Pine

Laura Mason was a food historian and writer with a special interest in British foods and food customs. She was the author of Sweets and Candy (Reaktion, 2018) and a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets (2015).

• Introduction1 The Natural History of Pine Trees2 Pine Trees in Myth and Reality3 Pitch, Turpentine and Rosin4 Pine for Timber and Torches5 Pine for Food6 Mythic Pine, Artist's Pine7 The Sound of the Wind in the BranchesTimelineReferencesFurther ReadingAssociations and WebsitesAcknowledgementsPhoto AcknowledgementsIndex

All the volumes [in the Botanical series] combine scholarship with lively anecdote and are beautifully and generously illustrated . . . who would have thought conifers could be so interesting? Laura Mason’s Pine starts with a solid and enlightening description of the botanical structure, evolution and habitat of the Pinus genus. It then goes on to show how the pine and its derivatives from timber to Stockholm Tar have been used throughout history, how the tree has been depicted in art, its place in mythology, and its culinary uses (not limited to pinenuts) . . . Part of the appeal of these books is the unexpected facts and stories they throw up. - The SpectatorLily and Pine are beautifully produced, with an old-fashioned and wonderfully solid feel to them . . . they are well illustrated with material from a very wide range of sources, and bound at a higher quality than the general run of hardback books, especially given the modest price. I can see them becoming collectors’ items. - Gardens IllustratedReaktion Books are building a tasty line in tree and plant books . . . beautifully produced with the qualities of a traditional novel, but illustrated page after page by colour photographs and drawings, the [Botanical] series aims to provide a cultural guide to species . . . Laura Mason’s Pine offers a valuable tour of the Pinus genus. - Smallwoods magazine