The book begins (Part 1) with a short account of the life of Richard Eric Holttum by W.T. Stearn, followed by a chapter by M.G. Price “Holttum and ferns”. Part 2, “Floras, Biodiversity and Conservation”, with 22 contributions, deals with subjects as diverse as “Mapping the world’s Pteridophyte biodiversity” to “Diversity; status and ecology of pteridophytes in Mindanao, Philippines”, “Distribution of pteridophyte diversity and endemism in Peru”, and “Collecting live ferns for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Ferns of all continents and many countries are treated here.