Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION Bluebell wood in late spring Plants are one of the most important elements of the natural world and hold a fascination beyond that of their mere usefulness. This is especially true of the largest and most numerous group of plants -those which bear flowers. This group includes annuals, herbaceous perennials, shrubs and trees, but to most of us the term 'wild flowers' implies the smaller plants and bushes, and it is these which are covered here. A basic requirement for any study of or interest in wild flowers is the ability to put a name to the different kinds encountered. This book is aimed at fulfilling that requirement, enabling you to identify the plants you see in the wild, and providing information on their structure, habitats and distribution which will lead you to a better understanding of the plants themselves. The book covers the wild flowers of Europe. The number of species recorded for this area has been variously estimated but, excluding trees, is certainly in excess of 10,000, unfortunately far too many to be contained in a single volume. In any case, many are extremely restricted in distribution and often found only in the most inaccessible places, or are identifiable only with expert help. The species included here have therefore been selected to include all of those which are most widespread or likely to be encountered, those which are striking or well known for some reason, and those which are representative of a group of similar species or of particular habitats. All are found in the wild, even if they were originally introduced to Europe from other parts of the world as garden or crop plants and still principally occur in cultivation. Plants are constrained by physical boundaries such as oceans and mountain ranges rather than by political or economic divisions, so although Europe in a floristic sense has some resemblance to the political outline of the continent there are some major differences. As defined in this book, Europe extends from the Arctic tundra south to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Atlantic Ocean eastwards to a line running down the Ural mountains to the Caspian Sea, including the Crimean Peninsula but excluding the Caucasian mountains, Anatolian Turkey and the countries south of it as well as the islands