And after 400 years every molecule of sugar should have been gone, and the only explanation was that this old stump was supported by its neighbors.ĬURWOOD: Supported by its neighbors? Why do some trees feed a nearby stump? The tree I think was felled 500 or 400 years ago, and when I stumbled upon it and researched it, I found out that it was still living without any green leaf, and that seemed to be impossible because a tree is a living being which burns sugar in its cells, like we do. WOHLLEBEN: They turned out to be a century-old stump. Peter, you began your book with the chapter called, “Friendships” that describes how you stumbled upon a rather remarkable set of mossy green, might I say, stones? What did those stones turn out to be? We'll talk about trees maybe having brains, having societies, having some sort of a memory.

James B.The old moss-covered stump, which Peter Wohlleben first thought was a stone (Photo: Peter Wohlleben)ĬURWOOD: So, I want to warn our listeners to strap on their seat belts because we're going to go to some heights of thinking about trees that people usually don't go. Written by one of the world’s leading naturalists.

Draws on new discoveries in biology and natural history.

Features a wealth of richly detailed drawings accompanied by breathtaking images of microscopic landscapes on leaf, bark, and root surfaces.

The Hidden Company That Trees Keep blends marvelous storytelling with beautiful illustrations and the latest science to reveal how the lives of trees are intertwined with those of their diverse companions. In return, animals help with pollination, seed dispersal, and recycling of nutrients. Microbial life thrives in the hidden spaces of leaf scales, twigs, and bark, while birds, mammals, and insects benefit from the more visible resources trees provide. With their elaborate immune responses, trees recruit a host of allies as predators and parasites to defend against uninvited advances from organisms that chew on leaves, drain sap, and bore into wood. James Nardi guides you through the innermost unseen world that trees share with a wondrous array of creatures. You can tell a lot about a tree from the company it keeps.

The hidden life of trees