Over ten years of exploration & discovery
in the fifth largest city in America.
Collected for the first time in alphabetical order, The Philadelphia Understory is a 3-volume anthology of nature writing by one of Philadelphia’s most intrepid tree-hunters, Jon Spruce.
“In The Philadelphia Understory Volume One, Jon Spruce takes us on his personalized historic tour of Philadelphia where the landmarks are not edifices but rather trees, other plants, and living landscapes…The tour presents its quirky natural history of Philadelphia in a self-reflective style that entertains and illuminates. I look forward to reading volume two.” — Dr. Kenneth Frank, author of The Ecology of Center City, Philadelphia.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME ONE
Ailanthus Alder Almond Street Amelanchier Andorra Shopping Center Apricot Ash Bartram’s Garden Basswood Beech Black Locust Bloodroot Callery Pear Catalpa Cave of Kelpius Chinese Scholar Tree
VOLUME TWO
Dawn Redwood Dogwood Elm Eraserhood Gorgas Creek Cave Hawthorn Historic Tree Signs Kentucky Coffeetree Laurel Hill Cemetery Mud Island Penn Treaty Park Polar Vortex
VOLUME THREE
Redbud Spruce Sunflower Tannenbaum Walt Whitman’s Grave White Pine Willow Woodlands Cemetery Yellow Trail Zoo
