PREFACE. 
▼ii 
proceeding, and with this object he lias carefully examined 
nearly all the best European Floras, comparing our plants 
with the descriptions contained in them, and in very many 
cases with foreign specimens of undoubted authenticity. 
In the adoption of genera and species an endeavour has 
been made, by the examination of the plants themselves, to 
determine what are to be considered as truly distinct, thus, 
it is hoped, taking Nature as a guide, and not depending 
upon the authority of any name, however distinguished. 
Still let it not be supposed that any claim is made to pecu- 
liar accuracy, nor that the Author considers himself qualified 
to dictate to any student of botany, for he is well aware 
that there are many points upon which persons who have 
carefully studied the subject may form different conclusions 
from those to which he has been led. 
The present volume being intended to form a field-book 
or travelling companion for botanists, it was advisable to 
restrict the space allotted to each species as much as pos- 
sible, and accordingly it will be found that the characters 
and observations are only such as appeared to be necessary 
for their accurate discrimination. Synonyms have been 
almost wholly omitted, but at least one British and one 
German figure of each plant is quoted in all cases in which 
it could be done with accuracy. Localities are only given 
for new or peculiarly rare plants, the existence of so com- 
plete a work as Mr. Watson's New Botanist's Guide having 
made it unnecessary inconveniently to swell the present 
volume by their introduction ; but in order to convey some 
idea of the distribution of plants throughout the United 
Kingdom, the letters E, S, and I have been appended to 
the descriptions of such species as are only found in 
England, Scotland, or Ireland respectively, — all plants 
without such an addition having been observed in each of 
them. An O has been appended to a very few plants 
which only occur in the Channel Islands, or which, although 
included in our lists, there is reason to suppose have never 
been really detected in Britain, thus pointing out that they 
have little or no right to be considered as natives or even 
denizens. The descriptions of a considerable number of 
doubtful species which have been added to our Flora by 
previous writers, or which, although decidedly naturalized, 
have very slender claims to be considered as aboriginal 
natives, are included within [ ] , and notices of a few plants 
