Abstract
FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND
Volume I
H. H. Allan
The last comprehensive descriptive account of the plants native to this country was Cheeseman's Manual of the New Zealand Flora published in 1925. Collectors and research workers have been active in the intervening 36 years and there has been an increasing demand for a new Flora incorporating the results of recent investigations. To this task the late Dr H. H. Allan brought a wealth of botanical knowledge and experience.
This volume deals with all the indigenous vascular plants except the monocotyledons, that is, with the ferms and their allies, the conifers, and the dicotyledonous flowering plants. Descriptions have been rewritten, many after examination of the original specimens, and a number of new taxa are recognised. Special attention has been paid to keys to families, genera, and species, and line drawings by Nancy M. Adams should assist identification in some difficult groups. There are notes on hybrids and doubtful species, with mention of most names based on New Zealand types, and synonymies and bibliographic references are given rather fully for the benefit of serious students. A section on the annals of taxonomic research covers the more important publications from Banks and Solander up to the end of 1958; there is an annotated list of names of authors, a catalogue of Maori names of plants, and a brief introductory essay on the New Zealand botanical region.
