Plants: Diversity and Evolution

About this book

Plants are so much part of our environment that we often take them for granted, yet beautiful, fascinating and useful plants are everywhere, from isolated moss colonies on stone walls to vast complex communities within tropical rainforests. How did this array of form and habitat come about, and how do we humans interact with the plant kingdom? This unique new textbook provides a refreshing and stimulating consideration of these questions and throws light in a new way on the complexity, ecology, evolution and development of plants and our relationship with them. Illustrated throughout with numerous line diagrams and beautiful colour photographs, the book provides a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating lives that plants lead and the way in which our lives are inextricably linked to theirs. It will be particularly useful to students seeking a more ecological and process-oriented approach than is available in other plant science textbooks.

Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Process, form, and pattern; 2. The genesis of form; 3. Endless forms?; 4. Sex, multiplication, and dispersal; 5. Ordering the paths of diversity; 6. The lives of plants; 7. The fruits of the Earth; 8. Knowing plants; Glossary; References.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Martin Ingrouille is a senior lecturer in botany in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London. He teaches and co-ordinates courses in plant science, evolutionary biology and conservation biology. Bill Eddie is a lecturer in botany and ornithology for the Open Studies programme of the Office of Lifelong Learning at the University of Edinburgh.