Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In the case of nomenclature of species, I have with few exceptions clung to what is known as the Kew rule of giving a plant the specific name first published in conjunction with the proper genus. In the preparation of this work I have had the enormous advantage of being able to make full use, not only of the magnificent collections of living plants at Kew, but also of the herbarium of trees and shrubs which has been in course of formation there for thirty years, at first by the late Mr Geo. Nicholson, and during the last thirteen years by myself. There are very few of the descriptions that have not been made from authentic material - living or dried.
