The work comprises 2 volumes with the temperate-zone conifers organized geographically: 8 chapters in the Northern Hemisphere and 3 in the Southern Hemisphere. Volume 1 covers Eurasia: Europe and Adjacent Regions, Continental Asia and Hainan, Japan and Adjacent Islands, and Taiwan.

 

Volume 2 covers Western North America, Eastern North America, Mexico and Central America, the West Indies and Bermuda, Chile and Argentina, Australia (with particular focus on Tasmania), and New Zealand. The taxa that are treated in this work are arranged alphabetically within each chapter.

   

Additionally, Volume 1 includes introductory parts and a chapter for families and genera. Volume 2 includes a Bark Gallery, an Appendix with taxa not covered in the regional treatments as well as longer discussions of problematic taxa, a glossary, a list of major references, a cross-referenced list of all conifer names mentioned in the work, and a list of all the conifer common names.  

 

The Endpapers provide additional concise information on several aspects of conifer science. Two of these are shown here: Volume 1, inside back cover: the world’s 9 climate zones (I–IX), plus the climate zones of mountain areas (X) given as in Walter and Lieth’s Klimadiagramm Weltatlas. Volume 2, inside front cover: a world map outlining the major floristic regions (from Takhtajan 1986) and illustrating, in a simplified form, the major vegetation types.