmas and the curious tree daisies, this is a considerable piece of work. The text for each species describes every botanical feature in detail, along with habitat, ecology and key relationships with other plants and animals. More than 2000 superb photographs illustrate fascinating close details along with wider views of specimens and habitats.

It also addresses such questions as ‘Why do so many trees with juvenile forms?’ ‘How do trees survive in waterlogged environments?’ ‘Why is rimu so important to the survival of the kakapo?’

Clear-cut illustrations of leaves are included for each species, arranged in plates for easy identification of larger groups, John Salmon’s The Native Trees of New Zealand has been a bestseller for nearly 30 years. This new book, by acclaimed author-photographer team John Dawson and Rob Lucas, takes this ever-popular subject into the 21st century by bringing in evolution, biodiversity and environmental threats.