A joint project of the Garden and the Missouri Department of Conservation, Steyermark's Flora of Missouri is an identification guide and encyclopedia of all plant species growing wild in the state - a complete revision and update of the classic flora by the late Garden curator Julian Steyermark. The new flora includes 586 new illustrations and a little over 300 new species - 11 percent of the state's total - which have been discovered since the original was published in 1963. It includes chapters on botany in Missouri, climate, geography, plant communities, and biodiversity, including plants of conservation concern. The first volume, covering a third of the state's flora, was co-published by the Garden and the Department of Conservation in 1999, culminating 12 years of research. The project is scheduled for completion in 2005.