Continuing with the theme of enormous new books this week here in The Well-read Naturalist, the recently published Aquatic Plants of Northern and Central Europe including Britain and Ireland from Princeton University Press in their WILDGuides series is a tome that would indeed cause Neville Longbottom himself to sit up and take notice.
Being the “first comprehensive guide to the identification of the region’s 410 [known] species and hybrids of both native and non-native ferns and flowering plants that are dependent upon freshwater wetlands,” this massive 752 page book presents its readers with over 1,400 full colour images and a further 352 black and white illustrations of its subjects. As would be expected, illustrated keys, range maps, and detailed descriptions are also included. (Out of curiosity, I did check to see if Gillyweed was included, but as I wasn’t sure of the Latin binomial name for it, I may have missed seeing it in the book’s index; I’ll need to let Prof. Longbottom confirm that at his leisure).
It should also be noted that there is a separate dichotomous illustrated key to this book published by Princeton as an eBook. While the main book itself is fully equipped with all relevant keys to identification, this eBook version offers a more portable option for those needing to consult the main text’s vast store of identifying information without needing to bring along a house elf to carry the book itself.
(Nota bene: Neville Longbottom and house elves are, of course, creations sprung from the superbly imaginative mind of J.K. Rowling, and are used her with full acknowledgement and most sincere respect.)
