Peering into The Hidden Life of Trees

I plead guilty, Your Honour.

Of not having paid due attention to trees before.

Trees and Me

I have always loved green spaces. Fortunately enough, I have mostly lived in army cantonments with trees aplenty but that was about it when it came to trees and me. I get very much intrigued by wildlife sightings. Trees - teen me would say nah, unless they are easy to climb. 

Around my nineteenth birthday, I decided to observe the trees around me (I was already observing clouds). So I downloaded the SeasonWatch app and made data entries for the African tulip tree and the Rain tree that are responsible for the balcony view from my home. Eventually this exercise fizzled out.

Last year we had a Forestry course in the fourth semester: FOR 222 Dendro-Energy Resources (2+0). A bunch of us from my class decided to identify the names of the trees in the college. We started off enthusiastically like a heavily-photosynthesising plant and figured out names of quite a few species. Lots of inputs from Swetha, Mahesh and Chris. Cassia siamea, Naag champa, Delonix regia, Poovarasu... This too dried out after a while (precisely during exam time when we realised this wasn't going to help us in the Forestry exam).

Now, I finished reading:

The Hidden Life of Trees

What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World

By Peter Wohlebben

And I have my eyes peeled for trees when I'm outside - not because trees are hard to find but to see if I can draw any inferences from regarding their long lives in the "slow lane". I have started to stop and stare at trees that I have barely given second thought to so far and I'm checking out tree barks for their condition apart from the spiders and ants they house.

pc: Muthumari

So in short, if you like trees, read this book. If you don't know much about trees but want to learn, read this book. If you are sitting in a room with wooden furniture, read this book. Oh your room doesn't have wooden furniture? If you have ever used pencil and paper, read this book!

Hmm I see you're still reading this review for the book. You already got my word but let me see what I can do for you. Honestly, I am in a fix too: how can I condense such an amazing work of science communication based on decades of experience and observations into a book review without sounding like a sci-fi lunatic! 

Because it's hard to believe that trees share food with their friends despite photosynthesising at different rates, make pacts on when to bloom and (this is dark) have chances of getting killed together in a lightning strike if their roots are in touch. And all this happens because they have a supercool underground internet service provided by fungi. Wood Wide Web!

Mr. Peter Wohlebben narrates these facts in such a way that you wouldn't doubt them, however outrageous the prowess of your friendly neighbourhood tree may sound. He backs them with his observations, which usually go like "In the forest I manage..." in Hummel, Germany. He started off as a government wood ranger in 1987 and eventually found his principles towards trees and the conventional logging diverge. The Hidden Life of Trees was written by him in 2015. Originally in German, the book was translated into English by Jane Billinghurst. 

Author Peter Wohlleben

Jane Billinghurst. This duo has collaborated on another tree book: Forest Walking

Experiences, check. But Mr. Wohlebben doesn't stop here. He backs up everything with solid scientific evidence. He has cited 76 pieces of work in the Notes part of the book. One of these scientists is Canadian scientist Suzanne Simrad, who features here in Notes from a Forest Scientist. 

Suzanne Simrad

The Hidden Life of Trees has 36 chapters in all. The names of the chapters are lovely, but when you read a chapter and go back to look at its name, you realise how witty and apt it was (the damn-I-wish-I-came-up-with-that feeling hits!). After about 15 chapters, I started trying to guess what the chapter might be about from its title, an interesting thing indeed!

Each chapter has a branch growing into the page from a different direction!

The tree species mentioned in this book are not found here in India. Beeches, oaks, pines and spruce are the protagonists. Although I was initially disheartened by this, I soon discovered that there's something even better to treasure here. You can't know a person just by knowing their name, but learning about the person and gives more essence than just remembering their name. Seriously, observing trees feels more meaningful than identifying trees, giving them a name-tag and moving on. Identification sure is important and I suppose I'll pick up on that too.

So this is now something I won't abandon anytime soon and here are some trees I found awesome:

Trees following the Tree Etiquette (Vettarankovil Road, Kunnarampatti)

Fungal fruiting body on Sapota tree in REE Dept. Looks like there's a fungal infection inside. (TNAU, Cbe)

These two trees of different species have been growing so intimately. (KPatti)

contd: One of them decided to shoot up tall and the other is gathering sunlight laterally.

Death & decay: fungi at work on a felled Papaya tree. Mosquitoes making use of the rainwater too. (KPatti)

I have no clue what this is but it was beautiful. Please tell me if you know. (Karamadai)

Zoom in to see a whole tree drama that has played out on the banks. (Karamadai)

New shoots but old tree. The age of the roots is taken into consideration as that's where the plant stores its "experiences". (KPatti)

There were hundreds of butterflies on this particular tree, it was such a delight to see! (Karamadai).

pc: Swetha

Not sure whether to call this tree poor or rich. Is the compost pit at its base a nuisance-cum-threat to its roots or is it a nutritional goldmine? (KPatti)

Once [a seed] has sprouted in the spring, the die is cast. From that point forward, the seedling is bound to this little piece of earth for the rest of its life and must take whatever life hands out. Peepal seedling growing from the hollow of the Gulmohur tree. (REE Dept., TNAU)

U-fork: things get hard when the the winds are strong and the two crowns shake in different directions. (SWE Dept., TNAU)

Coconut tree scars. (KPatti)

Shedding bark = Tree dandruff. Teak. (KPatti)

A green tree's favourite colour is the blue sky! Chapter: Why is the forest green? (KPatti)

Holding on to the roots of a Neem tree. (KPatti)

Constant disturbance, here goats, can cause erosion and compaction of the soil around the roots. (KPatti)

Did that cunning climber know which is the highest branch of this Amla tree and thus decide to ascend that one on purpose!? (AEC&RI, TNAU)

Tremendous Banyan tree! So huge and striking that it needs a whole new blogpost.

Moss: another key character in this book. (KPatti)

I guess it is evident that I have more questions than answers after reading this book and there's more I want to add. But it really taught me to pause and look at trees, and as even the author puts it: "So many questions remain unanswered. Perhaps we are poorer for having lost a possible explanation or richer for having gained a mystery. But aren't both possibilities equally intriguing?"

This is all I can give away without any spoilers. Spoilers in a non-fiction you may ask. But The Hidden Life of Trees is something that must be read and enjoyed at a tree's pace. And re-read too.

How I came upon this book

It was EcoClub's Orientation Day programme on 13 July 2024 and Forest Range Officer, Mr. M. Murugan was our Chief Guest. Being a bibliophile, Sir's focal point for that day was the Tamil book Kaadodi. At the end of the programme, I told him that I loved reading books and write reviews too. He immediately asked me to read The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I noted that down.

EcoClub Orientation

Then out of the blue on 4 October 2024, Dr. Rajkishore organised our routine ENS theory class in the Botanical Garden with Mr. Murugan. In the middle of the intriguing discussion about native trees and microclimates, Sir asked me if I had read the book and I hadn't. 

Learning to differentiate trees by their leaves.

pc: Jodie

Now I have! I sincerely thank Murugan Sir for this book suggestion that I will always cherish!