REVIEWS 



An Irish Flora. D. A. Webb. 8vo., pp. xxx -f 250, 160 line drawings. Dundalgan Press Ltd., Dundalk, 

 second edition 1953; 13/6. ' 



The first edition of Professor Webb's Irish Flora was of rather limited appeal to the British botanist 

 since it omitted descriptions of all the rarer plants and was intended as an introduction to a flora which is 

 considerably smaller than our own. The second edition has been enlarged in effect by about 50 pages and 

 now includes at least a brief diagnosis of all Irish plants and a fuller, though still ' introductory,' treatment 

 of critical groups. It should therefore appeal to a wider botanical public, though its usefulness to the complete 

 beginner has been skilfully preserved. 



The descriptions of species are concise (they average about 5 lines) but clear, and usually adequate for 

 distinguishing the plants in the field. The number of technical terms employed is small and simple defini- 

 tions of them, often supplemented by reference to the figures, are given in the glossary. 



Vegetative characters are extensively and, as far as can be judged, effectively used, particularly in the 

 keys. The key to the ferns is especially notable in this respect and it will be interesting to test it in the field, 

 though it appears to work well in the herbarium. It would have been an assistance to the user if the genera 

 had been numbered in the keys as they are in the text. In families such as Cruciferae and Compositae one 

 is left, after working through the key to genera, with several pages to search through until (if ever) the arrange- 

 ment of the genera in these families has been learned by heart. 



It will be regretted by many that Professor Webb has continued to give measurements in inches and 

 fractions of inches. These units are much less convenient for the measurement of most parts of plants than 

 centimetres and millimetres, though there is perhaps less risk of errors appearing in the text. It is note- 

 worthy that no dimensions are given for the lemmas and anthers of the species of Glycerin section Fluitantes, 

 though to anyone using the metric system these provide the easiest means of distinguishing the species. 



This is, however, a minor drawback and any botanical visitor to Ireland will find this book very useful 

 and of a convenient size to go in the pocket. It will also prove of great assistance to anyone beginning the 

 study of the British flora, as it provides an easy means of identifying the great majority of our common 

 species. 



T. G. TuTiN. 



Nordisk Kdrlvdxtflora I. N. Hylander. xv + 392 pp., 54 figs, and a map. Almquist and Wiksell, Stock- 

 holm, 1953; Sw. Kr. 58. 



The appearance of the first volume of a new critical Flora of the ' Nordic ' countries (Finland, Sweden, 

 Norway, Denmark, Iceland and the Faeroes) is an event of major importance for European systematic botany. 

 It is a tribute to the Linnean tradition in Sweden that such an ambitious project could be planned and executed, 

 and this first volume sets a remarkably high standard in format, style and content. 



The ten-page Introduction to the work contains much of interest to taxonomists concerning the scope 

 of the Flora, the policy of admission of non-native species, nomenclatural treatment, and the like. Perhaps 

 the most interesting general remarks concern the treatment of intraspecific variation. A glance at the main 

 body of the Flora reveals the detailed nature of this treatment - Sparganium erectum L, for example, is given 

 two pages of text and one of fruit illustrations - and the author's policy has been to condentrate attention on 

 variation consisting of morphologically more or less distinct populations of reasonably wide distribution. In 

 this field, as Dr. Hylander states, there is much that is obscure; and he has not hesitated to point out where 

 knowledge is inadequate or entirely lacking. To risk a free translation (p. xiv): ' most Floras seem to me all 

 too easily to give to the reader the dangerous impression that their treatment of systematic questions is final. A 

 Flora must assuredly give as good a presentation as possible according to present knowledge; but it is almost 

 equally important that it should indicate what we do not know but ought to ! ' 



This first volume contains the Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms and the Monocotyledons, up and including 

 Gramineae, but excluding Cyperaceae. Some idea of the value of the contents can perhaps best be given 

 by selecting a few examples of the treatment of particular species. 



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