by Jane Goodall
And Dr. Rod Morris sent me some terrific stories about endangered trees, including the Sophora toromiro on Easter Island. I was especially pleased to hear that you believe that it may indeed have been the extinction of the dodo that prevented the germination of the forest tree, Tambolo coque. (An ingenious theory that someone debunked.)
I first knew Alex Chepstow-Lusty as a student at Gombe. You told me an extraordinary detective story: as a result of analyzing a sediment core that you took from a small lake in Peru—painstaking work counting pollen grains and identifying the plants that had produced them all those years ago—you were able to piece together the story of how llama dung enabled the Inca to grow corn at a higher altitude than had been possible before. The whole story is absolutely fascinating and I am dying to share it on our blog.
Robert Eden—I am particularly saddened that I could not include the amazing story of how you gradually built up your organic vineyard in France, the wonderful benefits of buildings made with hemp bricks, the use of a horse rather than a tractor for plowing, and all the other fascinating aspects. Best of all is the fabulous organic wine that you produce. I have so much to thank you for, over and above information to help this book, such as your taking on, pro bono, the huge task of incorporating JGI-Global as a bona fide NGO.
Will Raap, you were so very generous with your time and gave us fascinating information about your wonderful Intervale community garden project in Vermont. People will definitely benefit from reading about it on our blog.
A big disappointment—it simply was not possible to include all the Roots & Shoots projects that involve gardens, tree planting, habitat restoration, and so on. I hope we can establish a special section of our blog for all this information. So many groups sent information that I cannot thank you all here. But I do want to give special thanks to Corinne Bowman, Allison Deines, Revocatus Edwards, Renée Gunther, Jennifer Hill, Japhet Jonas, Alicia Kennedy, Nsaa-Iya Kihunrwa, Dan Miller, Erasto Nvjiko, Shawn Sweeney, and Mike and Karen Weddle.
Tara Golshan and Jasmina Marcheva—you put together wonderful projects from across the United Kingdom, many of them inspired by your workshops. And special thanks to Federico Bogdanowicz. Fede, you invented the marvelous “Professor Roots,” complete with magnifying glass, toilet-roll binoculars, and bush outfit. And, in this role, you have got hundreds of children interested in nature.
All around the world I have had help with this book from all twenty-eight JGI offices. But some people have been especially helpful in organizing visits to botanical gardens, organic farms, and so on during the few days I was able to be in each country. In Singapore our executive director, Beng Chiak, and board member Shawn Lum arranged for me to visit the Bukit Panjang Community Garden, and came with me to the botanical gardens to photograph my Jane Goodall orchid. In Taiwan, executive director Kelly Kok masterminded the visit to the river-cleaning project. In China, executive director Lei Chen Wong helped to organize my visit to the organic farm. And Ilke Pedersen-Beyst told me the wonderful story about getting married inside a hollow oak, and provided the photo. Two people who helped hugely with acquiring information and contacting botanists are Rob Sassor and John Trybus. Much gratitude to all of you.
Joseph Vengersammy, of First in Service Travel—oh my goodness—without your help I could never have gotten to all the places mentioned in the book nor met all the people. You have been fantastic in your ability to somehow make impossible schedules work. We have woken you in the middle of the night when flights were suddenly canceled on the other side of the globe—and sometimes you fixed problems before we even knew that they existed. You are wonderful, and I am so very grateful.
It would have been impossible to gather together all the photos we used to illustrate this book without the work of Christin Jones. Christin, you had to track down photographers and pester them to sign release forms, and search through the Internet for historic images. You have done a stellar job, as you did for the last book, and we are very grateful indeed.
And Mary Paris—you have worked miracles to find some of the early photos of me from the archives. And to enhance the resolution of old pictures, and otherwise get pictures ready for publication. Thank you so much.
Jolie Novak, thank you for jumping in at the last minute and helping us secure and prepare our missing photos. Your generosity and expertise were invaluable.
Then, of course, there are all the photographers themselves who have generously shared their work, waiving fees, searching out their best. A special thanks to Roy Borghouts—you took a whole series of photos when we were searching for an image for the cover, though unfortunately none was selected in the end. I was so sorry about that, but your time was not wasted, for your photos will be used for publicity and on the blog. And Patrick van Veen, you also took photos for the book—thank you so much.
