Hawkweeds of South-East England [BSBI Handbook No. 20]

Second Hand
Hardcover
Author: Shaw, M.
Published by: BSBI

Book Condition: Near Fine.
OOP, very scarce. Very lightly used. A few spots to the closed text-block edges and FFEP, otherwise very crisp, clean and bright inside and out. Errata sheet included.
Hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.) are considered a difficult species. As with the closely related dandelions (Taraxacum) and other plant taxa that produce clonal populations by asexual (apomictic) seed production, deciding how to separate out the resulting plethora of microspecies and identifying them present a challenge to botanists. Focusing on the 58 species found in Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, hawkweed enthusiast Mike Shaw, an experienced botanist, BSBI member and former BSBI County Recorder for West Sussex, hopes to bring identification of hawkweeds within reach of any botanist.
It is written in a clear and accessible style and will appeal to botanists at all levels wishing to study this challenging and interesting group of plants.
The introduction to Hawkweeds of South-East England includes sections on geographical coverage and data sources, history and taxonomy, evolution and reproduction, collection and preservation of specimens, habitats, cultivation, conservation, geology and soils. A detailed chapter on hawkweed identification characters is followed by a list of species and a key to the eight hawkweed sections found in south-east England; each of these sections is further described with separate keys as appropriate. Each of the 58 species accounts includes historical information, a comprehensive description, notes on status, habitats and flowering times, and diagnostic features to help separate it from related species. Distribution maps are given with details of some good sites to see each species. Finally there is a glossary, references and index.
The book is in A4 hardback format with 250 pages. It is illustrated with over 400 colour photographs, including a typical herbarium specimen for each species.
ISBN: 9780901158574