TREE DAY

An hourly guide that spotlights twenty four trees as they root flower and host diverse forest life In this short book treetop explorer Meg Lowman guides us through a global forest Each chapter of Tree Day introduces a single tree during a single hour highlighting twenty four species from around the world In the dark of Yemen s night it is too early to see the red sap from which the dragon s blood tree gets its name But if we watch closely we will see nocturnal geckos carry the trees pollen in their snouts Later in the Pacific Northwest we climb the world s tallest species the coastal redwood The morning fog is a reminder that redwoods absorb water through their roots and canopies helping them survive such heights The sun is already low in the sky on an autumn afternoon Given the darkness of this New England forest the sugar maple s leaves have stopped producing chlorophyll that converts light into energy and green gives way to vivid crimson foliage After many hours of boiling the maple sap makes delicious maple syrup As the sun sets in Mexico we observe the origin of another treat chocolate The cocoa tree s flowers sprout along its trunk and branches allowing easy access for tiny insects like midges that pollinate the tree and start the proce