Tree Council trees, science and research director Stokes has produced a photographic identification guide to the 113 native trees and shrubs of GB and Ireland, as well as covering 190 of the common non-natives.
There are 3,000 photos and 270 illustrations. The book provides useful phenology, species status, conservation status and toxicity codes.
The natives have been in the British Isles for 8,000+ years. Norway spruce and sycamore have been here since before the 16th century and larch and London plane from the 17th. Sitka spruce and firs were Victorian introductions.
The book is compact, yet weighty, with plenty of background on history and ecology before the body of the work begins. The average tree gets a page with a number of ways to identify it in the field; maps, drawings, photos and descriptions, plus a 'did you know' section. Thanks to this admirable book, you may never misidentify another tree again.
