Discovering British Wild Flowers

This excellent plant guide for children aged 7+ describes over 100 common British wild flowers. The book information is compatible with the guidelines of the primary school curricula in the UK, with extra chapters on parts of a plant and a flower, pollination, fertilisation, seed dispersal and plant families. The plants are arranged primarily by habitat, basically woods with hedgerows to seaside, gardens, parks and countryside, and the description of each species is divided into three sections: general information, flower/fruit and leaves/stem. In addition, the plants are arranged by colour in the Flower Colour Index, providing an extra tool to assist identification. The layout is colourful and engaging, using snappy symbols for height, type of pollination, Caution! sign, and the main flowering season to aid identification even further. The book is pocket sized to easily take it out and about, such as walks, school trips and holiday.

Many of us passionately believe that there is an urgent need to encourage future generations of botanists. This new book is designed to do just that. Its target audience are primary school children between the ages of 6 and 12. But it could also be a helpful introductory flora for adults dipping their toes into the sometimes chilly waters of plant identification. - John Warren, BSBI; Overall Impression: Really good, easy to read, covers the main sorts of wild flower you would usually see and be able to identify. - Dr Peter Llewellyn; The book is looking fantastic. Although primarily for children, it could very much reach a wider audience of parents, interested adults, and primary school teachers. I would say it would be a lovely 'family book', for use at home and when out and about. The photos in the book are superb and give a real feeling what the flower or leaf actually looks like (close ups fantastic). I very much like the information about the leaf shapes...so often that is the way to identify flowers especially from a botanical point of view. I think teachers, from all over the UK, particularly, will find the book useful. The information is presented in a slightly more informal way so is pleasant to read but informative...good tone! The flower reproduction is also particularly well explained! As a teacher, I used drama, diagrams and a little buzzy bee to demonstrate this but actually it is quite hard for children (and a lot of adults) to totally understand! Looking at your book for the first time would make me or indeed anyone with a bit of interest be straight out there looking for wild flowers!! - Margaret Alston, Primary School Teacher

Deirdre Shirreffs has always loved wild flowers, her mother teaching her the names of the plants as a small child. This eventually led her to take up botany at Aberdeen University, followed by a PhD in botany and later teaching the subject at schools and universities. Having two daughters of her own, she appreciates the need of children being outdoors and also discovering the value of flowers, especially wild flowers.