In some ways the book has not changed. The same illustrations were used giving it the same look. It remain an introductory book, that although set up along the lines of a systembook is only of limited use as such, since coverage is far from complete. The Appendix on "Botanical nomenclature" is still a soft spot. Not only is the (badly) erroneous bit on the naming of cultivated plants still there, but the slanted view of the ICBN has worsened (the ICBN even being called "Linnaean"!) and the PhyloCode is plugged.

However this remains the foremost textbook for those wanting a start in plant taxonomy, a field that is changing ever more rapidly.