Floral Biology
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This volume highlights the new synthesis of pollination biology and plant mating systems which is rejuvenating the two-hundred-year-old discipline of floral biology. It provides a current examination of the evolution and functional significance of floral traits in animal-pollinated plants, combining ecological and genetic studies with natural history approaches and theoretical modeling. Divided into three sections, the book begins with the first English translation of Christian Konrad. Sprengel's introduction to his classic work and a historical analysis of his observations. The second section addresses current conceptual problems in floral biology, concentrating on floral diversification, floral longevity, pollen dispersal and mating patterns, the ecology of geitonogamous pollination, and flower size dimorphism in plants with unisexual flowers. The final chapters of the book examine model systems and include the evolution of floral morphology and function, deceit pollination, reproductive success and gender variation, stylar polymorphisms, and the evolution of flowers in relation to insect pollinators on islands. With its a detailed treatment of the selective forces shaping floral diversification in animal-pollinated plants, Floral Biology provides ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and botanists with a wealth of current information. Everyone interested in the evolution of flowering plants will benefit from this timely, authoritative resource on the interactions between insects and plants. Booknews Divided into three sections, the volume begins with a translation of Christian Konrad Sprengel's introduction to Discovery of the Secret Nature of Flowers in the Structure and Fertilization of Flowers (published 1793) with historical analysis of his observations. The second section addresses current conceptual problems in floral biology, concentrating on floral diversification, floral longevity, pollen dispersal and mating patterns, the ecology of geitonogamous pollination, and flower size dimorphism in plants with unisexual flowers. The final chapters examine model systems and include the evolution of floral morphology and function, deceit pollination, reproductive success and gender variation, stylar polymorphisms, and the evolution of flowers in relation to insect pollinators on islands. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
PrefaceContributors1Discovery of the Secret of Nature in the Structure and Fertilization of Flowers32Christian Konrad Sprengel's Theory of the Flower: The Cradle of Floral Ecology443Floral Traits and Plant Adaptation to Insect Pollinators: A Devil's Advocate Approach654How Do Flowers Diverge?885Floral Longevity: Fitness Consequences and Resource Costs1126Pollen Dispersal and Mating Patterns in Animal-Pollinated Plants1407The Ecology of Geitonogamous Pollination1918Flower Size Dimorphism in Plants with Unisexual Flowers2179Evolution of Floral Morphology and Function: An Integrative Approach to Adaptation, Constraint, and Compromise in Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae)24110The Evolution of Floral Form: Insights from an Alpine Wildflower, Potzmonium viscosum (Polemoniaceae)27311Deceit Pollination in the Monoecious, Neotropical Herb Begonia oaxacana (Begoniaceae)29212Reproductive Success and Gender Variation in Deceit-Pollinated Orchids31913Stylar Polymorphisms and the Evolution of Heterostyly in Narcissus (Amaryllidaceae)33914Evolution of Campanula Flowers in Relation to Insect Pollinators on Islands377Subject Index401Taxonomic Index405
