This encyclopedia contains a comprehensive treatment of the taxonomy of the families and genera of ferns and seed plants. The present volume, the fifth in this series, deals with three major groups of dicotyledons, the Capparales, Malvales, and Non-betalain Caryophyllales.

Ranunculales Medicinal Plants: Biodiversity, Chemodiversity and Pharmacotherapy comprehensively covers this order of flowering plants, detailing the phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, molecular biology, and phylogeny of selected medicinal plants families and genera and their relevance to drug efficacy. The book carries out an exhaustive survey of the literature in order to characterize global trends in the application of flexible technologies. The interrelationship between Chinese species, and between Chinese and non-Chinese species, is inferred through molecular phylogeny and based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequencing. The book discusses the conflict between chemotaxonomy and molecular phylogeny in the context of drug discovery and development. Users will find invaluable and holistic coverage on the study of Ranunculales that will make this the go-to pharmaceutical resource. - Describes current perceptions of biodiversity and chemodiversity of Ranunculales - Explains how the conceptual framework of plant pharmacophylogeny benefits the sustainable exploitation of Ranunculales - Details how Ranunculales medicinal plants work from the chemical level upward - Covers how the polypharmacology of Ranunculales compounds might inspire new chemical entity design and development for improved treatment outcomes

The fourth edition of Botany: an introduction to plant biology provides a thorough and current overview of the fundamentals of botany while retaining the important focus of natural selection, analysis of botanical phenomena, and diversity. Students are first introduced to topics that should be most familiar (plant structure), proceed to those less familiar (plant physiology and development), and conclude with topics that are likely least familiar to the introductory student (genetics, evolution, and ecology). Sections are written to be self-contained, allowing topics to be covered in various orders.

Straminipilous Fungi presents a critical comparative review of the morphology and ultrastructure, morphogenesis, cytology, molecular biology and evolution of the biflagellate fungi. These organisms encompass the fungi formerly called oomycetes; taxonomically related heterotrophs studied by mycologists; plasmodiophorids and other heterotrophs. Appropriate comparisons are made with chromophyte algae, marine heterotrophs and chytridiaceous fungi. Little-known taxa which have been referred to the various orders of flagellate fungi are also listed together with citations. A new hierarchical classification is presented which is supported by systematic accounts and synoptic keys. Dichotomous keys based on habitat and habit are given to all known species of lagenidiaceous fungi, labyrinthulids and plasmodiophorids. A unique `one stop' reference resource for plant pathologists is provided by the binominal lists, including host-related lists for the downy mildews. The book, including ca 4000 references, is a major text for post-graduate and research workers, particularly freshwater and marine biologists, soil ecologists and plant pathologists.

The Caryophyllales are one of the few higher taxa of the flowering plants ofwhich the size and delimitation against other taxa is undisputed. However, their derivation from other taxa and the evolution of families within this order in unsettled. "Systematics and Evolution of the Caryophyllales" reviews the important characters of this taxon emphasizing their contribution and influence towards a new proposal for both the putative origin of the order and the classification of its families. New results in molecular genetics, phytochemistry, ultrastructure, and morphology are provided and discussed in relation to both the classical and molecular systematics of the order. In addition, characters like betalains and sieve-element plastids, which have played a major role in shaping the size of the order, and others like DNA-data or flower morphologythat can be useful to discuss the position of the Caryophyllales within higher plants are critically evaluated.

The Alkaloids: Chemistry and Pharmacology

The past decade has seen major advances in the cloning of genes encoding enzymes of plant secondary metabolism. This has been further enhanced by the recent project on the sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome. These developments provide the molecular genetic basis to address the question of the Evolution of Metabolic Pathways. This volume provides in-depth reviews of our current knowledge on the evolutionary origin of plant secondary metabolites and the enzymes involved in their biosynthesis. The chapters cover five major topics: 1. Role of secondary metabolites in evolution; 2. Evolutionary origins of polyketides and terpenes; 3. Roles of oxidative reactions in the evolution of secondary metabolism; 4. Evolutionary origin of substitution reactions: acylation, glycosylation and methylation; and 5. Biochemistry and molecular biology of brassinosteroids.