E-raamat: Floral Diagrams: An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution

"There is no general agreement nor any rule about how a flower should be defined. Since the end of the nineteenth century two main contrasting hypotheses have been provided and the discussion is still ongoing (reviewed in Bateman, Hilton and Rudall, 2006). The pseudanthial hypothesis accepts that flowers evolved from a branched, multiaxial structure, i.e. a condensed compound inflorescence (e.g. Eichler, 1875; Eames, 1961). This means that a flower is an assemblage of separately functioning entities thatbecame grouped together. The euanthium hypothesis stated that the flower evolved from a simple uniaxial (euanthial) structure, i.e. a condensed sporophyll-bearing axis with proximal microsporophylls and distal megasporophylls (e.g. Arber and Parkin, 1907). However, reconstructions of the early angiosperm flower (e.g. Sauquet et al., 2017) suffer from the absence of clear transitional forms between ancestral prototypes and angiosperms"--

Floral morphology is key for understanding floral evolution and plant identification. Floral diagrams are two-dimensional representations of flowers that replace extensive descriptions or elaborate drawings to convey information in a clear and unbiased way. Following the same outline as the first edition, this comprehensive guide includes updated and relevant literature, represents the latest phylogeny, and features 28 new diagrams. Diagrams are presented in the context of the most recent classifications, covering a variety of families and illustrating the floral diversity of major groups of plants. A strong didactic tool for observing and understanding floral structures, these diagrams are the obvious counterpart to any genetic study in flowering plants and to the discussion of major adaptations and evolutionary trends of flowers. This book is invaluable for researchers and students working on plant structure, development and systematics, as well as being an important resource for plant ecologists, evolutionary botanists and horticulturists.

The new edition of this successful book includes up-to-date phylogeny, more plant families, and simplified and consistent diagram labelling. There are 28 new floral diagrams enriching the book and making it an invaluable resource for students, researchers and artists interested in plant science, botany and horticulture.