New Flora of the British Isles

New Flora of the British Isles, 4th edition

Since its first publication in 1991, New Flora of the British Isles has become established as the standard work on the identification of the wild flowering plants, ferns and conifers of the British Isles. It remains unique in many features, including its full coverage of all our wild plants in one volume, its user-friendly organisation, its line drawings and photographs of critical features, and its specially compiled keys and descriptions. All native, naturalised, crop and repeatedly occurring casual plants are included.

In the nine years since the appearance of the Third Edition, many new data and ideas relating to our wild flora have become available. More than 200 species and hybrids have been added to the text of this fourth edition and, in order to establish it as a truly twenty-first century Flora, alien species that have not been recorded in the British Isles since 1999 (about 90 taxa) are omitted from the main text.

The third edition (2010) was the first British Flora to incorporate the new molecular system of classification based primarily on DNA sequences, a scheme that is expected to endure for centuries to come at the family level. However, new discoveries from this research are continually being made, necessitating numerous further changes, particularly at the genus level, which have been incorporated in this fourth edition. Apart from this, innumerable adjustments have been made to the descriptions and keys, the distributions (especially of hybrids) have been updated, and the categories used to summarise native/alien status have been altered in line with modern thinking.

These revisions should ensure that the Fourth Edition will remain for many years to come the essential reference source for all taxonomists, ecologists, conservationists, landscape planners, plant hunters and biogeographers, whether they be researchers, teachers, students, professionals or amateurs.

Contents

Preface to Fourth Edition vii
Preface to First Edition ix
General Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
Taxonomic Scope xi
Geographical Scope xii
Status and Distribution xiii
Classification xiii
Nomenclature xiv
Descriptions xv
Identification Keys xvi
Illustrations xvii
Conservation and Rarity xviii
Bibliography xxi
Synopsis Of Families xxiv
How to Use This Book (Black-edged) xxix
Signs and Abbreviations xxx

The Flora 1
Pteridophytes (Ferns & Fern-allies) 1
Lycophytes (Clubmosses & Quillworts) 5
Eusporangiate Ferns (Adder’s-tongues & Moonworts) 10
Calamophytes (Horsetails) 12
Leptosporangiate Ferns (True Ferns) 16
Gymnosperms (Conifers) (Black-edged) 43
Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) (Black-edged) 62
Pre-dicots (Primitive Angiosperms) 85
Eu-dicots (True Dicotyledons) 91
Monocots (Monocotyledons) 872

Glossary (Black-edged) 1123
Index 1141