The first edition of this guide was published by the British Pteridological Society in 2005, but has been out of print since about 2013. This is a reprint of the original edition with no alterations or corrections, but with an added colour section as a supplement. Fifty cultivars are thus illustrated in colour photographs on 16 pages. One additional page of explanation, acknowledgements, and a photograph list has also been added. Where opinions have changed in specific areas the editors have occasionally commented under a given photograph because the original text could not be changed. The page number in the original text is given under each photograph.
The original text ran to 100 pages with numerous black and white illustrations. It included discussion on all aspects of nomenclature and attempted to offer standard names for most cultivars currently in cultivation.