24. Alchemilla – Lady’s-mantles of Britain and Ireland
Author(s): M. Lynes
Editor(s): J. Roberts
Published: 2022
220 pages with illustrations, photographs and distribution maps
ISBN: 9780901158567
Alchemilla: Lady’s-mantles of Britain and Ireland details the twenty species that make up the UK and Irish Alchemilla flora: fifteen natives and five introductions. Of the native species, four are recently-published names by the author of this new work, set to become the standard for the genus in these islands.
The work seeks to tease out the intricacies of this ‘critical group’, with its often puzzling variants and plastic morphologies. Sections on the Alchemilla plant, guidance on identification, synopsis, dichotomous key, and key-character tables, precede the full species-accounts. Each species has sections on etymology; distribution, habitat and status; general appearance and full description; distribution map; and the crucial discussions on confusion species.
Diagrams illustrate distribution, density and posture of stem and leaf hairs. Numerous colour images show key comparative features of each species. Appendices expand on the taxonomic circus that has been Alchemilla minima; suggest a number of potential additions to the UK Alchemilla flora; and provide a full synonymy.