Book excerpt: This book is the fruit of Marjorie Blamey's lifelong absorption with wild flowers and their accurate illustration. Covering all species, both native and introduced, widespread or local, north of the Alps and the Mediterranean region, except for grasses, sedges, rushes and horsetails, CASSELL'S WILD FLOWERS OF BRITAIN AND NORTHERN EUROPE is the most complete and detailed colour-illustrated guide yet for any comparable area of the globe. Majorie Blamey's flower paintings appear on the right-hand pages of the book and are minutely accurate and precise with many small details. Illustrated on the book's left-hand pages are details of flower, leaf, stem, fruit or seed, and variations in colour or form. These are keyed by numbers to the text, where asterisks indicate fuller portraits on the facing page. The descriptive text, by Christopher Grey-Wilson, perfectly complements the illustrations, and provides clear details of the size, habitat and distribution of the flowers.