New Landmark Trees Book in Conservation Week

A landmark book on the native trees of New Zealand is being launched during Conservation Week this month.

New Zealand’s Native Trees by John Dawson and Rob Lucas is a new encyclopedic publication that covers over 320 species, subspecies and varieties, in a substantial 576 pages with well over 2,000 photographs. It is considered to be the most comprehensive book on the subject to have been published in the last 30 years.

“One of the most remarkable features of the book is the stunning collection of photographs, almost all of them taken by Rob Lucas,” says the book’s publisher Jane Connor. “Over the last seven years, Rob has travelled from Cape Reinga to Stewart Island many times in search of trees at just the right stage to photograph.”

Botanist John Dawson and photographer Rob Lucas have previously collaborated on several books, including Nature Guide to the New Zealand Forest.

“New Zealand is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Not only do our forests look, smell and feel like no other forest on earth, the majority of plants occur nowhere else. As well as being a fabulous reference book, we hope it will inspire a new generation of New Zealanders to value and preserve our natural heritage,” says John.

From the massive kauri and the ubiquitous cabbage tree, to rare and endangered species found only on offshore islands, New Zealand’s Native Trees by John Dawson and Rob Lucas is a wonderful contribution to the documentation and understanding of the richness of New Zealand’s native flora.

New Zealand’s Native Trees  by John Dawson & Rob Lucas will be launched at Unity Books Wellington, by the Hon. Kate Wilkinson, Minister of Conservation, on Thursday 15th September. Conservation Week begins on Sunday.

The book will be available to purchase from bookstores nationwide and online from: www.craigpotton.co.nz and will also be available from your local library.

ENDS