Entertainment
Yes, Tree Collecting Is a Thing
A new book explores the obsession and explains why it’s not exactly like collecting dolls: “It puts people in touch with their own mortality.”
As collectibles go, trees break the mold — and not just because they don’t fit on a shelf or require periodic dusting.
It didn’t even compute, really, the first time Amy Stewart heard someone say they collected trees about a decade ago. But when she heard the same claim in subsequent years, from people who weren’t affiliated with arboretums or nurseries, she knew she needed to investigate.
What resulted is her latest book, “The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession,” and a newfound understanding that trees are distinguished from other collectibles by their power to transform those who collect them.
When you collect trees — rather than dolls or ceramics or some other form of memorabilia — the element of time enters the equation.