Flora of Great Britain and Ireland: Volume 2, Capparaceae - Rosaceae

Description

This critical flora provides a definitive account of the native species, naturalised species, frequent garden escapes and casuals found in the British Isles. Full keys and descriptions will enable the user to name all plants occurring in the wild, plus some ornamental trees and shrubs. For the first time, detailed accounts of all the large apomictic genera are given and many infraspecific variants included. Each species entry begins with the accepted Latin name, synonyms and the common English name. A detailed description follows, including information on flowering period, pollination and chromosome number. Separate descriptions are given for infraspecific taxa. Information on the status, ecology and distribution (including worldwide distribution) of the species and infraspecific taxa is also given. Clear black and white line drawings illustrate an extensive glossary and also illuminate the diagnostic features in a number of groups of plants.

Peter Sell (1929-2013) joined the Herbarium in the University of Cambridge's Plant Science Department in 1944, holding the post of Assistant Curator from 1972 until his retirement in 1997. From 1997 to 2013 his work there on this flora continued unabated, together with regular visits to the University's Botanic Garden throughout the flowering and fruiting seasons. He was co-author of Flora of Cambridgeshire (1964) and Flora of the Maltese Islands (1977), and was involved in the whole Flora Europaea project, also published in five volumes (1964-80) by Cambridge University Press. Gina Murrell joined the Herbarium in the University of Cambridge's Plant Science Department in 1966, where she held the post of Assistant Curator from 2002 until her retirement in 2011. She worked with Peter Sell over a period of more than 40 years, and together they collected a quarter of the British Herbarium's 200,000 specimens.

Review of previous volume: '... a solid reference book of straight taxonomy.' Plant Talk Review of previous volume: '... accurate, detailed and all-embracing accounts of each species.' Irish Naturalists' Journal Review of previous volume: '... an excellent beginning in an impressive undertaking.' HortScience '... a must for all serious botanists with an interest in our regional flora.' New Journal of Botany 'Anyone who is serious about identifying Rubus or Cotoneaster in Britain or Ireland best go and buy a copy now!' M. F. Fay, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 'Flora of Great Britain and Ireland clearly is a life work and the result of a long and scrutinous study of countless amounts of plant specimens, in herbaria as well as in the wild.' Filip Verloove, Willdenowia 'The detail provided on individual plants includes Latin and common English names, as well as colour, shape and form of stems, inflorescence, flowers, petals and fruits. The inclusion of information on ecology, habitat and geographical contexts is especially welcome, adding a broader and environmental dimension to plant description. All of ... [this] data will facilitate plant identification, as will the many black and white line drawings provided in the glossary, in which definitions of botanical terms may be found.' A. M. Mannion, The Biologist