Conifers around the World

book It is a nice balance that a publication of equal stature to the RHS encyclopedia on cultivated conifers has been recently published on conifers in the wild. “Conifers around the World” authors Zsolt Debreczy and István Rácz have been working together since 1975. The predecessor to this current title was published in 2000 in their native Hungarian; Kathy Musial of the Huntington Botanical Gardens provides valuable editing skills to this much expanded English edition.

The result is massive (again, in two volumes), but very manageable. The authors’ intention is to “present photographs of conifers in their natural habitats in a consistent format.” These larger images are breathtaking, and are supplemented with close-up photos of cones, leaves, and any distinguishing features. The accompanying text is concise but unlike some botanical descriptions is very readable and reflects the authors’ sensitivity to conservation, local culture and ethnobotany.

The focus is on temperate species, and the layout is by broad geographical areas with a detailed description of the geological, vegetative, climatic and human history of each. Maps are used liberally to show topography, sites of major conifer forests, floristic provinces, and the ranges of species. The extensive introduction is a joy to read despite covering some pretty dense subjects, including taxonomy, conifer identification, morphology (lots of drawings help the reader with these), and the history of the earth’s climate and other factors that have impacted the distribution of conifers we find today.

The appendix is also fun, with various essays that didn’t quite fit elsewhere, and a “bark gallery” giving eye level close-ups. The Pacific Northwest is clearly dear to these Europeans, as the two photos that accompany the Preface are from Washington State, including the authors’ portrait standing in front of a giant Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) in Olympic National Park. On the inside of the back cover of Volume 2 is the “Sell the Land?” speech attributed to Chief Sealth; a suitable closure to this very rigorous but also very passionate and personal publication.

Encyclopedia of Conifers

Encyclopedia of conifers book jacket

The moment I opened this massive, two-volume set, I was immediately engaged. Page after page of high quality photographs show the seemingly endless variety of cultivated forms of conifers–it’s mesmerizing.

“Encyclopedia of Conifers” illustrates nearly 5,000 different cultivars, along with the species they are derived from–often with multiple photos from different times of year, or at different ages, or in various horticultural presentations. The variety of cones alone could fill its own book. While these trees are popularly known as evergreens, the rich variety of blues, silvers, golds, and browns along with the rich reds and purples of cones belies that name.

While the photographs are stunning, this is not just a picture book. The authors have notable credentials: Aris Auders maintains one of Europe’s largest collections of conifers cultivars in Latvia, while Derek Spicer is the chairman of the British Conifer Society. Their goal was to create a reference work that is both comprehensive in its listing of cultivars and well-illustrated, a combination lacking in earlier publications on this subject.

The result will be the standard for years to come. While the photographs would stand on their own, the text provides description of each species in the wild, including range, elevation, size, notable characteristics, a description of the cones and hardiness zone (using USDA standards). For each cultivar that follows there is a description, origin if known, synonyms, misspellings, and citations to the name in older books, nursery catalogs, websites, and arboretum holdings. This piece too, could stand on its own.

The Fragrant Path: a Book About Sweet Scented Flowers and Leaves

One of my favorite books on fragrance is The Fragrant Path by Louise Beebe Wilder. Published in 1932, and re-issued in 1990 (the Miller Library has both editions), I don’t think there is a garden fragrance book today that’s any better.

Why? No other author is as skilled a writer, nor as comprehensive on this topic. Wilder was both an avid gardener and a thorough researcher, and she was skilled at blending book knowledge, quotes from writers past, and hands on (or is it nose on?) experience into her writing. She was also a good story teller, making her books (I recommend them all) read more like a memoir than a gardening guide.

There are no photos in this book. They’re really not necessary. Scent is difficult enough to define without distractions for your other senses, but Beebe is quite successful at describing its elusive qualities. For example, when at a garden party with a witch hazel in full bloom, she notes “The fantastic little tree was sending us messages, remaining quiet for a time and then again seeking to get in touch with us.”

She was incredibly thorough. There are whole chapters on all the popular choices including roses, scented geraniums, and gilliflowers (carnations and their kin). More remarkable are the chapters on scented flowers of the rock garden, scents found in the berry patch or orchard, and, my favorite, “Plants of Evil Odour.”

