Edward William Binney (1812–81) was a leading authority on the geology and fossil plants of the Lancashire and Cheshire coalfields. His work contributed to the early development of our understanding of the most prominent plants of the coal measure floras, in particular the habit of the trees, the relationships among organ systems, and their internal anatomical structure. This monograph, published in four parts between 1868 and 1875, is Binney's best-known work. It focuses on the internal anatomical organisation of roots, stems and cones of horsetails and lycopods, revealing remarkable detail of the cellular structure of the tissue systems preserved in carbonate concretions. These are beautifully illustrated, and Binney rightly pays tribute to the skills of his lapidary, Mr Cuttell, and his lithographer, Mr John Nugent Fitch. The monograph is based on Binney's own collection, much of which is now housed in the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge.