David Allen Sibley, the preeminent bird-guide author and illustrator, now applies his formidable skills of identification and illustration to the trees of North America.
Monumental in scope but small enough to take into the field, The Sibley Guide to Trees is an astonishingly elegant guide to a complex subject. It condenses a huge amount of information about tree identification—more than has ever been collected in a single book—into a logical, accessible, easy-to-use format.
With moer than 4,100 meticulous, exquisitely detailed paintings, the Guide highlights the often subtle similarities and distinctions between more than 600 tree species—native trees as well as many introduced species. No other guide has ever made field identification so clear.
Features highlighted include:
• leaves (including multiple leaf shapes and fall leaf color)
• bark
• needles
• cones
• flowers
• fruit
• twigs
• silhouettes
More than 500 maps show the complete range, both natural and cultivated, for nearly all species.
Trees are arranged taxonomically, with all related species grouped together. By focusing on the fundamental characteristics of, for example, oaks or chestnuts or hickories, the Guide helps the user recognize these basic species groups the same way birders recognize thrushes, warblers, or sparrows.
In addition, there are essays on taxonomy, on the cultivation of trees, and on conservation issues, reflecting Sibley’s deep concern with habitat preservation and environmental health.
An important new contribution to our understanding of the natural world, The Sibley Guide to Trees will be a necessity for every tree lover, traveler, and naturalist. It is sure to become the new benchmark in field guides to trees.
“The Sibley Guide to Trees is so well done that even the most serious birders may find themselves identifying and enjoying trees in their own right. . . . All aspects of the trees are shown: leaves (from above and below), buds, flowers, fruits, twigs, and bark. For most species, the autumn leaves are illustrated and, when appropriate, new growth as well. . . . The excellent range maps are large and dependable. . . . The information is well ordered [and] the guide includes the very latest research. . . . The Sibley Guide to Trees will occupy a treasured space right next to The Sibley Guide to Birds. . . . It is as monumental and as purely pleasurable as the bird guide, and a masterful and fitting companion.” —Clay and Pat Sutton, Birding magazine
“A wonderful companion volume to David Sibley’s superb bird books, with the same beautifully precise species illustrations and concise, clear descriptions and range maps—altogether an invaluable contribution to our nature literature.” —Peter Matthiessen, author of Shadow Country and The Snow Leopard
“Unlike birds—the subject of David Sibley's previous guide—trees of the same species can be different colors at different times of year, different sizes in different places, and even different shapes and sizes in the same place. I thought, therefore, that trees were so replete with variables that a field guide would be impossible. I hadn't counted on Sibley's genius with words and paint to turn the impossible into this brilliant, eminently useful, reality.” —Richard Ellis, author of Deep Atlantic and Tuna: A Love Story
“A beautiful, masterful, and much-needed work that will henceforth be our guide to the North American trees.”
—E. O. Wilson
“I am delighted that the very talented David Sibley has ‘branched out’ to include trees. His illustrations are ideal, and the fact that he chooses to give more examples and variations than other guides will make this a very useful handbook.” —Robert Bateman, author of Birds
