Author: Montserrat Arista
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889715930
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description

Author: Else Marie Friis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139496387
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 597

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Book Description
The recent discovery of diverse fossil flowers and floral organs in Cretaceous strata has revealed astonishing details about the structural and systematic diversity of early angiosperms. Exploring the rich fossil record that has accumulated over the last three decades, this is a unique study of the evolutionary history of flowering plants from their earliest phases in obscurity to their dominance in modern vegetation. The discussion provides comprehensive biological and geological background information, before moving on to summarise the fossil record in detail. Including previously unpublished results based on research into Early and Late Cretaceous fossil floras from Europe and North America, the authors draw on direct palaeontological evidence of the pattern of angiosperm evolution through time. Synthesising palaeobotanical data with information from living plants, this unique book explores the latest research in the field, highlighting connections with phylogenetic systematics, structure and the biology of extant angiosperms.

Author: David G. Lloyd
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461311659
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Studies in floral biology are largely concerned with how flowers function to promote pollination and mating. The role of pollination in governing mating patterns in plant populations inextricably links the evolution of pollination and mating systems. Despite the close functional link between pollination and mating, research conducted for most of this century on these two fundamental aspects of plant reproduction has taken quite separate courses. This has resulted in suprisingly little cross-fertilization between the fields of pollination biology on the one hand and plant mating-system studies on the other. The separation of the two areas has largely resulted from the different backgrounds and approaches adopted by workers in these fields. Most pollination studies have been ecological in nature with a strong emphasis on field research and until recently few workers considered how the mechanics of pollen dispersal might influence mating patterns and individual plant fitness. In contrast, work on plant mating patterns has often been conducted in an ecological vacuum largely devoid of information on the environmental and demographic context in which mating occurs. Mating-system research has been dominated by population genetic and theoretical perspectives with surprisingly little consideration given to the proximate ecological factors responsible for causing a particular pattern of mating to occur.

Author: Lawrence D. Harder
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191513865
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
The reproductive organs and mating biology of angiosperms exhibit greater variety than those of any other group of organisms. Flowers and inflorescences are also the most diverse structures produced by angiosperms, and floral traits provide some of the most compelling examples of evolution by natural selection. Given that flowering plants include roughly 250,000 species, their reproductive diversity will not be explained easily by continued accumulation of case studies of individual species. Instead a more strategic approach is now required, which seeks to identify general principles concerning the role of ecological function in the evolution of reproductive diversity. The Ecology and Evolution of Flowers uses this approach to expose new insights into the functional basis of floral diversity, and presents the very latest theoretical and empirical research on floral evolution. Floral biology is a dynamic and growing area and this book, written by the leading internationally recognized researchers in this field, reviews current progress in understanding the evolution and function of flowers. Chapters contain both new research findings and synthesis. Major sections in turn examine functional aspects of floral traits and sexual systems, the ecological influences on reproductive adaptation, and the role of floral biology in angiosperm diversification. Overall, this integrated treatment illustrates the role of floral function and evolution in the generation of angiosperm biodiversity. This advanced textbook is suitable for graduate level students taking courses in plant ecology, evolution, systematics, biodiversity and conservation. It will also be of interest and use to a broader audience of plant scientists seeking an authoritative overview of recent advances in floral biology.

Author: Douglas Soltis
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022644175X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
Although they are relative latecomers on the evolutionary scene, having emerged only 135?170 million years ago, angiosperms—or flowering plants—are the most diverse and species-rich group of seed-producing land plants, comprising more than 15,000 genera and over 350,000 species. Not only are they a model group for studying the patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification, they also play major roles in our economy, diet, and courtship rituals, producing our fruits, legumes, and grains, not to mention the flowers in our Valentine’s bouquets. They are also crucial ecologically, dominating most terrestrial and some aquatic landscapes. This fully revised edition of Phylogeny and Evolution of the Angiosperms provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the evolution of and relationships among these vital plants. Incorporating molecular phylogenetics with morphological, chemical, developmental, and paleobotanical data, as well as presenting a more detailed account of early angiosperm fossils and important fossil information for each evolutionary branch of the angiosperms, the new edition integrates fossil evidence into a robust phylogenetic framework. Featuring a wealth of new color images, this highly synthetic work further reevaluates long-held evolutionary hypotheses related to flowering plants and will be an essential reference for botanists, plant systematists, and evolutionary biologists alike.

Author: Else Marie Friis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781107216273
Category : Angiosperms
Languages : en
Pages : 585

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Book Description
A study of the evolution of flowering plants, from their earliest phases in obscurity to their dominance in modern vegetation.

Author: Guillaumme Techerkez
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1482294389
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
This book delves in detail the intimate functioning of the flower, whether it is on the biochemical, cellular, molecular, or the organism scale. It explains the form and function of the flower, not only from the physiology and developmental biology as-pects, but also from ecology and evolutionary sciences, integrating genetic, demo-graphic, and bio

Author: Guillaume Tcherkez
Publisher: Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781578083114
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
This book delves in detail the intimate functioning of the flower, whether it is on the biochemical, cellular, molecular, or the organism scale. It explains the form and function of the flower, not only from the physiology and developmental biology as-pects, but also from ecology and evolutionary sciences, integrating genetic, demo-graphic, and biogeographical perspectives.

Author: Loren C. Eiseley
Publisher: Random House (NY)
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
This graceful essay on the pivotal role of flowers in human evolution is certain to delight those readers already familiar with Loren Eiseley and to find an audience among naturalists, gardeners, and lovers of flowers everywhere. Gerald Ackerman's color floral portraits provide a visual counterpoint to the wondrous text. Two-color text & printed endpapers. 19 color photos.

Author: Peter K. Endress
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3709169100
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
The recent discovery of a large number of excellently preserved fossil flowers, studied with new techniques, and the comparative study of the flowers of extant basal clades of the angiosperms revolutionized the conception of early flower evolution. This volume brings together contributions of 17 palaeo- and neobotanists including critical reviews on the origin of flowers and the homologies of angiosperm floral organs, on the relationships of floral traits of magnoliids to those of lower eudicots (ranunculids, hamamelidids, dilleniids) and monocots, and articles on particular new Cretaceous fossils and new results on extant groups. These studies also influence the notion of early angiosperm evolution and of the macrosystematics of flowering plants.