Alistair Fitter is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Professor of Ecology at the University of York. Among his publications are the Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers and an Atlas of the Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, a Past President of the British Ecological Society, a member of NERC Council and an editor of the journal New Phytologist.

David More has been a botanical illustrator for many years. His other books include Collins Tree Guide (2004), Trees of North America (1988) with the late Alan Mitchell, and the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Trees (2003) by John White. He has also contributed artwork for many other books, magazines and posters, including a design for the Natural History Museum in London.