The book is meant to serve students at the college graduate and upper undergraduate levels in plant systematics or taxonomy courses, although portions of the book may be used in flora courses and much of the book could be used in general courses in plant morphology, diversity, or general botany. Each chapter has an expanded Table of Contents on the first page, a feature that my students recommended as very useful. Numerous line drawings and color photographs are used throughout. A key feature is that illustrated plant material is often dissected and labeled to show important diagnostic features. At the end of each chapter are (1) Review Questions, which go over the chapter material; (2) Exercises, whereby a student may apply the material; and (3) References for Further Study, listing some of the basic and recent references. Literature cited in the references is not exhaustive, so the student is encouraged to do literature searches on his/her own (see Appendix 3).