The Tree Collector: The Life and Explorations of David Douglas

by Ann Lindsay, Syd House

David Douglas was one of the most important botanical collectors of all time. Thanks to his heroic, often unimaginably arduous explorations, during which he collected and discovered more than 200 species, forests and gardens are immeasurably richer. Not only is the Douglas fir named after him, but conifers such as the Sitka spruce, the Grand and Noble firs, and the Monterey pine were introduced to Britain by him. Douglas, who grew up near Perth, Scotland, studied at the Botanical Gardens in Glasgow under William Hooker, the greatest botanist of the 19th century. He made his name through his remarkable excursions of western Canada—once walking nearly 10,000 miles between the Pacific coast and Hudson Bay.

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing style was hard to read but ultimately was left with having learned something. a deeper appreciation of the legacy of David Douglas on the Horticulture of England, where he botanised the similar climate of Washington, Oregon and California to find lupins, penstemons of various kind, currants, baby blue eyes, Oregon grape and many valuable conifers such as the Douglas fir, Noble fir, Sitka spruce that would be used in the timber industry and in amenity woodland.

[Samuel]

Three-and-a-half, really. A thorough and readable biography of a remarkable man. In particular, I thought the authors did a good job of getting across the enormity of what travelling to and in the Pacific Northwest meant in Douglas' time.