Sussex, with its long coastline, chalk downs, rivers, woods and heaths, possesses an unusual diversity of habitats. Long known for the richness of its flora, many species are otherwise rare in southeast England, others reach the northern edge of their European range in the county and an ever-increasing number of new arrivals are becoming established.This comprehensive new Flora has been compiled by the Sussex Botanical Recording Society to update, expand and revise the Sussex Plant Atlas published in 1980 and is the first major account of the county’s flora since Wolley-Dod’s work of 1937. Around 2,750 taxa are described, many accompanied by tetrad-based maps showing their distribution within the county. The species accounts are prefaced by detailed introductory chapters on geology and soils, habitats and vegetation, management and conservation, changes in the flora and past botanical activity in the county in order to provide an ecological and historical context. The text is fully illustrated throughout with photographs of characteristic Sussex plants and habitats.An essential work of reference not only for botanists and ecologists but also for conservation organisations, local authorities, planners and land owners. The Flora of Sussex will be read and consulted with pleasure by all those with an interest in the natural history and countryside of Sussex and the south-east.
