The book begins with an introductory essay by Ian St George on Colenso's collecting activities, his herbarium and his connection with Kew. Hamlin's work is fully acknowledged, and a reproduction of his Obituary included. The bulk of the text is divided into three parts. The first part is largely Hamlin's work, and includes a catalogue of Colenso's vascular plant collection at Te Papa, a list of bryophyte collecting numbers, and a detailed itinerary of Colenso's travels and the places he visited