This book is a selective field guide to the more common trees and shrubs, indigenous, naturalized and exotic, that are found in the East African region. It is designed to help the plant enthusiast identify prominent species that can be observed, studied and enjoyed in gardens and parks, along roadsides and in easily accessible parts of the countryside. The text highlights the importance of trees in the social, economic and religious lives of the people of East Africa, and also provides accounts of their use in traditional medicine. In addition to photographs and illustrations that depict the fruit, flowers and special features of each species, there is also a map of the different biomes of East Africa, glossaries of botanical and medical terms, and diagrams depicting flower parts, leaf shapes and leaf arrangements that clarify the terms used in the book.