Book excerpt: Common Indian Wild Flowers is a superbly illustrated field guide to the indigenous flora of the Indian plains and peninsula. The book contians 240 photographs of common Indian wild flowers with explanatory notes on the size, habit, habitat, distribution and other interesting features. The species have been arranged in taxonomic sequence, and common names in English and regional names have also been given. There are separate sections on the topography, climate and vegetation of India, on how to identify and photograph wild flowers and on conservation issues related to them. The book will be useful to naturalists, both amateur and professional. English common names and regional names are indexed to enable the reader to identify the species in its typical wild habitat. Scientific names have also been indexed. A bibliography and a glossary completes this field guide to wild flowers.