City of Trees: The Complete Field Guide to the Trees of Washington, DC

City of Trees: The Complete Field Guide to the Trees of Washington, D.C. (Third Edition)
Washington, DC, boasts more than three hundred species of trees from America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and City of Trees has been the authoritative guide for locating, identifying, and learning about them for more than twenty-five years. The third edition is fully revised, updated, and expanded and includes an eloquent new foreword by the Washington Post’s garden editor, Adrian Higgins. In the introduction, Choukas-Bradley describes the efforts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other prominent Washingtonians who helped the nation’s capital evolve into the “City of Trees,” a moniker regaining popularity thanks to present-day efforts encouraging citizen participation in tree planting and maintenance. Part 1 gives the reader a guided tour of the nation’s capital, highlighting historic and rare trees of the urban canopy. Part 2 is a comprehensive, simply worded, and fully illustrated botanical guide to the magnificent trees of the nation’s capital and surroundings. The guide also includes botanical keys, an illustrated glossary, exquisite pen-and-ink drawings by Polly Alexander, and color close-up photographs of flowering trees, many by the nationally acclaimed photographer Susan A. Roth. What to look for in the new edition:
  • Added locations: the FDR Memorial; the Smithsonian Institution gardens; the Tudor Place grounds; the Bishop’s Garden of the Washington National Cathedral; Audubon Naturalist Society sanctuaries; and much more.
  • “City of Trees” history from 1987 to 2007, including the establishment of Casey Trees and the importance of the urban canopy in the twenty-first century.
  • Twice as many pages of color photographs, new species descriptions and illustrations, and added habitat information.
Published in association with the Center for American Places

Praise for the Book

“A splendid field guide – practical, botanically sound, and filled with good stories.” — Washington Post Book World

“The District, as locals call it, has a long history of tree planting and maintenance. That’s because the city’s founders understood both the symbolic and ecological value of trees, according to City of Trees, the authoritative history and field guide to Washington’s trees.” — American Forests Magazine

“Definitive…[The] book is not only full of trees, buds, catkins, berries…it is also full of history.” — Christian Science Monitor

“As the cherry blossoms start to bud, all eyes are turning to the city’s famed trees. The District, however, has more than 300 species of trees that line its avenues and fill its parks.

First released in 1981, City of Trees: The Complete Field Guide to the Trees of Washington, DC, is in its third run, but has been completely revamped in the 22 years since the previous edition with new ink drawings (540 of them) by Polly Alexander and twice as many (now 48) color photos.

Author Melanie Choukas-Bradley has also added dozens of new locations, including one of the area’s hidden gems, the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Woodend in Chevy Chase, MD, and an in-depth history of the city’s ecology.

A mix between a tour guide and a field guide, the backpack-sized book is great to take on hikes, and as you learn about the trees, you’ll also learn about the capital’s history.” — Roll Call