The Ladder Trees of New Hawaii — Bill Russo

Along the star-way of infinity is an endless array of astral bodies. In the near future some will be settled for humankind's salvation and some for its pleasure.No living organism on Earth or on any other planet wishes to die. If it were not so, the thing and all of its kind would become extinct in a flash.

Every living thing develops some sort of a defense against annihilation whether it be poison, camouflage, razor sharp claws or the bulk of an elephant. Even trees have primitive defense mechanisms. What if in future, we encounter a tree that is actually able to defend itself?
(Recent Reviews of The Ladder Trees Five Stars - "There is a unique and interesting bit of sci-fi world building going on in this story. It held my attention throughout as the plot thickened. The story is about a big time real estate developer encountering a variety of problems with a new and dangerous 'species' on another planet. Some parts were quite vivid with conflict and mystery, while other parts seemed as if the author might still be working out the plot lines. Definitely worth a read and hope the author continues developing this alien environment.
(another review): "Man versus nature and man versus himself. The play on the indifference of nature and the indifference of human nature, juxtaposed with anthropomorphism to illuminate defense and survival is brilliant."