| Author | Lind, E.M. & Brook, A.J. |
| Year | 1980 |
| Title | Desmids of the Lake District |
| ISBN | 0 900386 40 1 |
| Series | Scientific Publication |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | Includes species of Desmid that have been found in at least three tarns or lakes in the English Lake District. Covers 168 of the 700 desmid spp known in Britain at the time. |
| Source | Scientific Publication, No 42., 123pp, Freshwater Biological Association |
| Illustrations | Line drawings accompany the text |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | Although the book confines itself to species of Desmid found in the English Lake District, the authors feel it likely to be useful in base-poor waters throughout the northern hemisphere. Desmids are most beautiful microscopic subjects. They have intrigued botanists since the heyday of amateur microscopy in Victorian times when owning a microscope had the same cachet as did owning a personal computer in the 1980’s. Because of this long history, Desmids are probably the best understood algae from a taxonomic point of view. A flow-chart key to genera is followed by two pages of drawings of representative genera. Then the genera are presented in taxonomic order, with keys for larger genera, followed by the description and a drawing of each species. |
| Examine |  Compound Microscope |
| Specimen Preparation | Fresh or preserved. |
| Identification difficulty | The larger species are straightforward but some of the larger genera (eg Closterium) are a challenge. |
