Webb's An Irish Flora

David Webb 1912 94 dominated Irish botany for half a century. One of his most enduring achievements was the concise An Irish Flora originally a slim volume published during the early 1940s soon after polymath Webb switched from zoology to botany. This straighforward guide to Ireland s wild plants has long made botanical identification and basic data on Irish plants widely accessible. Retaining the spirit of its creator this 8th edition is in the hands of a new generation of authors who have expanded it for the 21st century incorporating both recent molecular research and our increased knowledge of the Irish flora. Simple colour diagrams clearly show obscure botanical features and a glossary explains any terms. The text follows Webb s plain no nonsense presentation it is not aimed at the enthusiast succinct descriptions avoidance of most sub species or varieties and healthy suspicion of alien plants apart from those that are well and widely naturalized. It keeps ecology and plant geography to a minimum but does provide the necessary clear keys and descriptions that should enable anybody to identify any wild Irish plant with confidence. ~Dr. John Akeroyd Sherkin Comment 2012

Generations of botanical students set off on field trips equipped with handlenses and a copy of Webb s An Irish Flora. The step by step keys made it a handy self learning guide to the wild flowers of Ireland and it proved so durable that the book first issued in the 1940s was reprinted through several editions. The Dundalk publishers must have been amazed at having such a long and sustained demand but eventually the time came for a major revamp a task that took over a decade to complete. While Webb s earlier editions were small enough to fit into a coat pocket the 8th edition from Cork publishing is a 504 page brick of a book. John Parnell and Tom Curtis have comprehensively revised and expanded the content and Elaine Cullen s fine illustrations help in identification of species by showing points that would be difficult to describe in words. Apart from being a welcome re working of a classic guide the classification has been brought up to date. In Webb s day taxonomists often had to take an educated guess at where specific plants should be placed in an evolutionary tree. More often right than wrong biologists are now on surer ground thanks to genetic analysis. For this book the authors adopted the latest phylogenetic arrangement known as the APGIII scheme which takes into account genetic relationships rather than superficial appearances. The 8th edition is in fact probably one of the first floras to have adopted this approach. John Parnell is Professor of Systematic Botany at TCD and Dr. Tom Curtis is an ecological consultant and a research associate in botany at TCD and he lectures on plant sciences at NUI Galway. Revising the original flora was a daunting task but the authors are keen to explain that they were following a path laid down by Webb. David Webb with his wild head of hair and blue jeans was a colourful figure that was hard to miss but more significant was his impact on Irish botany. As the authors point out in their introduction having his name on the title is a good way to acknowlege Webb s role in laying such good foundations that enabled them to produce this impressive Irish flora. ~Tom Kennedy Science Spin 52

This handbook will provide the student or keen amateur with a clear and reliable means of identifying those plants which grow wild in Ireland. It is a comprehensive re working of the classic and standard Flora of Ireland and has been brought fully up to date through incorporating the latest in botanical research and reflects contemporary approaches to plant classification based on recent advances in genetics. This substantial tome is about the higher plants that grow wild and which are commonly naturalised or otherwise encountered in Ireland. It is designed to facilitate their identification and provide background information on their morphology distribution and rarity and to educate all those interested in recognising the species of the flora of Ireland. Previous editions of the book have been used by workers outside of the specific field of study of plant identification such as environmental consultants the public students professional and amateur botanists etc. There is a genuine demand for a Flora whose subject matter refers explicitly to Ireland whilst placing that flora in a wider context. Furthermore a concise flora of a discreet geographical area is of interest internationally to many professional and amateur botanists and gardeners. The book is used in student training it is a basic botanical text book in some Irish universities in Ireland and for professionals and others wishing to improve their skills and botanical expertise. John Parnell is Professor of Systematic botany at Trinity College Dublin TCD and Dr. Tom Curtis is an Ecological Consultant and a Research Associate in Botany at TCD and Lecturer in Botany and Plant science NUI Galway. An Irish Flora is published by Cork University Press. ~Charlie Wilkins The Examiner May 12th 2012

The world of botany is ever changing with the discovery of new species of plants and genetic data bringing insights into plant relationships. An Irish Flora has long been the standard text for Ireland for identifying native flowering plants conifers ferns and related plants. But the last edition published in 1996 has been in need of updating for many years. One of the major changes in this eagerly awaited new edition is a thorough revision of the ordering of plant families to reflect recent advances in genetics. This is very welcome as it puts this regional flora into a global context. However a big disappointment is that many widely accepted recent changes to species names and positioning of species within families have not been adopted. This type of standard flora uses keys and textual descriptions for identification and inevitably there is a steep learning curve for beginners to botany. On the other hand those with little botanical training will appreciate the reduction in specialized terminology. Other changes that users of the new flora will find beneficial are a key to trees and shrubs in winter inclusion of many new species including some non native species colour illustrations of key plant characters a list of protected species and updated keys and text. For many botanists floras are in daily use and it would be surprising if this new edition was received uncritically. For my part the major disadvantage of this book as a field guide is the increase in size from 2cm to 5cm thick. This is partly due to additional text but also from the unnecessary use of larger typeface and thicker paper. Families are not numbered at the top of each page and this makes it difficult to quickly find the correct page from the initial family key. Common names have been included somewhat randomly which means that there is no definitive list of cormnon names for Ireland. I therefore hope that the pub lishers will consider a slightly revised pocket field guide version of this invaluable book. ~Joanne Denyer Irish Arts Review Summer 2012

The publication of this 'New Webb' has great significance for all botanists living and working in Ireland, and for every visitor who wants to understand the flora which they see there. The scope is considerable; there are useful, accessible plant descriptions, sometimes with key character mini-illustrations (excellently done by Elian Cullen); there is an illustrated glossary; synonyms for recently changed names are included (thank you, John and Tom!); Latin, English and Irish names are listed; there are comprehensive keys, including one for winter trees, shrubs and climbers; Irish conservation legislation is explained... is already on my 'best-loved' botany book list. ~Rosemary Fitzgerald, Wild Flower Magazine