The Hidden Life of Trees

A German forester describes how trees in a natural stand grow, compete, and cooperate: roots and fungal networks carry signals and nutrients; neighbouring trunks can share resources; bark, leaves, and canopy respond to drought, insects, and light. Wohlleben draws on woodland management and on research in forest ecology to argue that a wood behaves as a community rather than as isolated trunks waiting to be harvested. Chapters treat seedlings, ancient specimens, urban plantings, and what slow time means for a species that outlives its observers. The book is popular science about forest behaviour, not a novel and not a planting manual.

Bound in light brown cloth with monochrome printed inset label on cover. Cream endpapers printed in pale green with a leaf pattern. Slipcase wrapped in dark brown textured paper.