Following on from its successful launch in 2009, Collins Wild Flower Guide – the ultimate reference book for wild flower enthusiasts – now enters its third edition. It is now completely up to date, including the most recent BSBI common names and the extra species recently discovered in the British Isles.
Featuring all flowering plants, including trees and grasses, and ferns, this fully revised and updated field guide to the wild flowers of Britain and northern Europe is the most complete illustrated, single-volume guide ever published.
Leading botanical artists have been specially commissioned to ensure accurate, detailed illustrations. Species are described and illustrated on the same page, with up-to-date authoritative text aiding identification. Plants are arranged by family, with their key features highlighted for quick and easy reference. The text offers a complete account of over 1,900 wild flowers of Britain and Ireland, along with a summary of their European distribution.
Collins Wild Flower Guide is an indispensable guide for all those with an interest in the countryside, whether amateur or expert.
David Streeter is Emeritus Reader in Ecology in the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sussex and was a member of the Editorial Board of the prestigious Collins New Naturalist series. He has served on the council of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland and as chairman of its Conservation Committee and is president of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Reviews of earlier editions:
"[...] I have found the book straightforward to use and it is a good introduction to identification keys for those who have just started looking more closely at some of the plants they come across when they are out in the countryside. For those looking to gain more experience it may come in useful alongside other floras: it can sometimes be helpful to have more than one reference to enable you to confirm a tentative ID by following a different key or description."
– Ian Woodward, BTO book reviews