The author of this book, Dr. Jacob de Vlas and his wife Johanna de Vlas-de Jong have been visiting Sri Lanka since 1977. In 2008 and 2014 they published volume 1 and volume 2 of the Illustrated Field Guide to the Flowers of Sri Lanka. Together, these books cover about 1960 plant species of Sri
Lanka, with emphasis on herbs and shrubs because all flowers were photographed below about 2 m above ground level.
This third volume deals with 1067 plant species of which 967 were not described in Volume 1 and 2. Many of them are rare, and some are probably new to the flora of Sri Lanka or even to science. Approximately 87% of all pictures in Volume 3 were taken by Sri Lankan naturalists or photographers. Himesh Dilruwan Jayasinghe was the main contributor with 63% of all photographs.
By publishing this last volume in a series of 3, the author, his wife and all photographers wish to contribute to the spread of knowledge of Sri Lankan plants among nature lovers, students and professionals, and indirectly to the conservation of the flora of Sri Lanka.