text: 422
  
  F O L ] A G E O B O T A ~ I C A ET PHYTOTAXOI~OMICA 21, 1986
  
  Bookreview
  H . E . H E s s , E. LA~DOLT a n d R. I-IIRZEL
  BESTIMMUNGSSCHILIJSSEL
  ZUR
  UND ANGRENZENDER
  GEBIETE
  
  FLORA
  
  DER
  
  SCHWEIZ
  
  2. Auflage B i r k h ~ u s e r Vorlag, B a s e l u n d S t u t t g a r t 1984, 657 pp., 1277 Figs. Price SFr. 4 8 . - T h i s idontifieation k e y of p o c k e t size (suitable for field work) is b y t h e s a m e a u t h o r s as t h e
  v o l u m i n o u s F l o r a of S w i t z e r l a n d ( I - - I I I ) , a n d fully d e r i v e d f r o m it in form a n d c o n t e n t . T h e
  t y p i c a l f e a t u r e o f t h e s e works is t h e c o n c e p t o f species a g g r e g a t e -- a c l u s t e r of m o r p h o l o g i c a l l y
  s i m i l a r t a x a , r a t h e r t h a n a g r o u p o f m u t u a l l y related species.
   I d e n t i f i c a t i o n k e y s are d i c h o t o m o u s a n d i n d e n t e d -- in s o m e c a s e s (e.g. i n g e n e r a rich in speciPs)
  t h i s form s e e m s r a t h e r i m p r a c t i c a l : t h e d i s t a n t a n t i t h e s e s (often o n different pages) are n o t e a s i l y
  f o u n d ; t h e t r a d i t i o n a l b r a c k e t e d k e y would v e r y likely be m o r e s u i t a b l e . T h e identification k e y to
  t h e f a m i l i e s w i t h i n t h e class (e.g. D i c o t y l e d o n s ) is divided i n t o m a i n groups, u s i n g s u b s i d i a r y
  k e y s to r e a c h t h e concrete t a x a.
   T h e g r e a t e r p a r t of t a x a are depicted. T h e I n d i a n - i n k m a r g i n a l d r a w i n g s u s u a l l y r e p r e s e n t
  g e n e r a l h a b i t s a n d / o r d i s t i n g u i s h i n g d e t a i l s (flowers, frl~its, seeds). T h e book is s u p p l e m e n t e d b y
  a b r i e f m o r p h o l o g i c a l g l o s s a r y , a n I n d e x of L a t i n n a m e s o f t a x a w i t h v e r n a c u l a r ( G e r m a n )
  e q u i v a l e n t s , a n d w i t h G e r m a n a n d L a t i n indices of t h e n a m e s o f genera.
   I t w o u l d be p r e m a t u r e to a p p r a i s e t h e b o o k l e t u n d e r r e v i e w -- t h e q u a l i t y of a n identification
  k e y d e p e n d s on its efficiency in field floristic work. P r e c i s e l y p r i n t e d figures, diacritic m o r p h o l o g i cal f e a t u r e s , brief n o t e s on h a b i t a t or a l t i t u d i n a l r a n g e (rarely g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n ) are t h e
  d a t a to be t e s t e d in t h i s way.
  B O H D A.'~"Kl~tiSA.
  