Day 14 of #30DaysWild is all about “The Hidden Life of Trees” book which I am currently reading by Peter Wohlleben.

A few weeks ago I was watching some morning television and the person on the TV mentioned a news item about trees. This article talked about how trees communicated with each other and that they had feelings. Intrigued by this article I decided to do some googling.

Peter Wohlleben, an author and former forester, has been looking at trees and reveals some interesting theories in this article from the Telegraph.

I was fascinated by the thought that trees work together in the forest to support each other and can actually warn each other of dangers.  After more research I saw that Peter had a book called “The Hidden Life of Trees” so I decided to buy it.

As you can imagine finding time to sit down and read with a 4 month old is a challenge. I have however managed to get some reading time and although I haven’t got that far into the book (I’m on chapter 4) what I have learned already amazes me.

One of the favourite things I have learned is the possibility that trees can taste saliva of the insects that eat them, and distinguish between the prey! This allows the trees to emit a scent to attract predators that will then come and eat the species that are attacking the tree!

Trees  also live in communities and help each other out. If there is an injured or diseased tree the surrounding trees will support it and provide it with the nutrients they may need. Any tree that is isolated doesn’t have this community advantage. They may not receive advanced warnings of predators or have support from other trees meaning they can be more susceptible to disease and early death.

Already  I am starting to look at trees differently and take the time to appreciate these amazing structures. I’m looking forward to reading more of the book and finding out what other wonders lie in their hidden lives.

If you fancy something a bit different to read then why not track down a copy of “The Hidden Life of Trees” and get closer to trees.

Camilla – Erika and Robin Oleander x

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