Know them by their fruits
Trevor Ankiewics has published a book which is the culmination of 40 years' work.
A NEW and first-of-its-kind book illustrating the fruiting twigs of 381 trees, Know them by their fruits: A complementary guide to identifying some South African trees, was published recently.
This final product is the culmination of 40 years’ work by author, Trevor Ankiewics, a retired Saasveld Trained forester with a long and illustrious career in forestry, horticulture and nature conservation. On retirement he qualified as a nature guide. Thus, over his working life and in retirement, he has visited most parts of South Africa – where he has been able to collect and illustrate all the species in his book.
The reason Trevor chose to illustrate fruits is that like so many tree-lovers, he found it difficult to identify many tree species from their leaves – since leaves are the most variable of all the plant parts. Fruits, like flowers, have much more stable shapes and sizes – and unlike flowers are mostly more persistent. Therefore, if you scratch around under the canopy you may also find remnants of fruits and/or seeds that can be a useful tool for identification. And thus, his book was born.
When asked about how he chose the trees to illustrate Trevor replied: “When I first planned this book my concept of a tree was a long-lived woody plant, which developed a sturdy trunk and an impressive crown. Unlike some authors of tree guides I did not regard aloes as trees in the true sense of the word. Our beautiful cycads and tree ferns, to my mind, are also not included here as real trees. In my travels I have yet to come across the colourful Cape honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) and that delightful Pride-of-de-Kaap bauhinia (Bauhinia galpinii) as a shady, truly recognizable tree! However, as the book developed this distinction between a tree and what I regarded as a shrub became more and more blurred. Over time I came to realise that habitat and climate greatly influenced the stature and growth of these plants. A classic example is the ubiquitous Sweet thorn (Acacia karroo), which occurs as a stunted bush in the dry river courses of the Great Karroo, yet develops into an impressive tree with a sturdy black bole and rounded crown in the Mpumalanga Bushveld.” And so, the choices were made – 381 in total!
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The page size of the book is 250 x 170mm (with some 450 pages), and where possible, all illustrations are life-size. Where they have had to be reduced the percentage reduction is noted.
In addition, the current botanical binomial, recent old names and the “best” common name is given. Where appropriate, and to assist with identification, a few diagnostic notes have been added.
To order a book, contact M.Geland@botanicalsociety.org.za.
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