Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest Book

This book is about, among other things, the medicinal uses of trees. I read it as a skeptic who wanted to be convinced that this is more than just new-age wishful thinking. I was glad to see E.O. Wilson write the introduction, as he lends a bit of credibility. Sadly, I was left thinking that there is a lot less science in this book than I had wish for (perhaps she calls herself a "renegade" scientist for a reason).

I love trees, and I found her general descriptions and "ecofunctions" sections a really interesting read. I was less excited about the "Organic Care" and "Designs," but I can see their use. The "Medicine" section was interesting, although it seemed to be less about science and more about Native American history (I get the sense that her logic was, "The Native American's used it to treat ____, so that is enough evidence that it works."

My biggest complaint is about a single paragraph. This paragraph comes from the section on the black walnut tree on page 84:

"Black walnut has also been used by the Seneca for rainmaking. Bark that had been hit by lightning was placed in a cup of water for a few minutes. Rain ensued in two days. The bark was saved and dried for future use. The rainmaking practice should not be discounted out of hand because the electron power and voltage in an electric strike is beyond the capacity of man. The resulting fusion could very well produce some interesting chemical products of polymerization."

This was too much for me. Is she really claiming that, when the satellites and radars do not detect any chance of rain in two days, placing the bark in water would make the clouds appear within 48 hours? This seems like it is a scientific claim, in that it could be disproved (it seems like it would be easy).

Still, I enjoyed the descriptions of how the trees grow and how they relate to the rest of the forest, and I support her idea of preserving the forests by purposefully planting trees in useful areas (a "BioPlan"). I just don't trust her enough to believe anything more than that.