As a student in Aberystwyth in the late 1970s, I invested what seemed like a huge amount of money (£10 – and more than I could really afford at the time) on a second-hand copy of Salter's The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Cardiganshire (1935). That small book, which I still have, runs to some 182 pages, and Salter wrote in the preface that 'Cardiganshire has had but little attention bestowed upon it by botanists' and that 'the present work makes no pretence to be a Flora of the county'. The arrival in 2010 of Chater's new book has certainly changed that situation! ...

This is a truly monumental addition to the county floras of Britain. It is unlikely to be taken into the field (apart from by the strongest among us – it weighs slightly more than 3.7 kg!) – rather, it is a book to be savoured and used in preparation for and after field visits.

Llyfr penigamp – llongyfarchiadau!