A keen collector and sketcher of plant specimens from an early age‎,‎ the author‎,‎ educator and clergyman charles alexander johns ‎(‎1811‎-74‎)‎ gained recognition for his popular books on british plants‎,‎ trees‎,‎ birds and countryside walks‎.‎ The forest trees of britain ‎(‎1847‎-9‎)‎‎,‎ one of several works originally published by the society for promoting christian knowledge‎,‎ is also reissued in this series‎.‎ First published by the society in 1851‎,‎ johns‎'‎ best‎-known work is this two‎-volume botanical guide to common british flowering plants‎.‎ Following the linnaean system of classification‎,‎ johns describes the various plant families‎,‎ providing the common and latin names for each species‎.‎ The work is especially noteworthy for its delicate and meticulous line drawings‎,‎ based on watercolours by the botanical artist emily stackhouse and the author‎'‎s sisters julia and emily‎.‎ Volume 2 completes the botanical descriptions and includes indexes of english and latin plant names‎.‎