There are 21 species in British Northern Hawkweeds (Hieracium section Alpestria), 16 of which occur in Shetland, four in Scotland and one in England. In this monograph, the second in the series covering Hieracium in Britain in detail, a full account of the species in this section in Britain is given with numerous colour illustrations. The aim of British Northern Hawkweeds is to provide a detailed identification guide and to summarise what is currently known about these rare species, which are a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority group. The taxonomy is largely based on that of P. D. Sell, updated with recent research.
British Northern Hawkweeds contains a general introduction covering their history, habitats, conservation, identification characters, and keys, with a bibliography and index. Each species account covers nomenclature, a full description, history, taxonomy and variation, distribution, biology and ecology, conservation status and notes on identification. Line drawings, silhouettes of herbarium material, detailed photographs and general habitat shots are given for each species.