This book is not one of those publications filled with colourful photographs or illustrations that delight the eye but numb the mind, but rather a labour of love that distils the knowledge of plants in China of two scholars who have plenty of experience on the subject matter. The study is based largely on published analyses of flora in China, both in English and in Chinese. It has a botanical orientation, and concentrates on the taxonomic aspects of the diversity of plant life in China, despite the inclusion of the word “distribution” in its subtitle. Readers should not anticipate many discussions of the plant-geographical, geobotanical or phytogeographical flavour in the tradition of N. Polunin or R. Good.