The fascinating botanical and cultural uses of twenty-five of the world’s longest-lived plants, including seagrass, aspens, and the five sacred trees of Japan.

In Botanical Time is an exploration of the fascinating botanical and cultural uses of twenty-five of the world’s longest-lived plants. The book will focus on how and why these plants have adapted and evolved and what we can learn from them today in our ever more extreme conditions.

In Botanical Time will also focus on the science behind how and why organisms have evolved to live that long at all, the sustainability benefits of being able to do so, and, from these investigations, larger lessons about the rapidity with which humans have caused and are still causing species to adapt to be able to survive in increasingly human-invaded habitats and conditions. The book will also draw meaningful parallels to the ways humans have long recognized these plant species’ worth, looking to them as symbols of strength or endurance, that will resonate with a general popular science and gardening readership.

About The Author

Christopher Woods began his gardening life at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He is the author of two books: Gardenlust in 2018 and Our Natural World Heritage in 2023. Chris was director and chief designer of Chanticleer, transforming it into one of America’s most exuberant gardens, renowned for creative and innovative techniques. He has also served as vice president for horticulture at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden; director of the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Canada; executive director of the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens; and director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm.