Hampshire is considered by some to be botanically the richest county in Britain, and is also regarded as an area of great interest in a European context. Providing coverage of the occurrence in Hampshire (not including the Isle of Wight) of all vascular plants, this book also contains full lists of bryophytes and lichens. The coverage includes chapters on some earlier workers on the Hampshire flora (by David E. Allen), the structure and habitats of Hampshire (by Dr Francis Rose), and conservation of the flora in Hampshire (by Dr Peter Brough). The extensive systematic account of the flowering plants is accompanied by dot-distribution maps, based on records compiled over a number of years.

This totally new and much needed work on the County’s flora – published in association with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust – is the first comprehensive study for nearly a century. Excluding the Isle of Wight, it contains over 1750 species of vascular plants including some non-indigenous speces as well as subspecies, varieties and hybrids. In addition, condensed accounts of the lichens (590 taxa) and bryophytes (459 taxa) – groups in which the county is particularly rich – have been contributed by Francis Rose with Ken Sandell and Alan Crundwell respectively. As in Townsend’s Flora of Hampshire (1884), there are introductory chapters on Structure and Geology; Climate; Habitats; and an up-to-date Comparison of Hampshire’s Flora with some other southern Counties (including the Isle of Wight) – all by Francis Rose. There are also chapters on Conservation of the Flora (with a complete list of nature reserves) by Peter Brough and Paul Bowman; Some earlier Workers on the Hampshire Flora by David Allen; and Botanical Recording by Paul Bowman. The Flora ends with an extensive Bibliography and References and a fully comprehensive Index. The principal authors are all experienced Hampshire botanists with an intimate knowledge of its flora.