There is an element of fascination which many people feel about geographical maps, because these maps allow fantasies about strange landscapes, other peoples, travels, even adventures. Distribution maps, depicting the area which a plant (or animal) species occupies, would appear to be less romantic, but they are equally able to exercise our imagination, or rather: to stimulate our scientific curiosity. Some distribution patterns are repeated time and time again, although rarely fully identical, and with their study comes the inescapable question: what is it that determines a plant's area of distribution? Almost immediately we find ourselves in the area of ecology, for it is the plant's demands of its environment (climate, soil) which determines where it will be able to grow and where not. However, that is not all there is to it, for species as well as landscapes have their history, and one needs to be informed about the climate and about the distribution of land and sea in the past, for instance, before one can understand present distributions. This aspect of change in space and time (historical plant geography) is possibly the most fascinating part of plant geography. However this atlas, covering a minuscule part of the world, is not meant to be primarily a book of historical plant geography. It is true that a dynamic aspect is very prominent, but this is on the smaller time-scale of man-made changes, which mostly led to impoverishments.

With over 4000 colour photographs, this atlas represents 1828 taxa and includes the wild plants of the Netherlands, the adventitious plants and the cultivated plants that have gone wild. The seed atlas presents a unique picture of the variation and the characteristics of the seeds and fruits of the Dutch flora, and is designed to be a tool to identify seeds and fruits. Because the seeds and fruits of many plants have clearly visible diagnostic characteristics, the seed atlas can also be used to identify seed-bearing plants via their ripe seeds and fruits. The photographs in the book are arranged in accordance with the fully revised 23rd edition of 'Heukels Flora van Nederland', following new insights of phylogenetic classification of the angiosperms (APG II).The introduction is in both English and Dutch, and at the back of the book are indexes of both the Dutch and the scientific plant names. The seed atlas will be of use to ecologists, plant taxonomists, palaeobotanists and amateur florists in the Netherlands as well as abroad.Purchase of the atlas gives you the right to access the website, which is managed by the Library of the University of Groningen. For additional information, please see p. IV, opposite the Table of contents.

The Atlas of Seeds and Fruits of Central and East-European Flora presents nearly 4,800 seed illustrations, supplemented with detailed seed descriptions, brief plant descriptions, and information on the locality and the native source of plants. The Carpathian flora covered here occurs not only in the Carpathian Mountains, but also in large lowlands extending towards the south, north and east and involves introduced and invading flora of more than 7,500 species. This publication is unique on two counts. Its scope extends to an unprecedented number of different plant seeds from a wide-ranging region. Moreover, it presents descriptions in unusual detail.

This 2001 book provides a selective annotated bibliography of the principal floras and related works of inventory for vascular plants. The second edition was completely updated and expanded to take into account the substantial literature of the late twentieth century, and features a more fully developed review of the history of floristic documentation. The works covered are principally specialist publications such as floras, checklists, distribution atlases, systematic iconographies and enumerations or catalogues, although a relatively few more popularly oriented books are also included. The Guide is organised in ten geographical divisions, with these successively divided into regions and units, each of which is prefaced with a historical review of floristic studies. In addition to the bibliography, the book includes general chapters on botanical bibliography, the history of floras, and general principles and current trends, plus an appendix on bibliographic searching, a lexicon of serial abbreviations, and author and geographical indexes.

A 2014 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title" An Atlas of the World's Conifers is the first ever atlas of all known conifer species. It is based on locality information of ca. 37,000 collected herbarium specimens held in scientific institutions. As well as providing natural distribution maps for each species, Farjon and Filer give the reader comprehensive insight into the biogeography, diversity and conservation status of conifers on all continents, dispelling the widely held view that they are primarily a northern boreal plant group. Conifer diversity is analysed and presented with a taxonomic and geographic perspective. Distribution patterns are interpreted using the latest information on continental drift, dispersal and phylogeny. The entire dataset supporting the Atlas can be consulted and verified online. These data can also be used for further research and are an invaluable resource for anyone working on conifer systematics, biogeography or conservation. An Atlas of the World’s Conifers indicates the known distribution of all conifers including an analysis of their biogeography, diversity and conservation status. Also available from Brill is Aljos Farjon’s A Handbook of the World's Conifers, published in 2010 (ISBN 978 90 04 17718 5) which is a 2017 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title".

Comprising about one hundred plates this atlas documents and describes the processes concerning the sexual reproduction in higher plants. It is dividedinto three parts: - Anther Development - Pistil Development - Progamic Phase and Fertilization. The scanning, transmission electron and light micrographs are all of immaculate quality and - for the viewer's orientation - almost each plate is complemented by a scheme showing a larger area of the plant indicating the site of the section. Together with instructive texts, the often striking images provide a valuable introduction into plant reproductive cell structures for researchers and advanced students of genetics, plantbreeding and cell biology.