author
Lorin Low Dame
1838–1903
A New England educator and botanist, he wrote with the clear, practical eye of someone who knew the region’s trees and plant life firsthand. His work blends local history, field knowledge, and a deep affection for the natural world.
1 Audiobook
Handbook of the Trees of New England
by Lorin Low Dame, Henry M. (Henry Mason) Brooks
About the author
Born in Newmarket, New Hampshire, in 1838, he moved with his family to Lowell, Massachusetts, as a child. He studied at Tufts College from 1856 to 1860, and after graduating he became a high school principal in Braintree, beginning a career that joined education with a lasting interest in natural history.
He is best remembered for his botanical writing and for careful studies of New England trees and plants. His books include Flora of Middlesex County, Massachusetts and, with Henry Brooks, Handbook of the Trees of New England, works that helped make regional botany more accessible to general readers as well as serious students.
Alongside his scientific interests, he also wrote on historical subjects, showing the same patient attention to detail that marked his nature writing. He died in 1903, but his books remain valuable records of New England landscapes and the people who studied them closely.