This handbook, consisting of six volumes, covers over 9000 taxa of succulents (excluding cacti), which have the ability to store water in their stems, leaves, or underground organs. In addition to the volumes on Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons, separate volumes are devoted to those families with predominantly succulent members, which show an especially great diversity, namely Aizoaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Crassulaceae. Following an alphabetical listing of families, genera and species, detailed descriptions are given, including the taxonomy with synonyms, data on the distribution and ecology, references, and keys to genera, species or subspecies. Over 2000 superb colour photographs complete this inventory of succulent plants.

The European Garden Flora is the definitive manual for the accurate identification of cultivated ornamental plants. It is designed to meet the highest scientific standards but the vocabulary is kept as uncomplicated as possible so that it is fully accessible to the informed gardener and landscape architect as well as to the professional botanists. Although based upon Europe the series will be an extremely useful reference on plants in cultivation throughout the world. Families, genera and species are described, keys are provided and guidance is given on the cultivation of each genus. Volume I is the first in a series of six; it contains accounts of the ferns and their allies, the conifers and 16 families of monocotyledons, including the Liliaceae, Amaryllidaceae and Iridaceae, to which most of the popular bulbous garden plants belong.

The European Garden Flora is the definitive manual for the accurate identification of cultivated ornamental flowering plants. Designed to meet the highest scientific standards, the vocabulary has nevertheless been kept as uncomplicated as possible so that the work is fully accessible to the informed gardener as well as to the professional botanist. This new edition has been thoroughly reorganised and revised, bringing it into line with modern taxonomic knowledge. Although European in name, the Flora covers plants cultivated in most areas of the United States and Canada as well as in non-tropical parts of Asia and Australasia. Volume 1 contains accounts of all the Monocotyledons, which includes those groups known informally as the 'petaloid monocotyledons' (the Liliaceae and Amaryllidaceae in the first edition, divided here among 17 families), the grasses and sedges (Gramineae and Cyperaceae), the aroids (Araceae) and the large and diverse Orchidaceae.