North American Trees is an introduction to the endlessly fascinating world of trees -- featuring some of the most familiar types as well as some unusual and rare ones -- all of them native to the North American continent. The stunning full-color photographs in this book have been specially selected from the National Audubon Society Collection; these superb photographs are combined with an interesting, authoritative text. Most of us take trees for granted. We build our houses and furniture with their wood, read our newspapers and books on paper made from wood pulp, snack on apples and walnuts grown on trees, and enjoy the seasonal pleasures of their springtime flowering and brilliant autumn foliage. But how many of us really know the difference between a pine and a fir? Between a beech and a chestnut? This book will show you these differences and many others. Since the presence or absence of trees is what tends to determine the nature of the environment, naturalists often describe different ecological zones in terms of the trees that exist there. The chapters of North American Trees are divided into "Trees of the North," "Trees of the Western Mountains," "Trees of the Pacific," "Trees of the Desert," "Trees of the Eastern Forest," and "Trees of the Southeast." There is also a list of state trees, suggested reading, an index, and each tree is identified by its common and scientific name. For those of us who admire the beauty and grandeur of these native trees, for those who would like to learn to identify them, for the armchair naturalist, and for those who appreciate magnificent color photography combined with an accurate text, North American Trees is the book to read, enjoy, and treasure.