Field Guide to the Grasses of Singapore (Excluding the Bamboos). 2005. (Suppl. to the Gardens' Bulletin Singapore, 57). 149 line drawings. 40 col. photographs. 177 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Grasses are very important to mankind, especially for food. They also form an important part of today's vegetation of Singapore, occupying at least 18% of its land surface. Nevertheless they are generally neglected, as they are considered difficult to identify.

The purpose of this book is to provide all the necessary information with which anyone interested in grasses should be able to identify the 134 non-woody species and varieties that occur in Singapore. The book includes 16 new records, which were not mentioned for the country in any of the earlier accounts of the family. The characters used in the identification keys are easy-to-see and are explained in a separate section on Grass Morphology and in a Glossary.

The Key to Sterile Grass Plants is a novelty for the region. It enables one to identify grasses that are not yet flowering, which is especially useful when doing a botanical survey of an area within a limited period of time. As turfs cover large areas, a shortened key to the grasses that are used for turf is also included. The text is fully illustrated and the species descriptions are arranged alphabetically. Separate indices to common (English and Malay) names and scientific names are included. The book should prove useful to the laymen, the student as well as the professional, with information on origin, abundance and ecology included.

The book primarily focuses on Singapore. However, it is estimated that it also covers about 90% of the grass species occurring in central and southern Peninsular Malaysia (below 500 in altitude and not including limestone areas).