The complete field guide to trees of Natal, Zululand & Transkei by Pooley, Elsa
The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand & Transkei (Collectible Softcover Copy)
The Definitive Hand Manual for Naturalists, Documenting More Than Sixty-Three Percent of South Africa's Tree Species
The Definitive Hand Manual for Naturalists, Documenting More Than Sixty-Three Percent of South Africa's Tree Species
Bibliographic Specifications
- Title: The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand & Transkei
- Author: Elsa Pooley
- Publisher: Natal Flora Publications Trust, Durban
- Publication Date: 1997 (Third Edition / Presumed Revised Impression)
- ISBN-10: 0620176970
- ISBN-13: 9780620176972
- Edition Details: Third Edition Softcover Release. A highly revered, comprehensive field reference text optimized with multi-lingual index classifications.
- Binding: Original publisher's premium heavy pictorial laminated card wraps.
- Physical Format: Octavo (8vo), 512 pages. Richly supplemented with full-colour habitat photographs, diagnostic bark and leaf cross-sections, and detailed marginal distribution maps.
- Language: English (Includes common botanical nomenclature indexed in Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Thonga).
Official Condition Report
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The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
- Exterior Wraps: The original publisher's pictorial laminated card covers remain remarkably bright, flat, and structurally sound. The binding exhibits only very slight, negligible shelf friction along the extreme edges and corners, completely consistent with careful field transit and protective domestic shelving. The spine is completely unbroken, crisp, uncreased, and undamaged.
- Interior: The textbook binding is exceptionally tight, square, and firm. Internal pages are clean, bright white, clear, and fully intact. Completely free from contemporary previous owner names, heavy ink highlighting, text underlining, dog-ears, or dealer pencil notations.
- The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued / Softcover Release)
Synopsis & Historical Value
First released in 1993 and beautifully updated in this scarce 1997 third edition, The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand & Transkei remains the unassailable cornerstone of South African arboricultural literature. Compiled by the renowned botanist Elsa Pooley, this dense, brilliantly structured manual provides technical data on 780 distinct species of trees—covering more than 63% of all indigenous trees found across South Africa.
The guide is heavily celebrated for its extreme user-friendliness in the field, organizing massive botanical datasets into quick-reference side margins. Each profile is systematically detailed with vital identification marks, localized distribution maps, ecological notes, and targeted gardening recommendations. Uniquely encompassing prominent Aloe and Protea species, the work also details the traditional medicinal uses and practical applications of local wood crafts. Indexed comprehensively with regional common names spanning Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, and Thonga, this classic text remains an indispensable companion for professional botanists, landscape designers, and wilderness trackers countrywide.
Author Profile: Elsa Pooley
Elsa Pooley is an elite South African botanist, professional landscape artist, and prolific publisher whose multi-decade career has fundamentally shaped the study of indigenous flora in Southern Africa. Highly accomplished in habitat rehabilitation, training, and botanical tour curation, Pooley is celebrated for writing several of the country's all-time bestselling field references, including A Field Guide to Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region. Her unique ability to combine artistic visual layouts with precise scientific data earned her widespread academic praise, making her monographs standard reference texts for global research institutions and essential assets for private antiquarian collectors.
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