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Grasses and Sedges of Britain and Ireland

Bromus commutatus Schrad. Photo: T. Cope

The Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) publishes a series of authoritative handbooks on selected families within the British and Irish floras.  A new handbook on grasses, together with the third edition of the one on sedges, are being prepared as collaborations between Kew and several other British botanists.

The need for a new guide to British and Irish grasses to replace that of C.E. Hubbard, which was in print for 50 years and went to three editions, was first recognised in the mid-1980s, a few years after the death of Hubbard. In total, the new Handbook will deal with 220 species, 173 native and established alien species and 47 casuals of regular occurrence.  Every species will have been re-worked from the vast collections amassed by Hubbard at Kew and its taxonomy reconsidered.  Comprehensive notes on ecology and distribution, along with guidance on how to recognise the species in the field will be included.  Every species will be illustrated with a new plate. The taxonomic component of the work is now complete and the illustrations are nearly complete.  Work on ecology and distribution is well advanced.  The book will be complete in summer 2006. 

Sedges of the British Isles was the first handbook in the BSBI series and was published in 1968, with a second edition appearing in 1982. However, both editions only covered the genus Carex.  In the mid-1990s a third edition was proposed to deal with all taxa of Cyperaceae present in Britain and Ireland, including hybrids. The new edition will, therefore, include 106 species (33 in genera other than Carex) and 47 hybrids, with descriptions, illustrations, distribution mapping, and ecological information for all the taxa. Conservation assessments will be provided for taxa under threat. The book is almost complete and publication is expected in mid-2006.

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