Tree Architecture, in Field and Herbarium

Tree architecture, the growth form of woody tropical plants, from lofty ’pagoda’ trees to low understorey pachycauls, has captured the imagination of professor and student alike. Previously many attempts had been made to study the growth form of limited plant groups,, but only recently has it been possible to see the wood from the trees as a result of the excellent work by Hallé & Oldeman (1970). This small book is crammed full with a wealth of information and profusely illustrated with clear schematic line drawings, supplemented here and there with photos of the habit of selected plants. The presentation, the clear style, and the excellent drawings offset any problems one might have with the language. The growth form is analysed into a number of architectural models all of which are illustrated. Numerous lists of examples of each model are given; from necessity the lists mainly contain African and South American species, but many families and genera also occur in Malesia. Recently Hallé has visited New Guinea and has published a short account of a selection of his observations (Hallé, 1974). It is regretted that more extensive lists of Malesian examples of each architectural model were not included in this paper. No new architectural models were found so one can, in principle, interpret the architecture of Malesian trees using the models discussed in his book.