Rare trees The fascinating stories of the world's most threatened species

Oldfield, officer of the Order of the British Empire for her life's work in protecting wild tree species worldwide, and Rivers, head of conservation prioritization at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, have pulled together a lavishly illustrated, lovingly detailed compendium of "rare trees" of the world--"rare" meaning under serious threat from climate change, logging, slash-and-burn farming, and other types of human predation. Even as hope can be drawn from global efforts to protect threatened species--like the Fraser fir (endangered), white ash (critically endangered), and shea tree (vulnerable)--such efforts, the authors point out, face almost insurmountable challenges. Each of the dozens of entries includes level of danger, natural range, preferred habitat, and the specific threats to that species, along with an explanatory text of some 200 words. The authors use sidebars liberally and to powerful effect; e.g., Brazil has the most tree species of any country in the world, at 8,847, but also the most under threat. In their noble efforts to honor these "rare" trees, the authors will certainly sensitize readers to the trees' value and their peril.