Review: The Meaning of Trees: Botany, History, Healing, Lore by Fred Hageneder
A very structured book. The introduction is short—only four pages—and there is no conclusion. The body of the book dedicates two to eight pages for each species. The front and end matter includes a guide to early history (of the many peoples mentioned), a botanical glossary, an introduction to natural healing, and a further reading section.
The book outlines fifty-eight species of trees. For each species there are the following sections, each a paragraph or two (sometimes several) long:
*Introduction—tree’s names, identifying characteristics, varieties, native location, description of flowers, etc.
*Practical uses—nutrition, by-products (timber, cork, syrup, etc)
*Natural healing (western medicine, eastern medicine, tribal remedies, etc.)
*Culture, myth, and symbol
As well as a box with:
*Symbolism
*Divine associations
*Astrological associations
*Superstition (only occasionally)
*Historical spotlight (an anecdote involving the tree)
Occasionally there is also a calendar detailing the flowering and fruiting time of the tree and outlining any events or celebrations in which the tree was/is involved.
Before picking it up, I had expected this book to have a much longer section about trees and their meaning in general, and to be structured with more of a purpose of understanding why we give so much meaning to trees and how those meanings agree or differ, and less a laundry list of trees and their individual meanings, without any larger context. I was a little disappointed because the book did not live up to my high expectations in this regard. I was also a little startled by the lack of conclusion. After the fifty-eighth tree, the book simply ends, followed by the end matter. No wrapping up at all. I’m guessing this book is meant more as a coffee table volume than for reference or general reading, since the structure makes more sense if you are casually picking it up and just reading a couple random pages at a time.
I was impressed that the book featured trees from all around the world. There were a wide variety of trees, regions, and cultures mentioned, and as a result many trees I hadn’t heard of.
All in all, while The Meaning of Trees probably doesn’t have much you can’t find on wikipedia, it is a nice collection of information, all in one place.
2.5 out of 5 stars
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It seems lately there've been a lot of people misinterpreting my tumblr. All I do here is post things that make me think or that are newsworthy. As I originally said, "just a collection of links that interest me and that I think you nerds will enjoy." Whether I agree with them or not is beside the point. The point is for us to gather what knowledge we can from the article, think about it, and then move on.
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