The fragrance of honey fills another chapter. My mouth waters reading about “rich dark Buckwheat honey” or “delicious amber-hued and very fragrant honey [that] is produced where the bees feed upon the Orange blossoms.”

Most amazing is the chapter on “Wild Scents.” For one who gardened near New York City, she is surprisingly inclusive of the West Coast native flora, describing the sweet qualities of Trillium ovatum, Myrica californica, and Cornus nuttallii amongst others.

She also considers tender trees and shrubs. We are lucky as many of these selections, available to her only as conservatory plants, will survive and spread their perfume in our marine climate!

Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society, Spring 2014

A Handbook of the World’s Conifers

[A Handbook of the World's Conifers] cover

A Handbook of the World’s Conifers, by Aljos Farjon, was published in 2010 and is described by the author as “not a monograph purely for taxonomists. Its content aims at a much wider audience.” This is accomplished in part by discussing the ecology, conservation, and uses of all species along with the etymology of the botanical name and vernacular names in local languages. Calling this a handbook diminishes its stature; this is a set of two hefty volumes with entries more typical of an encyclopaedia.

It includes all tropical species (about 200, which accounts for nearly one-third of all known conifers in the world) and an emphasis on description including–despite the author’s stated intentions–extensive taxonomic notes. The images and illustrations that are included are of good quality, but are comparatively few and collected on photo pages separated from the related text.

The introduction to “Handbook” is relatively brief, but that’s because Farjon regards his 2008 publication, “A Natural History of Conifers,” as the real introduction. This is a book to be read cover-to-cover, and is a selection of essays on subjects “sometimes communicated at the coffee table in the staff room of your institute, but that would not have been allowed through by the editor of a scientific journal.” This suggests light reading, and the author does show a flair for storytelling, but he also chooses pretty meaty subjects. If you are confused by cladistics, phylogenetic relationships, and other concepts of modern taxonomy and systematics, these terms are explained in language that a lay reader can–with a bit of work–understand.

Excerpted from the Winter 2014 Arboretum Bulletin.

Dates: A Global History

book Dates: A Global History is another title in the Edible series from Reaktion Books. An unusual aspect of the fruit (technically a berry) of the date palm tree is that it may be harvested at three different stages of ripeness–the ultrasweet dates one usually finds for sale in groceries are at the final stage, when they have sun-dried on the tree and the skin has begun to wrinkle and darken. Dates have been used as a food staple for centuries. Once called ‘bread of the desert’ and ‘cake for the poor,’ dates are still considered of vital importance in combating world hunger.

The date palm’s botanical name (Phoenix dactylifera) derives from the tree’s origins in Phoenicia (now Lebanon, Syria, and Israel), while the species name might refer back to the Semitic roots of the word for palm (dekel in Hebrew, diqla in Aramaic, etc.) or could refer to the finger-like (dactylos) shapes of clusters of fruit, or more: it’s shrouded in mystery and confusion, as with so many names. You will also learn of a connection to the firebird or phoenix of myth and legend, which built a nest of cassia twigs and frankincense in the top of a date palm.

Other aspects of the date palm:

Once a full crown of leaves has developed, the trunk does not widen with age; there are no annual growth rings if one cuts a cross-section. Leaves which die off protect the trunk with their bases that remain attached. The tree’s roots are fibrous, and secondary roots grow out of the bottom of the trunk. Both a male and female tree are needed to produce fruit. Trees must be hand-pollinated in spring (this has been common knowledge since the days of Mesopotamian agriculture!).
Even in the days of Pliny the Elder, there were numerous varieties of dates. The ones American consumers will probably recognize are medjool and deglet noor, but there are nightingale’s eggs (beidh il-bilbil), khalasa (quintessence), and even an Obama date named for our president.
Although we mainly think of date palms for their edible uses, the hollowed trunks were made into aqueduct pipes for irrigation, and were used in building (the first mosque in Medina, built in about 630 C.E., was reportedly made of palm trunks, thatched with palm leaves, with prayer mats of woven leaves).
Indio in Southern California is the date capital of the U.S., and holds an annual date festival.

The book ends with several tempting recipes (sweet ones such as a 13th-century recipe for date syrup, and a personal favorite: a filled cookie called ma’moul, as well as savory uses).

