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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Charlie Gilmour

The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix review – how trees rule the world

‘Trees seem almost godlike, using their biochemical wizardry to transform the Earth.’
‘Trees seem almost godlike, using their biochemical wizardry to transform the Earth.’ Photograph: Thianchai Sitthikongsak/Getty Images

When was the last time you stopped to say thank you to a tree? Perhaps it’s something we should do more often. After all, we owe them everything, from the air we breathe to the soil beneath our feet, and far less obvious things too. We have trees to thank for the swirl of our fingerprints, our posture, and possibly even our dreams.

In her new book, British tree science consultant Harriet Rix presents trees as an awesome force of nature, a force that has, over time, “woven the world into a place of great beauty and extraordinary variety”. How have trees done this? And can they really be said to possess “genius”?

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