Arranged alphabetically under families, this work lists species and intraspecific taxa recognised by Kew, this volume contains full checklists of such important, mainly temperate genera as Alnus (alders), Betula (birches), Carpinus (hornbeams), Corylus (hazels), Castanea (chestnuts), Fagus (beeches), Nothofagus (southern beeches), and Quercus (oaks). It accounts for 531 species in the last-named genus, its first complete listing since 1954. As well as describing each family and genus, it covers growth and distribution. References to important related literature and line illustrations augment these descriptions.