A forester's fascinating stories backed by the latest scientific research illustrate how trees nurture and talk to each other.

Are trees social beings? In this international bestseller, forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network.

He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in his woodland.

After you have read The Hidden Life of Trees, a walk in the woods will never be the same again.

Did you know?

• Trees are secretly connected by a vast underground network—sharing food, water and information.
•  “Mother trees” feed and protect their young, sometimes for decades.
•  Trees can recognise their own relatives—and favour them.
•  When under attack, trees send chemical warning signals to nearby trees.
•  Some trees make their leaves taste bad (or toxic) when insects start eating them.
•  Trees send electrical signals through their tissues—almost like a nervous system.
•  Forests are cooperative communities, not just competing individuals.
•  Trees that grow slowly in natural forests can live for hundreds—even thousands—of years.
•  Fungi act like a living internet, connecting entire forests together.
•  Trees can “remember” droughts and adapt to future stress.