We want to thank you, Dr. Mark Nesbitt, for your very many helpful suggestions on the text. And our thanks also to Dr. Will McClatchey for reading through one of the chapters. You both offered important and thoughtful comments. In some cases editorial decisions were made that omitted some of your suggestions, but we are deeply appreciative and grateful to both of you for your willingness to help with this project.
Rhett Butler, thank you so much for looking through our material about saving forests and habitats. And I do look forward to becoming involved in your excellent website mongabay.com. Dr. Stephen Gliessman, thank you for reviewing our agriculture chapters and providing information about agroecology—it deserves a whole chapter, really. And Christian Ziegler, we are grateful for your kind support and your comments on the chapter about orchids.
Sherri Damlo and Dave Valencia, you have both worked so hard on checking citations and facts throughout the book. Your dedication and attention to details were invaluable. Thank you so very much.
Michael Pollan, I was so absolutely delighted when I heard that you had agreed to write a foreword for this book. I know that this is not an easy task, having been asked to write a good many myself, so I am really terribly grateful. I have so enjoyed and benefited from reading your own books and articles. I remember you saying that to look at the world from the points of view of other species “is a cure for the disease of human self-importance.” How apt! And your suggestion that we should see things from “a plant’s eye view” seems particularly appropriate for this book.
Tom Mangelsen, you have introduced me to several of America’s ecosystems with their varied plants and trees—the prairies, the sandhills, the badlands, and the various environments of Yellowstone National Park. You shared your love for the old cottonwood trees and the aspens. Together we have anguished over the impacts on the environment of intensive agriculture. The center pivots pumping up water from ever deeper under the ground, lowering the water table. The draining of wetlands and the leaching of pollutants into the Platte River, already much diminished, the underlying Ogallala Aquifer shrunk and polluted. Over and above this you invited Gail and me to hide away for a couple of days in your cabin to work on this book in between glorious mornings and evenings with the sandhill cranes and snow geese. And, finally, you have always been so generous in letting us use your fabulous photographs. Thank you, thank you.
And huge thanks also to my wonderful friend Michael Aisner for housing and supporting us through the final push to organize our photos in Boulder. I can think of no better place for such intense work than your extraordinary house. The day we arrived, you showed us the smashed-open door of your car, and the tiny cardboard box that had been inside, now neatly slit open by a black bear. He had gone to all that trouble merely for a couple of lollipops!!!! And many, many thanks to Jeff Orlowski, who printed out countless pictures. Right up to the last minute, Jeff, you helped us during that marathon photo session. And thank you, Chef Linda Hampsten—you volunteered to nurture us at that time with your delicious organic cooking. Just as you did when I was finalizing Harvest for Hope—also at Michael’s house.
James and “Sue 2” Knowles—I a
m thinking now of the many days I have spent in the Roger Smith Hotel in New York. Over the years I have worked on three different books in your hotel, including this one. Your generosity is deeply appreciated—I have accomplished so much, spoken with so many plant people, and written so many words in the familiar and friendly suites you spoil me with. I have stayed with you so many times that it truly feels like home.
Many thanks to our excellent literary agent, Debra Goldstein, with DeFiore and Company, who believed in this book from the start, who has represented us so strongly, and who has been such a friend, guide, and wise advisor throughout this process. Nona Gandelman—you have been part of the JGI for so long now and you do such a great job as my agent for all my books, helping me to get the best possible deals and finding publishers for editions in various countries. Added to which you brought delicious sustenance—and a bottle of Scotch—when Gail and I were working on the book in Colorado.
Our thanks to Helen Atsma, our extraordinary editor at Grand Central Publishing, who carefully guided this book and lovingly pushed us to make it better. Thank you to Kirsten Reach and Allyson Rudolph, Helen’s assistants, who helped us with so many aspects of getting this book published. And a special thanks to Grand Central’s Executive Vice President and Publisher, Jamie Raab. This is the fourth book you have published for me, and I know it has not been easy for you—I get too enthusiastic, carried away, wanting to fill more and more pages, and you are so patient. This book, more than others, might have daunted any publisher. Thank you so, so much for your faith in me—it is wonderful to know you also as a friend.
