A major new book documenting the plant life of Brecknockshire has been launched, marking the first modern flora of the county.

The ‘Flora of Brecknockshire’ brings together more than 60 years of botanical recording by field botanist Mike Porter, alongside historical research dating back to the 17th century. Records for the county’s plant life can be traced as far back as the 1500s.

Mr Porter, who served as county recorder for the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland from 1968, began work on the project early in his tenure. He continued writing into his 90s but died in August 2025 before seeing the final publication.

The book has been completed and edited by current recorder John Crellin, who worked with Mr Porter on the project from 2013. Progress accelerated after the Covid pandemic, building on Mr Porter’s extensive handwritten notes.

Those notes, along with his herbarium collection, have now been archived at the National Museum of Wales.

Tributes at the launch described Mr Porter as a “superb botanist” whose life’s work underpins the publication. Contributors also praised the efforts of the Brecknock Botany Recording Group, whose work over the past decade helped bring the project to completion.

Covering what is now largely Powys, the book reflects the county’s varied landscapes, from limestone cliffs and wetlands to upland habitats in the Cambrian Mountains. These support a wide range of plant species, including several considered rare in Britain.

The county’s varied landscape supports habitats from limestone gorges to upland bogs, with rare species including Stag’s-horn clubmoss, purple saxifrage and green spleenwort, some at the southern edge of their range.

The full-colour 544-page hardback includes more than 1,100 distribution maps, alongside more than 400 photographs, and artwork by local artist Meg Stevens.

The book is available for £40 at Summerfield Books.