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Chargement... Hidden Trees of Britain (2007)par Archie Miles
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This lavishly illustrated guide presents a regional overview of the great diversity of woodlands in and hedgerow trees in Britain, as well as some breathtaking individuals, many growing in extreme circumstances. Breaking the nation down into 10 regions (including Northern Ireland), this guide covers the weird, the wonderful, and the ancient, with superb photographs, keyed maps, and a comprehensive reference section giving details of how to find the sites. Whether it be yew trees growing from inhospitable crevices in the limestone pavements of Lancashire, Britain's most northerly ash wood in the west Highlands of Scotland, tamarisk-topped hedge banks in Cornwall, pure laburnum hedges in Shropshire, hollies growing on seaside shingle banks of Kent, or simply the massive 42-foot girthed frame of the famous Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire, the author chronicles the very best of British trees. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)582.160941Natural sciences and mathematics Plants Plants noted for specific vegetative characteristics and flowers Herbaceous and woody plants, plants noted for their flowers Trees History, geographic treatment, biography Europe British IslesClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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The selection of woods and trees seems odd to me, an untravelled Californian. Most seem spindly and scrubby. They have usually been cut back over and over again ("coppiced" and "pollarded") for centuries until they are left shrubby, with many slender, gnarly trunks. Many have a krumholz effect, which can be attractive, but less so when it is caused by arboricultural interference as these are. Most others are dwarfed by suboptimal growth conditions (cliffsides) where the sheep couln't get at them. One gets the impression that the southern half of England has very few trees over 20 feet in height, and almost none over 30 feet. It explains why they are hidden.
Scotland and Wales do a little better with some healthy looking woods and a lot of interesting stressed trees, sort of a subalpine effect.
There are only a handful of tree species represented, but the impression I get is that these are the only species in Great Britain. It seems that the only non-introduced conifers in Britain are the Yew and the Scotch Pine.
The photographs are very attractive but not very botanically informative. Although the author writes in many places about lime trees, and photographs many of them, I would not be able to identify one on the basis of this book. From the photographs they appear as just generic trees. This is a frustration throughout the book. I do think I might be able to identify a rowan in leaf on the basis of this book. So that's one to the good. But I might get it confused with a whitebeam.
The author's writing talents do not measure up to his photography. The text is a chatty travelogue just slightly above the level of a flight magazine. ( )