Introduction

The book is designed as a guide to the identification of more than 2100 plants and animals commonly found in Europe. It is divided into seven sections: Forest; Bog, tundra and steppe; Freshwater; Sea and beach; Meadows and grasslands; Fields and parks; Mountains.

Each of these sections begins with a description of the characteristics of the environment with information about terrain and climate. Within each section, the plants are described first, followed by the animals. Both plants and animals are illustrated in color and accompanied by a short, concise text. Where possible, specimens that are similar to each other have been grouped together to facilitate comparison. Particularly important features of the individual specimens are marked with short lines in connection with the illustration. It should be noted that the illustrations are not all to the same scale.

The texts for the illustrations in the botanical sections are structured as follows: common Danish name or names (the most common names are used), 2. sciences

(Latin) name, updated according to the international nomenclature rules, 3. size, which is not otherwise stated, is the height above the ground, 4. flowering time, where it can be g or tracking time as in ferns, mushrooms etc. (the numbers 1-12 stand for the months January to December), 5. description of important features that facilitate the determination, especially those that distinguish the plant from similar species, or which are not seen in the illustration, including information on whether the plant is rare or common, 6. its typical place of growth, geographical distribution, family and lifespan (i.e. whether the plant is perennial 24, tow or annual). An asterisk in front of the species name indicates that the species is not found growing in Denmark.

In the zoological sections, the order is the same: 1. common Danish name, 2. Latin name, 3. size, which unless otherwise stated is the full body length (+tail length in the case of mammals), 4. flight period (for winged insects) or spawning period (for fish), 5. habitat, distribution and family. Information about the species is usually also given.

and in the case of birds, whether they are migratory or resident birds. For several reasons, this order may be broken. For example, where one or more species in the same illustration have the same habitat, distribution, family, etc., this information is given only once. With regard to the species described in the tables in the middle of the page, the same information is given in a short introductory text.

The sizes given are average sizes and both smaller and larger individuals have been observed. There can also be a great deal of variation in the appearance of the individual species, for example in terms of colors.

By using the book’s systematic overview, you can see how different species are related, including to non-European species. The systematic overview is divided into sections: a botanical one and a zoological one. Each section begins with a short explanation of the class

the principles of classification and the technical terms used in the book. The publisher thanks mag, scient. J. Møller Christensen, cand. mag. Torben W. Langer cand. mag. P. Milan Petersen for their efforts in organizing the Danish edition.