Collins Wild Flower Guide

This is an updated version of a book which was first published in 2009 as the 'Collins Flower Guide', which has been renamed presumably to make it clear that it is a guide to wild flowers rather than those grown in gardens! It covers Britain and Ireland and contains a combination of illustrations and identification keys: those interested in wild plants may have previously seen this combination in the Francis Rose guide.

I could not find any information in the introduction about the changes made from the original version, but the illustrations appear to be unchanged, and most of the species accounts seem to be the same or have only minor changes. There have been some more substantial revisions to some of the keys, presumably improvements resulting from a review or from feedback that the authors have received.

I have found the book straightforward to use and it is a good introduction to identification keys for those who have just started looking more closely at some of the plants they come across when they are out in the countryside. For those looking to gain more experience it may come in useful alongside other floras: it can sometimes be helpful to have more than one reference to enable you to confirm a tentative ID by following a different key or description.

Book reviewed by Ian Woodward