Reviewer: Alison Alderton
A user-friendly guide to coastal flowers
COVERING more than 600 species, the Field Guide to Coastal Wildflowers of Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe is full of beautiful pictures and illustrations, making it easy to identify coastal wildflowers.
Written by Paul Sterry, bestselling wildlife author and photographer and Andrew Cleave, educator and environmentalist, it begins with an overview of coastal habitats with information on some of the moths, invertebrates, birdlife and even fungi to be discovered. There is a glossary, sections on conservation, safety and the coastal code of conduct – vital information for any would- be wildflower observer.
The bulk of the book contains, in the main, a half-page section for each plant and covers height, ecology and natural history, habitat, flowers, fruits and leaves. Distribution maps for Britain and Ireland are also included. As well as flowering plants, other groups such as trees, mosses, grasses, lichens and seaweeds are featured.
Some species are gifted with fullpage coverage, some double pages and here, the photographs really bring them to life; depicting flowers at different angles, close up or in comparison with the wider surroundings. The Scilly Islands have their own section with botanical treasures to astound and which thrive so well due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
Plant names fascinate just as much as the pictures; corkyfruited water-dropwort, oysterplant, stinking goosefoot, lizard orchid and oxtongue broomrape, to name a few. As does the fragility of our natural world – the Lundy cabbage being one example; unique to the island after which it is named sustaining two species of beetle occurring nowhere else in the world.
The gatefold covers display an index to iconic species and groups; there is even a printed measurement guide – ideal for checking plant height. A well thought out user-friendly guide.
Field Guide to Coastal Wildflowers of Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe by Paul Sterry and Andrew Cleave, published by Princeton University Press (paperback £20).
ISBN 9780691218151