This textbook, written in 1988 mainly for undergraduate students, is conversational as it attempts to explain the functioning or the evolution of plant structures rather than just name them. To be more understandable, it focuses on the most widely-accepted theories of structure and function. The more peripheral theories are mentioned only where they would help a student understand structure and function.

This text contains numerous diagrams, photographs, micrographs (by both light and electron microscopy), but most emphasis is on light microscopy of the types of cells and tissues that an undergraduate student would see in their own Plant Anatomy labs.

It covers all tissues and organs of seed plants (all vegetative and reproductive organs) and tries to use familiar plants as examples such that undergraduates could more easily understand what they are reading. Covers fundamental aspects of ferns and lycophytes as part of discussions of the evolution of plant structure but does not cover them in great detail.

The glossary too was written to be more conversational, easy for an undergraduate student to understand.