The Genius of Trees by Harriet Rix

How trees mastered the elements and shaped the world 

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026

’Sublime ... A true masterpiece’ DAILY TELEGRAPH,

'Mind-blowing' GUARDIAN

‘Wondrous. Gives us trees as we've never seen them before’ ISABELLA TREE, author of Wilding

The extraordinary story of the inventive and astonishing ways trees have shaped our natural world.

Over hundreds of millions of years, from the prehistoric forests to those standing tall over us today, trees have evolved to sculpt the environments. They split rock, change sex, spin carbon, and manipulate bacteria, animals and even humankind to achieve their ends and shape the natural world. In The Genius of Trees, Harriet Rix takes us on a mind-expanding, globe-spanning journey into the remarkable inner lives of trees.

For the first time, we see trees not as victims, but as powerful agents of change in a grand ecological narrative – as leading actors in the great drama of life on earth who have transformed our planet and offer us hope for its future.

A TELEGRAPH, COUNTRY LIFE, NEW YORKER AND CRITIC BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025

‘Exceptional ... Changes our entire view of trees’ ROBIN LANE FOX, Financial Times Gardening Columnist

'Full of wonder and revelation' SUE STUART-SMITH, author of The Well Gardened Mind

'Captivating' COUNTRY LIFE

'Profoundly inventive' INDEPENDENT

'A magisterial tour de force - destined to become a classic' BEN RAWLENCE, author of The Treeline

Format:Paperback / softback 320 pages
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:Vintage
ISBN:9781529921267
Published:19 Mar 2026
Classifications:Popular science, Ecological science, the Biosphere, Biochemistry, Earth sciences, Biogeography, The environment, Trees, wildflowers & plants
Weight:238g
Dimensions:197 x 129 x 24 (mm)