British Plant Life (Collins New Naturalist Library, Book 10): v. 10 - Hardcover

‘The New Naturalist series has brought a refreshing breeze into the stuffy literature on natural history. And we have now come to look forward to new volumes in this series, well written, beautifully produced, and awakening interest in some fresh feature on Britain’s countryside.

‘This book is...in every way up to the standards of its predecessors, a clar and substantial exposition of plan geography in Britain and it includes chapters on the geological history of the British flora, the story of plant fossils and the light they throw on the evolution of plants, the effects of glaciation, the plant communities to be found in Britain today, and some chapters on variation and heredity among plants. There are useful maps and plant distribution and over seventy excellent photographs.

‘Dr. Turrill’s book deserves a wide and varied public, from botany student to country squire. The text is serious reading by a distinguished botanist, a striking contrast to the frothy print that serves to eke out the pictures in so many books on nature study.’
Manchester Guardian

In British Plant Life, emphasis is placed on the gaps and uncertainties in our knowledge and it is suggested how readers with a flair for accurate observation and simple experiment can help towards completing the story.

Collins are delighted to announce the republication in facsimile form of the first editions of the very first volumes in the New Naturalist Library. Originally planned in the darkest days of World War II and first published in 1945, this series is the longest running nature series in the world. It is a reflection of the quality of the authors and the books they wrote, that they are still sought after 73 years later. The books will be identical in every way to the original first editions, including the iconic jackets by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis.

There has been a great increase in knowledge of the composition, structure, and history of our flora in recent years. Dr. Turrill, former Keeper of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, contributed as much as any other botanist to this increase and has laid special emphasis on the integration of the older methods of classification with the more recent techniques of ecological and genetical research. The resulting story, though not yet complete, is as exciting as a first-class detective novel. In the present volume emphasis is placed on the gaps and uncertainties in our knowledge and it is suggested how readers with a flair for accurate observation and simple experiment can help towards completing the story.

In the broad sense, the British flora can be regarded as an offshoot of that of the European continent. The influence of geographical position and geographical history has, however, resulted in distinct peculiarities, and, above all, there have been the modifications produced by the last great Ice Age. How much was destroyed and how much survived this catastrophe is discussed by Dr. Turrill. The various routes of migration are traced as far as possible and the changes in climate and the advent of man are shown to have led to profound alterations in the flora.