This volume, the eighth devoted to flowering plants in the Illus­trated Flora of Illinois series, is the third of several devoted to dicotyledons, which include such well-known plants as roses, peas, mustards, mints, nightshades, milkweeds, and asters. Mohlenbrock here represents four orders and fifteen families of plants. The orders are the Annonales, Berberidales, Nymph­aeales, and Sarraceniales. The fifteen families that comprise them are generally conceded by most botanists to be among the most primitive living plants in the world today. These orders can be characterized generally as woody in the Annonales (except for the Saururaceae and some Aristolochiaceae), herbaceous in the Berberidales (except for the Menispermaceae and some Ber­beridaceae), aquatic in the Nymphaeales, and insectivorous in the Sarraceniales. As in previous volumes in this series, the common name, or names, is the one used locally in Illinois. Each species is illus­trated, depicting the distinguishing features and the habitat in Illinois.