The rain forest canopy is thick, and wind-borne seeds never land very far from their parent. Tachigali’s once-in-a-lifetime offspring germinate right away, in the shadow of giants who have the sun locked up. They’re doomed, unless an old tree falls. The dying mother opens a hole in the canopy, and its rotting trunk enriches the soil for new seedlings. Call it the ultimate parental sacrifice. The common name for Tachigali versicolor is the suicide tree.”7159 ↱
![The Overstory](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstorage.googleapis.com%2Fsawyer-highlights.appspot.com%2Fvolume%252Fcovers%252F9780393356687-L.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
The Overstory
A Novel
Richard Powers