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Resilient and tenacious, pine trees deserve our admiration. Despite their dark and gloomy reputation they have been the subjects of artists for centuries, particularly in China and Japan where they symbolize wisdom and longevity, and are admired for their shapes. Pine symbolism runs deep in many cultures from East to West, from antiquity to the present, such as pine cone staffs carried by the worshippers of Bacchus in the classical world or pine trees used in the movement to establish national parks in nineteenth-century North America.
The natural history of pine trees underlines their ability to survive in difficult environments, and their botany still puzzles and intrigues. Their resin provided adhesives, water-proofers and medicines before oil derivatives and modern pharmaceuticals were developed. Their wood is ubiquitous, incorporated into buildings, furniture and paper pulp. Pinecones fascinate with their complex shapes, and provide pine nuts and food for animals and humans. Pine trees have inspired artists, writers, film-makers and photographers throughout history, and as a consequence the sombre, brooding atmosphere of pine woods are found in poetry, movies, art and literature.
A beautifully illustrated book that reveals the many ways in which pine trees have inspired and been utilized by humanity through history, Pine provides a fascinating survey of these rugged, aromatic trees that are found the world over.
Introduction
1. The Natural History of Pine Trees
2. Pine Trees in Myth and Reality
3. Pitch, Turpentine and Rosin
4. Pine for Timber and Torches
5. Pine for Food
6. Mythic Pine, Artist’s Pine
7. The Sound of the Wind in the Branches
Timeline
References
Further Reading
Associations and Websites
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Laura Mason has published widely on food history and culture. She lives in Yorkshire
"All the volumes [in the Botanical series] combine scholarship with lively anecdote and are beautifully and generously illustrated [...] who would have thought conifers could be so interesting? Laura Mason's Pine starts with a solid and enlightening description of the botanical structure, evolution and habitat of the Pinus genus. It then goes on to show how the pine and its derivatives from timber to Stockholm Tar have been used throughout history, how the tree has been depicted in art, its place in mythology, and its culinary uses (not limited to pinenuts) [...] Part of the appeal of these books is the unexpected facts and stories they throw up."
– The Spectator
"Lily and Pine are beautifully produced, with an old-fashioned and wonderfully solid feel to them they are well illustrated with material from a very wide range of sources, and bound at a higher quality than the general run of hardback books, especially given the modest price. I can see them becoming collector's items."
– Gardens Illustrated
"Reaktion Books are building a tasty line in tree and plant books [...] beautifully produced with the qualities of a traditional novel, but illustrated page after page by colour photographs and drawings, the [Botanical] series aims to provide a cultural guide to species [...] Laura Masons Pine offers a valuable tour of the Pinus genus"
– Smallwoods magazine