Mary Lewis, Vice President for Outreach, began working with me in 1991 when she was still employed by Conoco. She joined JGI full-time in 1995, organizing my tours, ensuring that the people I need to see are fitted into the too-busy schedules. She knows everyone and is invaluable in linking people together—a lot of information for this book was acquired in this way. Truly, Mary, without you helping to organize my life, in addition to helping with the organization of JGI, this book might still be unfinished. Added to that, I could not have a more wonderful friend—kind, generous, and nurturing, welcoming me to the little haven of your house in London when I arrive, exhausted from some crazy tour, and inviting colleagues and potential donors to wonderful home-cooked meals.
Susana Name, who heads up our Office of the Founder (OOF) and works with Mary on my tours, it has been wonderful having you with me on tour, especially when I am in Latin America, not only organizing the events and helping me to meet the plant people but translating—you are my “Spanish voice.” And you and your family—Alex, Christian, and Simba the dog—also welcome me into your home.
Dr. Anthony Collins—Tony to me, Anton to many—Director of Baboon Research at Gombe, I am especially thankful for all that you have done for me: helping answer many questions about medicinal plants, organizing my visits to the villages around Gombe to visit the coffee program and the traditional healers. Your knowledge about the local trees and plants is quite extraordinary, your wisdom regarding the local people profound. One special memory is when we bumped our way from Kigoma to Mpanda, with Mtiti and some of the TACARE team, so that I could see firsthand the beautiful forest that we are helping to protect. Together we marveled at a magical waterfall and visited a sacred tree where people still leave gifts. For your support and friendship over so many years, I do so thank you.
Almost at the end now. Judy, or “Jiff,” as I named you when we were children, what a marvelous sister you are. I can only get down to serious writing when I am at home in The Birches—and I have so little time there, but thanks to you, I have been able to immerse myself in getting this book done because you spoiled me, nurtured me, provided my body with the fuel it needed. Delicious meals, fires in the winter. Thank you, thank you. You, with Pip and her two boys, are keeping alive the spirit of the house that so nurtured our childhoods. And—so very important—there are always dogs, rescued dogs. During my walks with Astro, and more recently Charlie, I did much of the thinking that went into the writing of this book.
Gail Hudson, coauthor, collaborator, and friend—what a true joy it has been to work with you. How endlessly patient and tactful you have been, trying to curtail my passion for writing ever more and more, including ever more photos. Without your input I doubt Grand Central would have agreed to publish the book, so long and unwieldy it would have been. And though we have not agreed on everything, when there was a particular story I really wanted to include, and you suggested cutting, I at once saw why—and then rewrote the piece so that you would say, “Oh, now I see why this is so important!” There is no one else in the world with whom I would want to collaborate. Thus, together, we have given birth to yet another book.
And finally—yes, I have really come to the end!—I want to acknowledge the enormous debt that I owe to the green spirits of the plants themselves. I hope that I and all who have helped with this book have done them justice. We want to celebrate the beauty, complexity, and mystery of their world. That we may save it before it is too late.
Notes
CHAPTER 2
1. “A recent inventory lists 298,000” Camilo Mora, Derek P. Tittensor, Sina Adl, Alastair G. B. Simpson, and Boris Worm, “How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?” PLoS Biology 9 (2011): e1001127.
2. “This gangly plant, which Darwin likened” Letter from C. R. Darwin to J. D. Hooker, dated December 18, 1861, accessed June 21, 2013, http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-DAR-00115-00137/1.
3. “Nature, he said, has solved ‘the problem of how to catch’ ” Julius Robert von Mayer, “Die organische Bewegung in ihrem Zusammenhange mit dem Stoffwechsel,” Die Mechanik der Wärme in Gesammelten Schriften (Stuttgart: Cotta, 1867), 53–54. See also “Chemistry in Its Element: Compounds,” Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed June 21, 2013, http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/chlorophyll.asp.
