Trees talk to each other, have sex and look after their young, says author

Peter Wohlleben’s book has become bestseller in Germany but he tells Hay festival audience it has annoyed scientists Trees are social creatures that mother their young, talk to each other, experience pain, remember things and have sex with each other, a bestselling author has said. If that persuades you to go and hug the nearest tree, then great, said Peter Wohlleben. Just avoid a birch: “It is not very sociable. Try a beech.” Wohlleben was at the Hay literary festival in Wales to talk about a book, The Hidden Life of Trees, which has become a bestseller in his native Germany and, remarkably, prompted an online petition against it from scientists.