Product Description

This wild flower identification guide was first published in 1981 and is still widely accepted as the best of its kind for its combination of meticulous illustrations and the use of keys to aid recognition. For this new edition, the Latin names have been revised in accordance with the current classification system. It is now published as the ideal book for the serious student of British and north-west European wild plants, providing a bridge between picture identification guides and the non-illustrated academic floras.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1975 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Synopsis
This wild flower identification guide was first published in 1981 and is still widely accepted as the best of its kind for its combination of meticulous illustrations and the use of keys to aid recognition. For this new edition, the Latin names have been revised in accordance with the current classification system. It is now published as the ideal book for the serious student of British and north-west European wild plants, providing a bridge between picture identification guides and the non-illustrated academic floras.

About the Author
Original author Dr Francis Rose, MBE Dr Rose is one of our best-known botanists, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the lichen and bryophyte flora as well as of flowering plants, and of plant ecology and biogeography. His career as a botanist began at the age of six, learning to identify plants on country walks and after graduating in botany from London University, he spent most of his working life teaching there until retirement in 1981. This remains his most popular book, which took over 20 years to write and represents a lifetime's experience of plant identification. Author of revised and expanded second edition Clare O'Reilly Clare O'Reilly (previously Coleman) is a freelance botanist and writer who left her career as an environmental lawyer in order to revise this book. She recently gained an MSc in Plant Taxonomy but was a self-taught amateur botanist for many years. Her passion for plants began after winning a wild flower-in-a-vase competition, aged seven. Clare teaches beginners courses on plant identification and this experience, coupled with Dr Rose's expertise in the original text, enables this revised edition to be even more useful for those new to field botany.

Customer Reviews

Close but no cigar!
I'm a huge fan of Francis Rose, and the last wildflower key is a classic that I still use on a daily basis. This revised edition is very clear and concise; the keys are much improved from the last edition, the plastic cover limits water damage in the field and the regional AWI list from Keith Kirby in the back of the book is invaluable.

However, there are two points that make this book a 4 star rather than a 5 star book: Firstly the book to slightly too big for a field guild and is a bit too heavy. Secondly, sadly this revised edition still contains errors with some outdated Latin names; in particular some of the orchid species names are outdated, despite having changed several years before this book was printed, hmm...

Despite these issues it is still a wonderful book, so don't let me put you off!

Excellent revision
I'm sorry, Tony in Edinburgh, but if this book is bigger than the Edinburgh 'phone book; then there can't be too many people who have 'phones!! I have just purchased a copy of the "keys" and put it straight into my backpack. I have been using the original version for many years as a professional botanist (in fact it was my "Bible") and it was literally falling apart. This new version is even easier to use than the last, I would recommend it to anybody interested in British flora.

Too big for a field guide
I hate to spoil the love-in, but at 900g (2lb) this new edition is simply too heavy to be a practical field guide. This book is thicker than the Edinburgh telephone directory and consequently is highly unlikely to find its way into my pocket or backpack when I am off out. This is a pity because there the book has many good features; greater brevity would have made it a hands-down winner. As it is, the old edition is a more realistic prospect if you want pictures, Stace if you don't.