Not often do pteridologists have the luxury, of a second edition of a Flora for a tropical country or large island. Proctor's book is such a luxury, having W. R. Maxon's "Pteridophyta of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands" (Sci. Surv. Porto Rico Virgin Isls. 61(3):373-521. 1926) as its predecessor. Second editions are es-pecially interesting because they document changes in floristic pteridology and in the floras themselves, in the present case changes that occurred over a period of more than 60 years. Chief among these are the recognition of hybrids and hy-brid complexes, the use of cytological evidence in the delimitation of species (especially in hybrid complexes), and the major advances in pteridophyte col-lecting, the best of it by Proctor himself. He knows the pteridophyte flora of the Antilles so wel]ithat new and problematical specimens immediately engage his attention in the field. His account adds 108 named taxa (37.9%) to Maxon's total of 285, a dozen of which he himself described as new. Including minor hybrids named only by their formulae, 408 taxa are now attributed to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The introduction to this volume includes information on the geography and geology of Puerto Rico, on the history of plant collecting, and on endemic ferns and species limited to particular habitats. A conspectus of classes, orders, and families substitutes effectively for a key to the families. Proctor adopts very con-servative delimitations of families and genera. For instance, Polypodiaceae is the only family of "higher" leptosporangiate ferns and Polypodium is used sensu latissimo. However, he indicates subfamilies and subgenera in these situations, and so the more customary narrower circumscriptions are evident. Each family and genus is described, and pertinent literature (through 1985) is listed. Keys to the subfamilies, genera, and species and infraspecific taxa are well prepared, mostly with two or more characters at every couplet. The species treatments in-clude pertinent synonymns, an ample description, general distribution, distri-bution in Puerto Rico by municipio (a small administrative division of about 20- 40 square miles in area), and a statement of the habitat. The illustrations, both line drawings and photographs, are of whole plants or details. Some were pre-pared especially for this volume, whereas others have been reprinted with per-mission from other works. One to a few species of each genus are illustrated, which is especially helpful to those users who have not studied pteridophytes extensively. The volume concludes with appendices covering the political sub-divisions of Puerto Rico, a checklist of Virgin Islands ferns (most of which also occur in Puerto Rico), and a checklist with representative collections cited by number, a glossary, and an index to scientific names.

This book is excellently written, edited, printed, and bound and will be of in-terest to professional and serious amateur pteridologists alike. It is a welcome addition to the pteridophyte floras of the neotropics and joins Proctor's previous volumes covering Jamaica and the Lesser Antilles, leaving Cuba and Hispaniola as the only major parts of the Antilles that lack a modern pteridophyte flora.- David B. Lellinger, Dept. of Botany NHB-166, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560.