A reprint of a classical work in the Cambridge Library Collection.
Frederick Orpen Bower (1855-1948) was a renowned botanist best known for his research on the origins and evolution of ferns. First published between 1923 and 1928 as part of the Cambridge Botanical Handbook series, The Ferns was the first systematic classification of ferns according to anatomical, morphological and developmental features.
Volume 1: Analytical Examination of the Criteria of Comparison describes and analyses the features of ferns which Bower uses in his system of classification.
1. The life-history of a fern
2. The habit and the habitat of ferns
3. A theoretical basis for the systematic treatment of ferns
4. Morphological analysis of the shoot-system of ferns
5. Leaf-architecture of ferns
6. Cellular construction
7. The vascular system of the axis (A) - the protostele and its immediate derivatives
8. The vascular system of the axis (B) - the stelar structure of the leptosporangiate ferns
9. The vascular system of the leaf
10. Size a factor in stelar morphology
11. Dermal and other non-vascular tissues
12. The spore-producing organs (A) - the sorus
13. The spore-producing organs (B) - the sporangium
14. The gametophyte, and sexual organs
15. The embryo
16. Abnormalities of the life-cycle
17. Organographic comparison of the filicales with other plants
Postscript
Index