Son of the Tree and The Houses of Iszm — Jack Vance

In these early novellas SF Grand Master Jack Vance tells tales of fanaticism, interplanetary politics, intrigue and subterfuge, while displaying his trademark gifts for inventiveness, rich detail and colorful description. Son of the Tree - Joe, a young Earthman, finds himself stranded on Kyril, a planet of five billion peasants, two million Druids-and a great Tree. The Tree, worshiped by the Druids, towers twelve miles from root to ultimate bud, shouldering the clouds, wearing lightning like a tinsel wreath. Joe is swept up in a swirl of change, at the center of which is a potted plant - the Son of the Tree! The Houses of Iszm - masters of botany for 200,000 years, the Iszic have developed strains of living houses, semi-intelligent organic units which need no crude additions such as furniture, plumbing or décor, and can be grown for the price of seed - the solution to the housing needs of a galaxy! The Iszic are protective of their lucrative monopoly, and when botanist Aile Farr of Earth arrives for a visit, he is under immediate suspicion of attempting to steal a female house. So begins a cat-and-mouse game between the graceful, unfailingly courteous Iszic, and a determined man of Earth.