Trees take a long time to grow, and for that reason have become especially precious to us. To demonstrate the general principles of this growth, Millicent Selsam and Jerome Wexler have combined their talents to tell the story of the step- by-step development of a Norway maple.

The process begins when the winged fruit of the maple is rooted in the ground. It then produces buds, leaves, stems, slowly forming trunk and branches. In a collection of remarkable close-up photographs, Mr. Wexler has recorded the minutest details of these changes, while Mrs. Selsam has explained in the simplest terms for the beginning scientist what is happening. Perhaps the most impressive series of pictures shows the bud of a young tree opening; each hairy scale, each flower and leaf can be seen unfolding.

Seven of the forty odd photographs have been reproduced in full color. All have been carefully coordinated with the text to create a book that is a model of scientific clarity as well as a delight to the eye.

From the dust jacket