I’m lucky enough to live in a town where trees are an integral part of the street scene. Few roads are without at least a few adding all important green to the urban view. And Cheltenham is not alone, as Urban Arboreal by Michael Jordan shows.
From the limes of Berlin to the cotton trees of Freetown, this is a celebration of trees and their importance in our towns and cities, picking out varieties that are the most popular or noteworthy in each.
We’re reminded that trees provide shelter for wildlife, shade from the sun, filter pollution and produce oxygen: “In an average year of growth a mature oak or lime tree, planted on a roadside verge, will not only absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide but it will also produce more than 100kg/220lbs of oxygen.”
Yet, urban tree planting is not without its problems and varieties have to be carefully chosen to avoid root damage to pavements and drains or conflict with overhead lines. Some bring unique difficulties: springtime ‘fluff’ from the Peking willow (Salix matsudana) causes breathing problems and is a fire hazard in Beijing.
Urban Arboreal is laid out alphabetically not by city but by tree so the journey zig-zags across the world – New York (Acer rubrum), Warsaw (Acer saccharinum), Paris (Aesculus hippocastanum). Some places, such as Berlin and Nice, also appear more than once.
Each entry has a full description of the tree’s growing habit, where it can be found in the city – even down to which street in some cases – and interesting facts. So, we learn about the Battle of the Elms in Stockholm, that Moscow has a one million tree-planting programme and about the musical silver birch of Helsinki with QR codes linking to music.
Kelly Louise Judd’s beautiful botanical illustrations bring each description to life – and help with identification should you find yourself in any of the cities.
Not every entry is about trees lining pavements and some of the highlighted specimens appear in parks. The choices are also not always obvious: Hanover is chosen for the Kentucky yellowwood rather than anywhere in its native United States.
This book proved more enjoyable than expected, engagingly written and full of curious snippets of information. It will definitely encourage you to look up the next time you’re in the city.
• Urban Arboreal – A Modern Glossary of City Trees by Michael Jordan, illustrations by Kelly Louise Judd is published by White Lion Publishing priced £18. Buy now (If you buy through this Amazon link, I get a small fee. The price you pay is not affected.)
• Review copy supplied by White Lion Publishing in return for a fair review.
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