Like the other books in this series, this title includes footnotes, bibliography, and index.

Lemon: A Global History

book jacket I’ve always wondered about the warty etrog (citron, or Citrus medica) used as part of the Jewish observance of Sukkot (etrog represents one of The Four Species mentioned in the Biblical description of this festival; the others are palm, myrtle, and willow): what purpose did the fruit serve beyond the ritual, and how was this odd-looking fruit related to lemon? The answers to these and many other citrus-related questions may be found in Toby Sonneman’s Lemon: A Global History, a volume in the Edible series from Reaktion Books (2012). It was a surprise to discover the important role of the citron (probably a wild species from northeast India) in the development of a ‘citrus culture’ that eventually gave rise to the lemon we use for its flavor. Citron, thick-skinned and inedible, was valued for its fragrance (mentioned in a Hindu text from before 800 B.C.E.). Its centuries-old use in Jewish ritual would eventually lead to cultivation in different parts of the world after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E., when so many Jews dispersed across North Africa, into the Aegean, Spain, and Italy.

The lemon was probably an ancient natural hybrid, and its route to the Mediterranean is difficult to trace because of the confusion in written and visual depictions: lemons and citrons are hard to distinguish, and common names can be unreliable. Lemons hold an important place in Arab culture, and were also prized in Persia. Because of the lemon’s need for water, farmers developed ingenious irrigation canals with stone tiles to regulate and direct water flow, these methods were widely adopted.

The first recipes using lemon appeared in a 12th century Egyptian treatise called On Lemon: Its Drinking and Use by Ibn Jumay, a Jewish physician in the court of Saladin. He devised a way of preserving lemons with salt, and mentions the fruit’s medicinal uses for a wide range of conditions. Ibn Jumay’s writing was translated, and lemon’s culinary and medicinal fame spread.

Other points of interest:

Lemons were scarce and costly, and therefore a status symbol, in Northern Europe. You will find them in many 17th century Dutch still life paintings.
Cosimo III de’Medici grew 116 varieties of citrus in his gardens. The name Medici is possibly related to the name for citron, Median apple (Media being the Greek name for ancient Persia).
It took a long time for sea voyagers to figure it out, but lemons were an essential preventive against scurvy. (If you think about the term ‘ascorbic’ acid–something which is found in lemons and other citrus–you can see that it is anti-scurvy!) British English does not use ‘lemon’ in the pejorative sense of American English, perhaps a bow to the fruit’s life-saving properties.
Harvesting lemons is a thorny business but the Meyer lemon has fewer thorns.

This pocket history reaches from antiquity to the present time, and is packed with colorful details and illustrations. You may also want to try making Ibn Jumay’s preserved lemons, included along with several other more recent recipes.

Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life

book jacket Part biography, part garden photo essay, and part ventriloquist’s act, Marta McDowell’s Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life (Timber Press, 2013) provides a window into Potter’s world. If you have read her children’s books, you will have a lasting impression of the charming adventures of rabbits, hedgehogs, kittens, and ducks but you may not think of Beatrix Potter as a botanical illustrator. I was surprised to discover that the highly accomplished sketch of foxglove and periwinkle on page 27 was made when she was only ten. The best feature of this book is the gathering together of selected drawings and watercolors of plants, fungi, and landscapes. Potter’s natural history illustrations (particularly of mushrooms) are featured in Ambleside’s Armitt museum.

Potter was also a certifiable plant addict, and was not averse to gathering cuttings and seeds in gardens not her own. Royalties from her publications enabled her to acquire property and land, so she ended up with several gardens in England’s Lake District. The weakest part of the book is McDowell’s attempt to channel Beatrix (as she takes the liberty of calling her) by paraphrasing from her journals and letters to feature aspects of the gardens through the seasons. The accompanying photos are glorious (I am captivated by Hill Top garden’s green-painted wrought-iron gate rimed with frost), but it would have been better simply to quote Potter directly.

Seattle’s Orchards: A Historic Legacy Meets Modern Sustainability.

Seattle's orchards book jacket Audrey Lieberworth enjoyed an active, outdoor childhood in Seattle, but not until she left for Scripps College did she realize “…just how much the connections I made with these [Seattle] landscapes as a child had shaped the person I had become.” The result of this revelation is her senior thesis, “Seattle’s Orchards: A Historic Legacy Meets Modern Sustainability.”

