"This book tells the story of a single tree, from the moment the seed is released from a cone until, more than five hundred years later, the tree lies on the forest floor as a nurse log, giving life to ferns, mosses, and hemlocks, even as its own life is ending." "The book also looks at the tree's rich and complex relationships with other organisms in its community, from fungi and lichen to other trees to pileated woodpeckers, spotted owls, cougars, grizzly bears, and salmon, among many others. In addition, the book shows how a humble tree connects us to the atmosphere, the underworld of soil, and the world's oceans, as well as linking us all the way back to the origins of the universe and life and far into the future. Finally, the authors place their tree within the context of the growth of botany and events going on in the larger world during one tree's lifetime"--dust jacket.
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