Summary

In Chapter 9, Jahren talks about the vast amount of water trees need to survive. She explains that saplings seldom survive their first year. As an example, she talks about maple trees. The seedlings are usually within a few feet of the parent tree, meaning the offspring have to find a way to survive while still in the parent tree's shadow. The offspring is at a disadvantage because the parent shades them from the vital light needed to survive, but the parent tree also sends out water through its roots to help the seedling survive. Jahren says that all parents do what they can for their offspring.

In Chapter 10, Jahren cites research that indicates a tree “remembers” its early life through “complex biochemical reactions and interactions,” which is the same way human memory works (226). Jahren earned a Fulbright Scholarship...