In the growth rings of every tree are ingrained and encrypted the stories of the tree, its environment and the changes through which it has lived. Growing archives of tree-ring samples allow us to read and decode these natural timelines in ever greater detail.

In the Circle of Ancient Trees narrates the stories of ten ancient trees, considering why they grew where they grew; how they reflect their habitat; and the events to which they bore witness. Valerie Trouet curates chapter essays by ecologists with specialist knowledge of each tree, exploring how human and environmental history share common roots, while drilling down into the ecology, persistence and resilience of each species.

Illustrated with commissioned wood- engravings and tree-ring infographics that visualise each tree’s chronology and geography, In the Circle of Ancient Trees uses circular narratives – beginning and ending with the tree’s relationship to its location and environment – that consider what lessons for our future might be discovered in our planet’s past.