Field Guide to New Zealand’s Native Trees

Following the publication of the highly acclaimed New Zealand’s Native Trees in 2011, this year Craig Potton Publishing has released the Field Guide to New Zealand’s Native Trees. The field guide is the perfect companion to take in your day pack when you venture into the outdoors, or to have in your car or at the bach (that is where my copy is going) as it contains detailed information on all native trees found on the main islands of New Zealand, including Stewart Island and the Chathams.

Field Guide to New Zealand’s Native Trees is organised in three main sections—conifers, tree ferns and flowering trees—and covers 209 species. A visual key to leaf shapes will help to narrow down the identification of the numerous flowering trees. Under each species, headings such as Distribution & Habitat, Size, Bark, Foliage & Habit, Flowers & Fruit lead readers straight to relevant information, and a panel of Distinguishing Features is a useful aid to quick identification. More than 1500 superb photographs show the whole tree and its key features, some in very close detail.

This comprehensive and up-to-date field guide to New Zealand’s native trees is a handy and truly beautiful reference book, it is a gem and deserves a place in every home, bach, library and school. And I reckon the car glove-box too.

About the authors

Dr John Dawson was Associate Professor of Botany at Victoria University until his

retirement in 1988.

Rob Lucas lectured in horticulture at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand until his

retirement in 2006. He has been photographing plants for several decades, and his

photographs have been widely published. He is the author of Managing Pests and

Diseases: A handbook for New Zealand gardeners.

John Dawson and Rob Lucas are co-authors of the 2012 New Zealand Post Book of

the Year New Zealand’s Native Trees.

Craig Potton Publishing

Flexibound (the perfect binding for using outside)- $49.99