Part of the key's simplicity is that it only extends down to the genus level. Identification to the species level is accomplished by reading the text entries. Smith's work is almost a work of botanical subterfuge. Botanical classification, like bibliographic classification, often suffers from such internal complex beauty that it is almost undecipherably daunting to the lay users. Smith has devised a key that is easy to use and then he grouped the text's flower entries by botanical family rather than by color of flower, the organization preferred by the riffling amateur.
Hope springs eternal in the classifier's heart, in and out of the library.
The work is clearly written, uses botanical nomenclature when warranted, and has an accompanying concise glossary of these terms. It is a convenient size for shoving into a daypack, with a fairly beefy paperback binding, which should tolerate field use well. Smith has included interesting marginalia for some species explicating folklore, medicinal uses, and ecological concerns. The work is abundantly illustrated with well-rendered photographs of 600 of the 1,200 described species. The book's text and the color plates are grouped in separate sections making this useful book somewhat inconvenient to use.