based on this group of plants, particularly the families Iridaceae, Liliaceae sensu lato and Amaryllidaceae. In 1973, he published the first of his many books on bulbs or bulbous genera, Dwarf Bulbs. He has written that "[w]ith my combined interest in horticulture and taxonomy, I have tried to pitch my publications at a level which will to some extent appeal to a wide audience in both fields." Dwarf Bulbs was followed in 1978 by The Larger Bulbs, and a revision of the former work was published as The Smaller Bulbs in 1987. Between 1973 and 1992, he was the author or co-author of nine books on bulbs generally. In addition, he produced monographs of the genera Daphne (with Chris Brickell), Iris, Crocus, Lewisia, and Helleborus in addition to contributing accounts of various families or genera to at least nine different floras, and producing over 200 papers in botanical and horticultural journals. In 1982, Mathew was awarded by The British Iris Society, the Foster Memorial Plaque (named after Sir Michael Foster). This prodigious output of scholarly and more popular works lead to two awards at the beginning of the 1990s. In 1991, he was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour, by the Royal Horticultural Society. In 1992, he was awarded the Herbert Medal by the International Bulb Society – only one recipient is honoured worldwide each year. He continued to write, with some 13 authored or co-authored books published between 1993 and 2005, many on bulbs or bulbous genera, such as Lilies : a romantic history with a guide to cultivation (1993) or The Cyclamen of Turkey (2001, with Neriman Özhatay). More recently he contributed to a book on Epimedium (2002) and other herbaceous Berberidaceae and to one on the genus Sorbus (2005). He was awarded an MBE in the 2005 New Year Honours. Awards and honours Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH), awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society, 1991 Herbert Medal, awarded by the International Bulb Society, 1992 MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), New Year Honours 2005 Publications Books (revision of ; also published in the US by Random House) Others (Incomplete) in in in References and bibliography Wu, Zhengyi; Raven, Peter H. & Hong, Deyuan, eds. (1994 onwards), Flora of China, Beijing; St. Louis: Science Press; Missouri Botanical Garden, retrieved 2011-06-30 British botanists Botanists with author abbreviations Living people 1936 births Members of the Order of