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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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ELDERFLORA
A Modern History of Ancient Trees
In Elderflora, historian Jared Farmer tells the globe-spanning story of humanity's deep fascination with the oldest living trees.
Covering the entire modern era, as well as the far geologic past, Elderfora ties together histories from around the world, arguing that humans' respect for ancient trees transcends any religion or culture, and suggests that this shared reverence can act as inspiration for action on climate change. It is perfect for the large audience of readers of books exploring humans' relationship to trees, including Suzanne Simard's Finding the Mother Tree and Peter Wohlleben's The Hidden Life of Trees.
Throughout history, Farmer reveals, humans have protected long-lived trees and revered them in legend, myth, and scripture. But our admiration for ancient trees took a distinctly modern turn with the onset of the seventeenth century, when naturalists and botanists embarked on an epic quest to catalog the oldest trees on Earth. Through their journeys they discovered the fascinating properties of ancient trees, from the medicinal uses of African baobabs to the Mesozoic origins of American sequoias, and they developed increasingly more sophisticated means of measuring extreme biological age, including dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. As Farmer narrates this engrossing history of science, he travels around the world visiting sites of sacred groves and trees, from northern India to the Welsh coast, and argues that humans' awe of ancient trees transcends cultures and religions.
Today, the science of trees' aging, senescence, and longevity is extraordinarily advanced, but the survival of ancient trees is threatened by climate change, invasive pathogens, resource exploitation, and air pollution. Drawing on deep global research and travel, Farmer concludes that humans' shared respect can help reorient the way the world approaches the ongoing climate emergency. If we can learn to care about future old trees, altering our habits so that they may one day exist, we might get closer to being the far-sighted planetary stewards that the biosphere so desperately needs.
Combining rigorous scholarship with lyrical writing, Elderflora chronicles the complex roles ancient trees have played in the modern world and argues that we might need old trees now more than ever.
Jared Farmer is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. A former Andrew Carnegie Fellow, he is the author of several books, including On Zion's Mount which won five awards, and Trees in Paradise, which won three prizes. He lives in Philadelphia.
Throughout history, Farmer reveals, humans have protected long-lived trees and revered them in legend, myth, and scripture. But our admiration for ancient trees took a distinctly modern turn with the onset of the seventeenth century, when naturalists and botanists embarked on an epic quest to catalog the oldest trees on Earth. Through their journeys they discovered the fascinating properties of ancient trees, from the medicinal uses of African baobabs to the Mesozoic origins of American sequoias, and they developed increasingly more sophisticated means of measuring extreme biological age, including dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. As Farmer narrates this engrossing history of science, he travels around the world visiting sites of sacred groves and trees, from northern India to the Welsh coast, and argues that humans' awe of ancient trees transcends cultures and religions.
Today, the science of trees' aging, senescence, and longevity is extraordinarily advanced, but the survival of ancient trees is threatened by climate change, invasive pathogens, resource exploitation, and air pollution. Drawing on deep global research and travel, Farmer concludes that humans' shared respect can help reorient the way the world approaches the ongoing climate emergency. If we can learn to care about future old trees, altering our habits so that they may one day exist, we might get closer to being the far-sighted planetary stewards that the biosphere so desperately needs.
Combining rigorous scholarship with lyrical writing, Elderflora chronicles the complex roles ancient trees have played in the modern world and argues that we might need old trees now more than ever.
Jared Farmer is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. A former Andrew Carnegie Fellow, he is the author of several books, including On Zion's Mount which won five awards, and Trees in Paradise, which won three prizes. He lives in Philadelphia.
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Book
Published 2022-10-18 by Basic Books |