Vlll 



PKEFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 



THE first edition of the Kew Hand-list of Herbaceous 

 Plants, having met with a ready sale, has long been out 

 of print. A new edition has been for some time in pre- 

 paration. Meanwhile the interest of the public in the 

 intelligent cultivation of herbaceous plants, the kindness 

 of numerous correspondents and the aid of other botanical 

 establishments at home and abroad has enormously 

 stimulated the growth and enlarged the scope of the Kew 

 collection. It has been found convenient to include 

 in the present edition the shrubby alpines which are 

 cultivated in the Rock Garden in association with strictly 

 herbaceous species. 



Such casual and unavoidable errors have been corrected 

 as have been from time to time detected. A large number" 

 of synonymous names have been referred to the accepted 

 species to which they belong. English names, where they 

 exist, have been added. From these circumstances the 

 size of the present Hand-list is more than double that of 

 the former one. 



In other respects it follows the same lines which 

 experience has shown to be both practical and service- 

 able. A new feature which it is believed will be found 

 useful is the addition of a reference to a good figure of 

 any species possessing one in a fairly accessible work. 



The total number of distinct named plants enumerated 

 is about 8,000 ; of these about 1,000 are reckoned as 

 varieties. 



