Trees and shrubs: new challenges for field botanists. – The Atlas wilde bomen en struiken, published in 2021, is the result of years of prospecting in the Netherlands and Flanders. The study of ancient forest relics and ancient small landscape elements with autochthonous trees and shrubs is of great relevance both cultural-historically and ecologically. Identifying the trees and shrubs found in the wild and determining whether or not they are autochthonous requires new skills from the field botanist. The publication of works such as the Atlas poses a challenge for field botanists. A basic requirement to succeed is the availability of critical literature that allows a correct identification of subspecies, varieties, cultivars and hybrids, as well as establishing whether or not a population is autochthonous. A catch-up effort, aimed specifically at field botanists, is required to fill gaps in the existing literature.