BPS Special Publications

These may be purchased from BPS Booksales ( ) at the prices shown (p. & p. extra). Full details of postage are in the latest (April 2012) list.

BPS Special Publication No. 1

A Guide to Hardy Ferns, by Richard Rush (1984, reprint 1987), 70 pages.
ISBN 0 9509806 0 9

[No longer in print but sometimes available second hand at BPS meetings and elsewhere.] The book lists, in alphabetical order, 581 species of British and foreign ferns that can, or potentially could, be cultivated in British gardens. Typically it gives a one-paragraph description of each species, its country/continent of origin, its habitats, and the recorded experiences of hardiness by fern growers in the UK. No illustrations.

BPS Special Publication No. 2

Fern Names and Their Meanings, by J. W. Dyce
(1988), 31 pages, £4.50.
ISBN 0 9509806 1 7

Provides explanations for the naming of the genera of British ferns, in alphabetical order from Adiantum to Woodsia; also the meanings of Latin and Greek prefixes in fern names (e.g. Crypto-, Oreo-, Tricho-). Contains a dictionary of the taxonomic words used to describe fern fronds and other anatomical features. Illustrated with line drawings.

BPS Special Publication No. 3

The Cultivation and Propagation of British Ferns, by J. W. Dyce (1991), 41 pages, £5.00. ISBN 0 950806 2 5

After a brief introduction to fern anatomy and life history, the main part of this publication deals with fern habitats in the wild and the cultural requirements needed in a garden. It describes how to grow ferns from spores, vegetative propagation, and the few diseases to which ferns are liable. It goes on to recommend the species and cultivars suitable for different habitats within a British garden, and the best of the foreign hardy ferns. Illustrated with black and white photographs.

BPS Special Publication No. 4

The History of British Pteridology,
edited by J. M. Camus (1991), 127 pages, £4.00
ISBN 0 9509806 3 3

This multi-author work by leading pteridologists was produced to mark the Centenary of the BPS in 1991. Wide-ranging and very readable, it provides a satisfying overview of the personalities and developments that shaped the BPS. From fossil ferns through antique books, to conservation and horticulture, it gives essential background information on pteridology, including a summary history of the BPS, through the eyes of fern enthusiasts. Illustrated with black and white photographs.

BPS Special Publication No. 5

The British Pteridological Society, Abstracts and Reports, 1894-1905 (1991), 245 pages, £4.00.
ISBN 0 9509806 4 1

A facsimile compilation of the reports and papers produced by the BPS during its early years and before regular journals or magazines had been established. It describes the meetings and interests of fern growers from over 100 years ago and their experiences on field excursions, and especially with the finding and growing of cultivars of British ferns in the late Victorian era. Illustrated with black and white photographs and engravings.

BPS Special Publication No. 6

The BPS Minute Book CD (1891-1983) by Barry Wright (2002), 633 facsimile pages on Compact Disk, £10.
ISBN 0-9509806-5-X

This unique pteridological archive documents the birth and changing fortunes of the BPS - the World's oldest Fern Society - as recorded in 93 years of the BPS Committee Minute Book from 1891 to 1983. The original Minute Book itself - the Society's most valuable document - exists only as a single 3 kg bound volume with marbled covers and ruled lines. Entries are in handwriting in the early years and as stuck-in typescript later. The CD facsimile presents all the 633 pages of recorded Committee deliberations up to 1983. It shows the tea stains and yellowing pages indicative of age.

BPS Special Publication No. 7

Polystichum Cultivars - Variation in the British Shield Ferns by J.W. Dyce
Eds. R.W. Sykes & M.H. Rickard
(2005), 100 pages, £15.00 (P&P extra)
ISBN 0 9509806-6-8

The outline manuscript left by the late Jimmy Dyce has been edited, expanded and completed for publication by Robert Sykes and Martin Rickard. The monograph now presents in detail the Dyce system for classifying and naming fern cultivars, and provides descriptive text and abundant illustrations of the three British species of shield fern (Polystichum aculeatum, P. lonchitis & P. setiferum) and their numerous varieties. It is now the definitive reference for the confident identification and accurate naming of the cultivars in this horticulturally important group of ferns.

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BPS Special Publication No. 8

New Atlas of Ferns & Allied Plants of Britain & Ireland
Eds. A. C. Wardlaw & A. Leonard
(2005), 98 pages, £10.00 (P&P extra)
ISBN 0-9509806-7-6

This spiral-bound handbook contains 93 distribution maps of the ferns and allied plants, including naturalised aliens and hybrids, of Britain and Ireland. The maps, which show natives as blue dots and aliens in red, and their accompanying texts, were copied under licence from New Atlas of the British & Irish Flora, eds. Preston et al. (2002) [Oxford University Press]. The maps are presented in alphabetical order of Latin name, from Adiantum capillus-veneris to Woodsia ilvensis. The inside covers carry lists of the Latin and common names and there are three pages of references to the original literature.

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BPS Special Publication No. 9

Fern Books and Related Items in English Published Before 1900
by Nigel Hall and Martin Rickard (2006), p. iv, 98, 5 coloured plates, £15.00 (P&P extra)
ISBN 0-9509806-9-2

Bibliographies are fascinating sources of information and invaluable to researchers of the topics they cover. As the authors explain in the introduction, this special publication has been a long time in preparation, but the extensive checking and re-checking has resulted in a book that is as complete as the authors could make it. Here can be found details of authors, titles with details of their publishers, editions and reprints, books of pressed fems, catalogues of ferns for sale and advertising ephemera. Some of these books are comparatively common, but others are incredibly rare.

This publication will be the starting place for any pteridologist. librarian or bibliophile interested in books on fems. It will enable them to assess their collections and look out for necessary additions. However, I have to add a warning here: beware collecting fern books can become addictive.

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