| Author | John, D.M., Whitton, B.A. & Brook, A.J. |
| Year | 2002 |
| Title | The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles |
| ISBN | 0-521-77051-3 |
| Type | Book/Report |
| How Complete | All major groups of terrestrial, fresh- and slightly brackish water algae are included, except: diatoms, colourless forms (except Dinoflagellates) and symbiotic algae (eg in lichens). Marine cyanobacteria ARE included. Of the groups included, only half the desmids are mentioned (a separate Desmid flora is in progress) and for other groups a list of omitted species is appended to each genus. Page 2 lists the no of spp described in each Phylum followed by the no not in the flora. In total the flora describes 1,719 of the commonest and more well-defined species. |
| Source | 702pp, Cambridge University Press |
| Illustrations | 154 plates of line drawings and a few half-tone photomicrographs, plus a CD of photographs. |
| Review (by Malcolm Storey) | This large and heavy book of 700+ pages is indispensible to anybody seriously interested in British Algae. Keys are given to species, most of which are illustrated. The accompanying CD includes a large number of photographs, but unfortunately most are of poor quality. |
| Errata, Corrigenda & Comments | P517 (*Closterium* key) 2nd alternative of couplet 6 should lead to 14. A set of corrections has been published in The Phycologist, No 64, 2003, p16-18, downloadable from the British Phycological Society website. |
| Examine |  Compound Microscope ( Stereo Microscope is also useful) |
| Specimen Preparation | Live material on a microscope slide. Special illumination (preferably Nomarski, although Phase Contrast and Dark Field are also informative) is necessary in some cases. |
| Identification difficulty | Varied. Generally, the more complex the morphology, the easier it is to identify. |
