Arboretum

Since the age of 13, Dr Owen Johnson has researched and recorded more than 80,000 specimen trees. As Registrar to The Tree Register, he maintains the definitive database of exceptional trees in Britain. His earlier books include The Collins Tree Guide, Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland and The Sussex Tree Book. He lives in Hastings, dividing his time between trees, writing and nature conservation.The Tree Register of the British Isles (TROBI), founded in 1988, is an independent charity that maintains a database of information on 210,000 notable trees growing in Britain and Ireland. Its aim is to include every tree which is exceptional for its size, age, historical associations or rarity.Royalties from this book will contribute to the work of The Tree Register.

• Tree measurementsBotanical namesIntroduction: The Arboretum of Britain1. Native Trees2. Botanic Gardens: Trees from Chile3. Early Gardens: Trees from southern Europe4. The Eighteenth Century: Trees from America and China5. The Nineteenth Century: Public Parks6. The Pinetum: Trees from western America, Europe and the Far East7. Tender Trees: Trees from Australasia and South East Asia8. Woodland Gardens: Trees from East Asia9. The Twentieth-Century Arboretum: Elm Trees10. Present and Future: Trees from MexicoGlossarySelect bibliographySome synonyms for the botanical namesIndex of trees, people, placesAcknowledgements

'I know of no living person who has travelled more miles and examined more tree species in Britain, wild and cultivated, than Owen Johnson.'For those who appreciate the importance of trees and their role in our lives, this wide-ranging account provides a new and refreshing reminder. For those who don't, start here, now.' Roy Lancaster, CBE, VMH