The lasting appeal of trees

摘要

When the first edition of Hugh Johnson's newly updated Trees opus came out 1973, Dutch elm disease (DED) was about to decimate the UK's elm population. Despite the shock waves it sent around the UK, tree diseases seem even more prevalent today. Phytophthora ramorum is now in larch as well as woody shrubs. Oak pro-cessionary moth is heading north. Leaf miner and canker have been made worse by drought in horse chestnuts. But Johnson, whose latest book -Trees: A Lifetime's Journey Through Forests, Woodsand Gardens-Is published by Octopus this autumn, is not too concerned. "Whether tree disease is more prevalent, or we just know more now, is not clear to me. Knowledge is deeper than before.