Ton Denters, Stadsplanten: veldgids voor de stad, s'Graveland: Fontaine uitgevers, 2004
This complete city plant compendium is an absolute must for anyone living in the Benelux with a curious eye (and mouth) towards urban flora.
Stadsplanten is the field guide to city plants, namely plant species found in Dutch cities, although many of the plant communities found in the lowlands share similiar biotopes to other north-western european cities. The book pays heed to the invisible umwelts of oft walked-over city flora. Scrupulously introducing every plant and when and the way it arrived in the city (often as a result of human migrations); their time of bloom, the ubiquity or rarity of the plant; it’s urban function (as bioremediators for instance) and the preferred or tolerated sites of growth — from high human use areas and total concrete zones to green pastural urban outposts. It does not cover which ones are edible, nonetheless, I’ve endeavoured to make annotations throughout the book, and believe me, that’s nearly all of the 300 species featured!