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Wetland plants in New Zealand
90 WETLANDPLANTSIN NEW ZEALAND Wetland Plants in New Zealand. P.N. Johnson and P.A. Brooke, DSIR, Wel-
lington (Available from: Publication Sales DSIR Land Resources, Private bag, Christchurch, New Zealand), 1989. VII+ 317 pp., $NZ 49.95, ISBN 0-477-02563-3 This handy book with its attractive cover is very suitable for a wide circle of users and particularly for field botanists. The authors themselves say about the book: "As a guide to identification this is a picturebook in the first instance, but specimens should always l,e checked against the key features provided in the descriptions". My first impression was indeed that it was a nice picturebook, but after a better inspection I was struck by the thoroughness and the completeness of the text, and realized that it was a genuine, scientifically very reliable field guide, very different from the popular guides that can be bought in every bookshop. In a short introductory, chapter the aims of the book are clearly outlined, and in a second chapter a summary, but adequate description is given of the various aquatic and wetland habitats and their vegelation. The following categories are distinguished: coastal wetlands, aquatic vegetation, rivers, streams and lakes, swamps, bogs and flushes, shrub and tree bogs. The various vegetation types are well-illustrated. The largest part of the book consists of descriptions and illustrations of aquatic and marsh plants: 531 species are illustrated, more are described. The arrangement of the plant species is in a systematic order: Charophyta, fertJs and their allies, conifers, monocotyledons, dicotyledons. Mosses and liverworts are not included. The illustrations are quite good. The descriptions are short, but sufficient for identification purposes. In the larger genera species or species groups ~re keyed out. The text further gives for each species details about habitat, distribution in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world, and the origin of aliens. It appears that a considerable number of alien species occurs in New Zealand, but also the number of true endemics is quite high. The authors are well aware of the high importance of wetlands for the retention of the natural inheritance of New Zealand. The book can be recommended and is inexpensive. C, DEN HARTOG
Department ofAquatic Ecologyand Biogeology Catholic Utfiversity Teernooiveld 6525 ED NIJMEGEN Netherlands
lington (Available from: Publication Sales DSIR Land Resources, Private bag, Christchurch, New Zealand), 1989. VII+ 317 pp., $NZ 49.95, ISBN 0-477-02563-3 This handy book with its attractive cover is very suitable for a wide circle of users and particularly for field botanists. The authors themselves say about the book: "As a guide to identification this is a picturebook in the first instance, but specimens should always l,e checked against the key features provided in the descriptions". My first impression was indeed that it was a nice picturebook, but after a better inspection I was struck by the thoroughness and the completeness of the text, and realized that it was a genuine, scientifically very reliable field guide, very different from the popular guides that can be bought in every bookshop. In a short introductory, chapter the aims of the book are clearly outlined, and in a second chapter a summary, but adequate description is given of the various aquatic and wetland habitats and their vegelation. The following categories are distinguished: coastal wetlands, aquatic vegetation, rivers, streams and lakes, swamps, bogs and flushes, shrub and tree bogs. The various vegetation types are well-illustrated. The largest part of the book consists of descriptions and illustrations of aquatic and marsh plants: 531 species are illustrated, more are described. The arrangement of the plant species is in a systematic order: Charophyta, fertJs and their allies, conifers, monocotyledons, dicotyledons. Mosses and liverworts are not included. The illustrations are quite good. The descriptions are short, but sufficient for identification purposes. In the larger genera species or species groups ~re keyed out. The text further gives for each species details about habitat, distribution in New Zealand and elsewhere in the world, and the origin of aliens. It appears that a considerable number of alien species occurs in New Zealand, but also the number of true endemics is quite high. The authors are well aware of the high importance of wetlands for the retention of the natural inheritance of New Zealand. The book can be recommended and is inexpensive. C, DEN HARTOG
Department ofAquatic Ecologyand Biogeology Catholic Utfiversity Teernooiveld 6525 ED NIJMEGEN Netherlands