A compelling account of the extraordinary relatives of ordinary garden conifers. Leading expert Aljos Farjon provides a compelling narrative that observes conifers from the standpoint of the curious naturalist. It starts with the basic question of what conifers are and continues to explore their evolution, taxonomy, ecology, distribution, human uses, and issues of conservation. As the story unfolds many popular misconceptions are dispelled, such as the false notion that all conifers have cones. The extraordinary diversity of conifers begins to dawn as Farjon describes the diminutive creeping shrub Microcachrys tetragona, whose strange seed cones resemble raspberries, and the prehistoric-looking Araucaria meulleri. The taxonomic diversity of conifers is huge and Farjon goes on to relate how, over the course of 300 million years, these trees and shrubs have adapted to survive geological upheavals, climatic extremes, and formidable competition from flowering plants. All who seek to learn more about the early history of life on our planet will cherish this book.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A Book Worthy of its Subject But Somewhat Flawed:
This book has a lot going for it. The author has been most recently head of the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and has had a front-row seat as a conifer taxonomist during the development of three key disciplines of the last few decades: molecular genetics, cladistic analysis, and earth history. Unlike many taxonomists he glories in making extensive field trips throughout the conifer world, for business and pleasure. His writing style is generally clear and engaging, and occasionally hits... more info
recommended:
As we have become accustomed to from Timber Press, this is a very well-printed book, on glossy paper, with an immaculate layout. Illustrations are excellent and are of three kinds: mainly 1) color photographs and 2) line-drawings but with the occasional 3) SEM B&W photograph. Most of the illustrations were made by the author, but some have been contributed by other experts (for instance, some of the line-drawings have been borrowed from van Pelt's book). Obviously, the author is THE acknowledged... more info
Timber Press and Farjon hit a home run...:
I'm not sure how to review this book without resorting to tired clichés like "a masterpiece" or "the bible of conifer natural histories." This book just happens to be the prefect example of everything popular science writing should be. Farjon doesn't dumb down the science and doesn't apologize for it (excepting a brief mea culpa in the preface, which also includes Farjon's philosophy on the craft of writing popular science, so don't skip the preface!) Any botanist will enjoy this book just as... more info
