The Urban Tree Book: An Uncommon Field Guide for City and Town

by Arthur Plotnik

Open The Urban Tree Book and discover the joys of forest trekking--right in your city or town. This first-of-a-kind field guide introduces readers to the trees on their block, in neighborhood parks, and throughout the urban landscape. Unlike traditional tree guides with dizzying numbers of woodland species, The Urban Tree Book explores nature in the city, describing some 200 tree types likely to be found on North America's streets and surrounding spaces, including suburban settings.

With telling descriptions and precise botanical detail, this unique guide not only identifies trees but brings them to life through history, lore, anecdotes, up-to-date facts, and hundreds of fascinating characteristics. More than 175 graceful illustrations capture the charm of trees in urban settings and depict leaf, flower, fruit, and bark features for identification and appreciation.    

The Urban Tree Book will inform even the most knowledgeable plant person and delight urbanites who simply enjoy strolling beneath the shade of welcoming trees. An engaging excursion into the "urban forest," this complete guide to city trees will both entertain and enlighten nature lovers, urban hikers, gardeners, and everyone curious about their environment. Includes a tree planting-and-care section, tree primer, and exploration guide
Is backed by the expertise of the renowned Morton Arboretum
Incorporates new "urban forestry" perspectives
Covers urban trees across the continent
Lists key organizations and institutions for tree lovers
Selects the best tree sites on the Internet
Updates many guides by 20 years

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Gardening, Reference

433 pages, Paperback

First published May 16, 2000

About the author

Arthur Plotnik is the author of nine books, including "Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style" and two Book-of-the-Month Club selections: "The Elements of Expression" (revised and expanded in 2012) and "The Elements of Editing." Among his many publications are award-winning essays, biography, short fiction, and poetry. He studied under Philip Roth at the Iowa (Graduate) Writers Workshop and worked as editorial director for the American Library Association. He serves on the Board of "The Writer" magazine and lives in Chicago with his wife, the artist Mary H. Phelan.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning to be an inner-city tree person? This book is for you. We humans seem to plant the same few trees in every city, and this book will help you figure out what they are and why we pick them.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for the tree lover. I learned a great deal about trees in the urban landscape.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that I'd call this an "uncommon" field guide, exactly, but it's certainly a very good one, if rather exhaustively detailed in some places. It's also an American field guide, and while there's a lot of crossover from introduced trees - you can find an oak or a chestnut in most places - it will of course be of more use in that country.

It's a good book for beginners, too, I think. Full of resources, and if each entry begins with the standard information that you'd find in any field guide, the bulk of every entry comes after that, in a short essay on history and context of the tree in question. These are genuinely accessible pieces of writing, geared to the interested non-scientist. I do wish there was a bit more variety in them, however. More information on mythology and ethnobotany, and less information on which random US President planted what when they were at the White House, for instance. I wonder if, in a book like this, that extra material might have been gathered from various nature writers, in more of an anthology/supplemented field guide type of book. This would have the benefit of a bit of diversity in the writing, which might have made it feel a little less repetitive. Because valuable as this is, it took me months to wade through...

[Sandy D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, and it's very useful - great advice on identification with tips and drawings. It needs to be updated, however, with the last 17 years of history and trends in urban planting (emerald ash borer, tulip trees - Liriodendran tulipfera - as city trees, etc.).

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned so much about many of the trees most commonly in my habitat. Very readable. Would wish for just a few more illustrations of different aspects of each tree.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative. Various names for each tree, a lifelike drawing or picture, break down of information on each bit of nature presented. It’s great for looking over and learning or referring to if you wanted to talk to specific tree that falls in your path

[Linden Leman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to use and easy to read - great selection of both scientific and historical information on the trees city-slickers like me spend most of our time with.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tree identification book! I highly recommend!