Guide to Cultivated Plants, 496 pp, £ 95.00/US $ 190.00/€ 150.00 edited by A.T.G. Elzebroek and K. Wind (CAB International, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK), is intended as a standard reference text for students, extension workers, horticulturists, (university) teachers, and even farmers, as indicated by the publisher. However, it will also be useful for anyone interested in plants that have been used for long time periods in agriculture. It will serve as a great source for details on the 346 crop species described in the book. Of these, 180 are described in more detail (Fig. 1). Instead of alphabetical order, the crops are presented in chapters that bring together plants by crop use, that is, beverages, edible fruits and nuts, elastomers, fibers, forages, oil crops, protein crops, spices, starch crops, sugar crops, and vegetables. The range of crops covered includes temperate, Mediterranean, and tropical climates. As noted in the foreword, this is not the first book on this subject and will not be the last, but the way in which the contents have been outlined is very useful to readers and has some unique features. It is not a simple description but combines various aspects about a plant species or group of plants. Also, it has great pictures and drawings of the described crops. Very often not only is a detail of the crop species pictured, but the plant in its ‘‘agricultural environment’’ is also shown. One highlight is the description of the historical aspects of a crop, including its origin and spread. This information is very valuable, especially for teaching, because it helps to put the development of crop use into historical perspective. The historical paragraph is then followed by a botanical description, the use, ecology, and agronomy described in a more general way. In the more detailed part, the descriptions of the individual plants within the particular group follow. The way in which the contents are presented makes it easy for the reader to find the interesting parts in each