Daughters publish dad's botanical book following his death

AN AMBITIOUS botanical book that involved 25 years of research has finally been published following its author's death.

Peter Macpherson spent 25 years researching his book, The Flora of Lanarkshire. Picture: Contributed

The Flora of Lanarkshire, by Peter Macpherson, is a comprehensive review of the plant life found across the Scottish county.

The reference book is based on several thousand hours of field work undertaken by the retired doctor and amateur botanist, who died last year aged 89.

The task of ensuring the book was published then fell to his daughters, Elspeth Lindsay and Flora Macpherson, who were determined that their father’s work would be preserved for future generations.

The Flora of Lanarkshire is published by NatureBureau

It covers a geographical area of 885 square miles - including farmland, valleys and towns - and methodically records 2,058 different plants - 1,156 of which were found to be non-native.

Dr Macpherson, a retired neuro-radiologist, spent his retirement travelling across the county and documenting what he found.

His research found 66 plants new to Scotland - and 33 never seen before in Britain - despite previous records dating back centuries.

“There is huge sadness for us that he didn’t live to see the book published,” Ms Lindsay told The Times.

The Flora of Lanarkshire is published by NatureBureau

“But we are quite proud that we managed to push it through, as it meant so much to him.”

The book will be launched tomorrow at a meeting of the Glasgow Natural History Society at the University of Glasgow.