During colonial days Virginia was an important center of American Botany. This was due to the activity of Banister (resident 1668-1692), Mitchell (1700-1768) and Clayton (1693-1773). Clayton was an especially strong botanist of his time. At his death he left a large mass of manuscript and plant material dealing with Virginia plants, and it is thought that a large portion of the work published by Gronovius bearing on the plants sent to him by Clayton was largely the work of Clayton himself. Clayton's material was all destroyed by fire during the Revolution.

Since the death of Clayton there has been little or no attention given to the plant life of Virginia by residents of the State. In 1924 Mrs. Erlanson published the Flora of the Peninsula of Virginia, the result of two seasons of collecting in the Williamsburg area by her and her late husband, Professor E. J. Grimes. Previous to 1924 there was some scattered work on Virginia plants by non-resident botanists. The results of this work, based on collections now in herbaria in Washington and elsewhere, have been included in such publications as Small and Vail's Botanical Explorations in Southwest Virginia, Kearney's Report on the Botanical Survey of the Dismal Swamp Region, and Hitchcock and Standley's Flora of the District of Columbia. Other scattered observations have been recorded in the Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club and in various papers by Dr. Edgar T. Wherry, whose valuable observations on Virginia plants are being continued.

The Committee on Virginia Flora of the Virginia Academy of science is working toward the preparation of a flora of Virginia covering the whole State and based to as large an extent as possible on authentic specimens. To this end collections are being made by volunteers in the various natural divisions of Virginia. These include the Tidewater Region, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge, the Shenandoah Valley and the Alleghenies. Those interested in co-operating with the Committee in this undertaking are asked to communicate with the Chairman.

As a step in the larger 'program the Committee herewith presents the Flora of Richmond and Vicinity (exclusive of grasses, sedges and trees) by Paul R. Merriman, formerly Professor in the University of Richmond. The illustrations were made and much valuable assistance rendered by Miss Mary S. Lynn of the University of Richmond, who is continuing her collections in the Richmond area. Unfortunately the specimens on which this manuscript was based were destroyed by fire several years ago. They were, however, critically examined, not only by Professor Merriman, but also by Professor K. M.. Wiegand of Cornell University, and it is believed that the identifications are thoroughly reliable.

It is hoped that the non-technical character of this work will render it useful to visitors to Virginia who are interested in the plant life of the State, to members of garden clubs, to students in schools and colleges in the Richmond area, and to lovers of nature in general.

This book is a response to requests from teachers, Scout-leaders and Nature-lovers who have desired a field manual of wild herbs and shrubs that is reasonably accurate but not too difficult.

It contains descriptions of about seven hundred herbs and shrubs which the writer found chiefly in Henrico and Chesterfield counties, Virginia, with a few additional plants from counties more remote from Richmond, as, Hanover, Goochland, Powhatan, Amelia, Dinwiddie and Nottoway.

Only ferns and flowering plants are dealt with, and of these, four important groups are omitted: trees, grasses, sedges and rushes. One may find the trees in the excellent little illustrated pamphlet of Mr. Chapin Jones, State Forester of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. The other three groups are not of a nature suitable for the use of beginning students in field botany.

The descriptions are accompanied by numerous keys for determining families, genera and species. The more important families and genera are themselves briefly described. Unusually faithful illustrations of more than half the plants, drawn from life by Miss Mary Smith Lynn, are to be found near the descriptions. The plants illustrated are, in general, the ones most frequently met with in middle Virginia.

The nomenclature is intended to be in accordance with the rules of the International Code, and in the main, therefore, follows that used in Gray's New Manual of Botany (Seventh Edition, 1908, American Book Co.).

The writer feels especially indebted to Professor K. M. Wiegand, Head of the Department of Botany, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., for counsel and technical aid in various ways and at frequent intervals during the preparation of this work. He desires also to express his gratitude to Professor A. J. Eames and Mr. S. H. Burnham of Cornell University; to Dr. Paul C. Standley of the National Herbarium, Washington, D. C., and to Miss Mary Smith Lynn of the University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.