Teaching the Trees, Anothe Great Summer Tree Read.

A recent fascinating New York Times article, Tending the Body’s Microbial Garden, discusses the ecosystem of microbial wildlife that each human contains within themselves.  Trees are not so different. Joan Maloof in Teaching the Trees, Lessons from the Forest, shares the micro ecosystems surrounding each tree. For example how seven types of leaf hoppers live specifically on Sycamore Trees or the Beech Trees that provide habitat for many species: the red-backed salamanders, beech-drops, tway blade orchids, fungus gnats, and many fungal species. She further shares how the ecosystems of the trees of an old growth forest depend upon each other in a complex web of interrelationships.  The book is illustrated using drawings of 18th century naturalist, John Abbot.  The book gives many personal anecdotes on life and teaching biology at a small college.  This book is one of my favorites, it is informative, well written, and inspiring.