Vegetation of Britain and Ireland

Another volume in the popular New Naturalist series, this book covers all aspects of the plant life of Britain and Ireland.

Michael Proctor, an expert in his field, discusses the development of the landscape of Britain and Ireland from prehistoric times, including the influence of people and their agricultural practices on the vegetation.

He provides a comprehensive account of all the different types of plant habitat in Britain and Ireland: from woodlands and scrubland to meadows and grasslands, from wetlands and peatlands to heaths, and from the mountain vegetation to the sea coast. He examines the history and ecology of each of these habitats, and describes the rich variety of flora found living there.

The author concludes with an account of the changes to our landscape which have taken place during the twentieth century, and prospects for the future, including the effects of environmental change.

Reviews

‘It is simply magnificent […] Michael Proctor’s knowledge of our wild habitats and their plants – mosses and lichens, as well as flowers, trees and ferns – is possibly unequalled […] It will probably be our senior guide on wild vegetation for the rest of our lifetimes.’
British Wildlife

Praise for the New Naturalist series:

‘Taken either individually or as a whole, they are one of the proudest achievements of modern publishing’ The Sunday Times

'The series is an amazing achievement.'
The Times Literary Supplement

'The books are glorious to own.'
Independent

About the author

Michael Proctor is an Honorary Research Fellow (and until his retirement in 1994 was Reader in Plant Ecology) at the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Exeter. He has wide interests in ecology and botany, and has published many scientific papers on a variety of ecological topics, as well as two previous New Naturalists (The Pollination of Flowers and The Natural History of Pollination). He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society.