Collins Wild Flower Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland. Third Edition

Collins Wild Flower Guide 3rd Ed

Following on from its successful launch in 2009, Collins Wild Flower Guide – the ultimate reference book for wild flower enthusiasts – now enters its third edition. It is now completely up to date, including the most recent BSBI common names and the extra species recently discovered in the British Isles.

Featuring all flowering plants, including trees and grasses, and ferns, this fully revised and updated field guide to the wild flowers of Britain and northern Europe is the most complete illustrated, single-volume guide ever published.

Leading botanical artists have been specially commissioned to ensure accurate, detailed illustrations. Species are described and illustrated on the same page, with up-to-date authoritative text aiding identification. Plants are arranged by family, with their key features highlighted for quick and easy reference. The text offers a complete account of over 1,900 wild flowers of Britain and Ireland, along with a summary of their European distribution.

Other new features of this edition are a reclassification of some species. This is in the line with molecular systematics research using DNA sequencing, as codified in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) system APG IV (2016). These changes were incorporated in Stace’s New Flora of the British Isles (edition 4), the standard flora for the British flora. This new edition of the Collins Wild Flower Guide follows Stace’ 4th edition throughout making cross referencing easier.

Species accounts also indicate the threat level for the most endangered species.This is particularly useful for those doing surveys or field work. Categories from extinct down to vulnerable in the Vascular Plant Red List for Great Britain (Stroh et al, 2025) are noted. Categories including near threatened and those under less threat are not indicated.

Collins Wild Flower Guide 3rd Ed is an indispensable up to date guide for all those with an interest in the countryside, whether amateur or expert.