4. “ ‘Hurrah! A seed has just germinated’ ” Charles Darwin to J. D. Hooker, November 18, 1856, in More Letters of Charles Darwin, ed. Francis Darwin (New York: Appleton, 1903), 440.
5. “The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus discussed” Tyler Whittle and Charles Elliott, The Plant Hunters: Tales of the Botanist-Explorers Who Enriched Our Gardens (New York: Lyons & Burgord, 1997).
6. “triggered chemical defense mechanisms” Ralph Kazarian, “Some Evidence That Trees ‘Communicate When in Trouble,’ ” Environmental Conservation 10 (Summer 1983): 173.
7. “ ‘Trees have a few tricks up their leaves’ ” I. T. Baldwin and J. C. Schultz, “Rapid Damage-Induced Changes in Tree Leaf Chemistry and Evidence of Communication between Plants,” Science 221 (July 1983): 277–79.
8. “Meanwhile another research team, from Ben-Gurion University” Falik et al., “Plant Responsiveness to Root-Root Communication of Stress Cues,” Annals of Botany 110 (2012): 271–80. See also Falik et al., “Rumor Has It…: Relay Communication of Stress Cues in Plants,” Public Library of Science One 6 (November 2011): e23625.
9. “ ‘The results demonstrate the ability of plants’ ” Asaf Shtull-Trauring, “Israeli Study Shows: Plants ‘Talk’ Through the Roots,” Haaretz, March 2012, http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-study-shows-plants-talk-through-the-roots-1.417723.
10. “all the trees in the forest are interconnected” Beiler et al., “Architecture of the Wood-Wide Web: Rhizopogon spp Genes Link Multiple Douglas-Fir Cohorts,” New Phytologist 185 (January 2010): 543–53.
11. “ ‘To find these very human touches is something very rare’ ” Gordon Noble and Kenneth Brophy, “Ritual and Remembrance at a Prehistoric Ceremonial Complex in Central Scotland: Excavations at Forteviot, Perth and Kinross,” Antiquity 85 (2011): 787–804. See also “Bronze Age People Left Flowers at Grave,” University of Glasgow, last modified December 15, 2009, http://www.gla.ac.uk/news/archiveofnews/2009/december/headline_138598_en.html.
CHAPTER 3
1. “about 385 million years” W. E. Stein, C. M. Be
rry, L. V. Hernick, and F. Mannolini, “Surprisingly Complex Community Discovered in the Mid-Devonian Fossil Forest at Gilboa,” Nature 483 (February 2012): 78–81.
2. “about 100 million years” Wilson N. Stewart and Gar W. Rothwell, Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
3. “discovered a four-hundred-pound fossil” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Library Edition, s.v. “Eospermatopteris,” accessed July 10, 2013, http://library.eb.com/eb/article-9487969. See also Ker Than, “World’s First Tree Reconstructed,” LiveScience, April 18, 2007, http://www.livescience.com/1439-world-tree-reconstructed.html.
4. “most likely candidate so far for the ancestor” W. E. Stein, F. Mannolini, L. V. Hernick, E. Landing, and C. M. Berry, “Giant Cladoxylopsid Trees Resolve the Enigma of the Earth’s Earliest Forest Stumps at Gilboa,” Nature 446 (2007): 904–907.
5. “widespread throughout the Mesozoic era” “Cycads,” in The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 4th ed., ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner (Detroit: Gale, 2008), Science in Context Database.
6. “as high as one hundred thousand species” Deepti Hajela, “Scientists to Capture DNA of Trees Worldwide for Database,” USA Today Online, May 2, 2008, http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-05-02-890171068_x.htm.
7. “other sources go as low as ten thousand” James Reeb, “Scientific Classification of Trees: An Introduction for Wood Workers,” University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service FOR-61 (1997): 1–4, www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for61/for61.pdf.
8. “the Fortingall Yew in Scotland” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, s.v. “English Yew,” accessed July 12, 2013, http://library.eb.com/eb/article-9032671.
9. “discovered by David Noble” Tony Russell, “The Year of the Wollemi Pine!” Forestry & British Timber (January 16, 2007): 2.