--- title: BookToKnow | Bark - Cedric Pollet description: Discover the beauty and diversity of tree bark through Cédric Pollet's stunning photography, revealing a hidden world often overlooked in nature. image: https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/81JvL9xB4gL.jpg_BO30%2c255%2c255%2c255_UF750%2c750_SR1910%2c1000%2c0%2cC_QL100_.jpg --- - [Sustainable Business](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/sustainable-business) - [Green light](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/green-light) - [Treedom World](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/treedom-world) - [Green Focus](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/green-focus) Topics - [Sustainable Business](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/sustainable-business) - [Green light](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/green-light) - [Treedom World](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/treedom-world) - [Green Focus](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/green-focus) [Go to Treedom](https://www.treedom.net/en/) - ![](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/treedom-assets/flag/en.svg) - [![](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/treedom-assets/flag/it.svg)It](https://blog.treedom.net/it) - [![](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/treedom-assets/flag/de.svg)De](https://blog.treedom.net/de) - [![](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/treedom-assets/flag/fr.svg)Fr](https://blog.treedom.net/fr) - [![](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/treedom-assets/flag/es.svg)Es](https://blog.treedom.net/es) [Go to Treedom](https://www.treedom.net/en/) - [Blog](https://blog.treedom.net/en) - [books](https://blog.treedom.net/en/tag/books) - BookToKnow |... # BookToKnow | Bark - Cedric Pollet *Nov 04, 2026* | written by: [*Tommaso Ciuffoletti*](https://blog.treedom.net/en/author/tommaso-ciuffoletti) Condividi - ![facebook share](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/facebook-icon-round.svg) - ![Twitter share](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/twitter-icon-round.svg) - ![LinkedIn share](https://blog.treedom.net/hubfs/Treedom_April2021/Images/linkedin-icon-round.svg) Title: *Bark: An Intimate Look at the World's Trees* Author: Cédric Pollet Publisher: Frances Lincoln, 2010 Pages: 192 [Buy the book](https://www.booktopia.com.au/bark-cedric-pollet/book/9780711231375.html) How often do we walk past a tree without really looking at it? We recognise its canopy, perhaps its flowers or fruit, and sometimes even its species. But what about the trunk? Its surface, its shapes, its countless variations? It often remains in the background, like a secondary detail. And yet, all it takes is a moment to discover that even here, on what seems to be the most familiar part of a tree, an entire world lies hidden. That's exactly what *Bark: An Intimate Look at the World's Trees*, the photographic book by Cédric Pollet, invites us to do: to get closer to trees, look at them from an unusual perspective and discover a wealth of biodiversity that has always been right before our eyes, even if we haven't necessarily noticed it. ## An entire world on the surface of a trunk ![Tree bark](https://blog.treedom.net/hs-fs/hubfs/cortecce.jpeg?width=536&height=358&name=cortecce.jpeg) Sometimes perfectly smooth, sometimes deeply furrowed, cracked, wrinkled or peeling, with colours ranging from white and silver to red and green, and even surprising combinations of shades. Bark is one of a tree's most recognisable features, but also one of the least observed. And yet, it is far more than a simple covering. It is an essential biological structure that helps protect the plant's inner tissues from external agents, temperature fluctuations, attacks by insects and microorganisms and, in some species, even wildfires. Its characteristics are the result of a long evolutionary history, shaped by the environmental conditions in which each species has developed. The differences we encounter are therefore not merely aesthetic: they tell us about the different ways trees have adapted to life on Earth. This extraordinary variety is what makes Pollet's photographic journey so fascinating. Bark sometimes resembles painted surfaces, miniature landscapes, geographical maps or abstract compositions. Some patterns have almost perfect geometries, while others look like the result of an artist's work. What all these images have in common is the feeling of encountering something familiar and, at the same time, completely new. ## Ten years in search of the world's most beautiful tree bark ![Tree bark photography](https://blog.treedom.net/hs-fs/hubfs/cortecce_4.jpeg?width=1922&height=1282&name=cortecce_4.jpeg) Behind this project is the work of Cédric Pollet, a French nature photographer and landscape architect. His passion for trees led him to spend years travelling and researching a rather unusual subject: their bark. The result is a photographic project spanning five continents and bringing together more than 400 images dedicated to over 200 tree species. It grew out of ten years of research, during which Pollet travelled across different countries in search of the most extraordinary shapes and surfaces in the plant world. The structure of the book is particularly effective: close-up photographs of bark are paired with images of the trees in their natural environments, accompanied by short texts describing their names, origins, habitats and botanical characteristics. This combination matters. It allows us to move constantly from detail to the bigger picture, from surface to landscape, from aesthetic wonder to an understanding of the species. This is not simply a collection of beautiful images, but a journey that helps us recognise the extraordinary diversity of the world's trees. ## Learning to look again Perhaps the greatest achievement of this book is the way it changes how we observe the world. We don't need to travel across the planet to encounter something extraordinary: sometimes all it takes is stopping in front of a tree we pass every day. We are used to thinking of biodiversity in terms of the variety of species, the colours of flowers, the shapes of leaves or the richness of ecosystems. But diversity is also hidden in the details, in differences that may seem insignificant until we learn how to recognise them. Pollet's photographs remind us that every tree has its own identity, shaped over time through its relationship with the environment in which it lives. And that paying close attention is already a way of getting closer to understanding nature. It's a simple lesson, but far from an obvious one: we don't always need to travel far to discover something new. Sometimes we simply need to get closer to what has always been right before our eyes. ## A book to keep close at hand *Bark* is one of those books that can be enjoyed in many different ways. You can leaf through it, letting the images guide you and taking time to appreciate their shapes and colours. Or you can read it with curiosity, trying to identify the species and understand what makes each type of bark different. It is a book for anyone who loves trees, of course, but also for those who love photography, travel, nature and its countless forms of expression. It requires no specialist botanical knowledge, which is precisely why it can appeal to such a wide audience. There is another aspect worth mentioning: Pollet's work has reached readers around the world. The book has been translated into five languages, including English, German and Italian, as part of an editorial project that has helped bring the beauty of tree bark to an international audience. Our advice is to give this book the time it deserves. Keep it close at hand, return to its pages, choose a photograph and try to imagine the tree it belongs to. And perhaps, the next time we come across a tree along a road, in a park or during a walk, we'll stop for a few extra seconds. Because after leafing through this book, it becomes a little harder to think of bark as merely the surface of a trunk. Sometimes wonder doesn't need to be found far away. It simply needs to be noticed. 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