The authors suggest this coffee table book is complementary to a standard flora. I have to agree: the wonderful water colours are the best I’ve seen (at least in the 1998 2nd edition - thistles on the front cover). The first edition used the taxonomy from CTW, but in the second edition (1998) this has been brought into line with Stace’s New Flora.

Although the illustrations are the primary attraction, the short species accounts contain interesting ecological and distribution information as well as amusing snippets and are well worth reading. Although the species entries do not include descriptions, useful identification tips are interspersed, but there are no keys or other formal identification aids.

The book has a similar "feel" to Keble Martin’s "Concise British Flora In Colour" and those who remember that work will find this a worthy successor.

The only minor criticisms are that white petals tend to disappear into the white background and the text, particularly the index, is tightly set in four columns of small print.