The heart of this work is a survey of eleven orchards–some historical, others recently planted–including their history, their setting in the neighborhood, and types of trees. Also reviewed are the communities supporting each orchard, broad-based programs that support the preservation of trees throughout the city, and the role of the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. This engaging report is available in print at the Miller Library, but also online from Scripps.

Excerpted from the Fall 2013 Arboretum Bulletin.

Alpine Plants of the Northwest

Alpine plants book jacket
Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon became household names, at least among those households interested in native plants, with the publication in 1994 of “Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast”. It has been the most popular field guide in the Miller Library ever since its introduction because of its clarity, organization, plant keys, and many features that give it added value.

Now, the two British Columbia authors/editors have matched their earlier work with a new title, “Alpine Plants of the Northwest”. While the previous work was a comprehensive study of all plants west of the Cascades, this book extends to the alpine and subalpine areas from the coast east to the Rockies, including north to the Yukon and Alaska. This is a large region, but as the number of plants that thrive above the timberline is limited it is a quite manageable guide, especially for those who hike in these areas. Like the earlier book, the Lone Pine publication has a soft but weather resistant cover, making it worth having at least one copy in your hiking party.

This model for field guides anywhere is a good blend of information for a broad range of competencies. Detailed keys required by the knowledgeable are nicely matched with photographs, drawings, and descriptions that will aid anyone in identification. Vexing, hard-to-distinguish species have additional aids, such as a conspectus with descriptive comparisons of both leaves and flowers of the many Potentilla, or leaf silhouettes of the members of the Carrot Family (Apiaceae).

But even if you are not a high country traveler, there is much to recommend in this book. The extensive introduction is much more than a how-to-use-this-guide as it provides an excellent background to the geology and climate (both historical and as changing) of the area of study, and the adaptations of the plant life. Throughout the body of plant descriptions are short sidebar essays to supplement the introduction.

Some of these are just for fun, such as the authors’ top ten favorite alpines, chosen by “flower size relative to the entire plant; appearance and colour; impact factor; plant chutzpah or elan.” What is number one? The Mountain Sapphire (Eritrichium nanum). Elsewhere, all five contributing authors describe their favorite alpine areas of the region.

This sense of fun is present throughout all the writing, but typically with a thoughtful point to make. “In past books, we’ve argued that scientific names are worth learning because they are generally more stable over time[…]it’s becoming more and more difficult to make that argument with a straight face.” This leads to a discussion of the changes brought often by genetic analysis in the plant genera and families. They conclude, “You can also learn scientific names to impress people”, with the tabloid quality tidbit that singer/model Carla Bruni married former French president Nicolas Sarkozy partly because “he knows all the Latin names” of plants!

Excerpted from the Fall 2013 Arboretum Bulletin.

How to Buy the Right Plants, Tools & Garden Supplies

How to buy book jacket
Jim Fox is a consumer advocate. More specifically, a gardening consumer advocate. His goal is “…to educate you to be a savvy consumer so you can be confident that your gardening dollars are well spent.” To achieve this goal, he has written a shopping guide: “How to Buy the Right Plants, Tools & Garden Supplies.”

Many general gardening books touch on plant buying or tool selection, but typically at the back of the book, or in a brief introduction that the reader hastily skims over to get the real excitement–an encyclopedia of plants in glorious color. Fox recognizes how critical this basic information is for all gardeners, experienced or not, and uses clarity, broad experience, and considerable wit to engage the reader, leaving the colorful photos and plant bios to the several other books that he recommends.

I found the author’s insights into the process of buying and selling plants particularly engaging, demonstrating his perspectives as both an avid collector of specialty plants, and as a long-time nursery worker. “To get good service, you need to be a good customer,” he strongly recommends. For example, spouting your own expertise is a quick way to shut down any helpful advice you might have received from the true expert.

After reading this book, I have a much better appreciation for the dedicated men and women who own and run nurseries and must be skilled at managing both plants and people. All so that we can have the cool plants we really, really want.

Excerpted from the Fall 2013 Arboretum Bulletin.