New Flora of the British Isles, 4th editionSince 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.ContentsPreface 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 xxxThe 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) 872Glossary (Black-edged) 1123 Index 1141
