New Books

New Books

Tree Anatomy by Alex L. Shigo, 1994, hardcover, 104 pages, 94 color photos. Published by Shigo and Trees, Associates, P.O. Box 769, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, U.S.A. Price US$79.00 plus US$4.00 shipping.

Over past decades we’ve all enjoyed both the great enthusiasm of his talking and the unusual beauty of his slides as we attended numerous lectures by Alex Shigo at professional tree conferences of all types. But as any teacher realizes, one drawback of lecturing from slides is that yourstudents/audience cannot carry away your pictures for later thoughtful study. Now our problem is solved. In this 9×12-inch book, of “coffee-table” quality, Dr. Shigo gives us here what he considers to be his 94 best photos chosen by him among the 3,000 which he considered eligible for this publication. He has taken care to include trees from many regions and climates, and to show the original size of the field photographed for each of these photo-micrographs. Moreover, each photo is accompanied by a paragraph of appropriate commentary, written in his inimitable style. There are micro-photos of flowers, fruit, leaves, needles, buds, pith, young stems, bark, wood, tropical wood, trunk vs. root wood, roots, compartmentalization, palms, wood in other tropical trees, mycorrhizae, and slime molds. To all this he has added: a 50-item summary, a bibliography of 59 books (some of which I’d never known before), a subject index, and indices of species shown and species mentioned. This book will give you all the pleasure you got from hearing Dr. Shigo speak at any of his seminars, but this time it will happen at your own convenience and in your own home. I’m very pleased to be able to add it to my library. (Dr. Francis W. Holmes)

Native Plants for Southwestern Landscapes by Judy Meilke. University of Texas Press. P.O. Box 7819, Austin, Texas 78713, phone (512) 471 - 4032. $39.95 cloth, $22.95 paper. 5.75 × 8.25 inches, 384 pp, 350 color photos.

Native plants have gained in popularity over the past decade, but the amount of information available about growing them hasn’t kept pace. This book will help close the gap. It is written in a style easily understood by beginning gardeners, yet it contains enough information to satisfy the needs of landscape professionals. The heart of the book lies in the complete descriptions and beautiful color photographs of plants native to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chiihuahuan desert regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Judy Mielke characterizes each plant’s foliage, flowers, fruits, and mature sizes. She gives detailed information on its natural habitat, its water, soil, light, temperature, and pruning requirements, and its possible uses in landscape design.

• © 1994, International Society of Arboriculture. All rights reserved.