Structure, physiology, evolution, systematics, ecology.

This detailed overview of the structure of the sieve elements of the major plant groups, from algae to flowering plants, includes extant and extinct groups, revealing both common and divergent solutions to the problem of long-distance assimilate transport.

In the 2007 third edition of her successful textbook, Paula Rudall provides a comprehensive yet succinct introduction to the anatomy of flowering plants. Thoroughly revised and updated throughout, the book covers all aspects of comparative plant structure and development, arranged in a series of chapters on the stem, root, leaf, flower, seed and fruit. Internal structures are described using magnification aids from the simple hand-lens to the electron microscope. Numerous references to recent topical literature are included, and new illustrations reflect a wide range of flowering plant species. The phylogenetic context of plant names has also been updated as a result of improved understanding of the relationships among flowering plants. This clearly written text is ideal for students studying a wide range of courses in botany and plant science, and is also an excellent resource for professional and amateur horticulturists.

Contemporary Problems in Plant Anatomy contains the proceedings of a plant anatomy symposium that took place at Duke University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1983. The symposium addressed challenges in four basic research areas in contemporary plant anatomy: leaf development, floral development, differentiation of cells and tissues, and systematic and ecological anatomy. The book highlights new techniques and approaches for dealing with problems in each of these areas. Organized into 12 chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the stem-conducting tissues in monocotyledons; the development of vascular tissue patterns in the shoot apex of ferns; the role of subsidiary trace bundles in stem and leaf development of the dicotyledoneae; and the structure of phloem. It then discusses the cellular parameters of leaf morphogenesis in maize and tobacco; alternative modes of organogenesis in higher plants; morphological aspects of leaf development in ferns and angiosperms; the origin of symmetry in flowers; and intraspecific floral variation. The reader is also introduced to structural correlations among wood, leaves, and plant habit; relationships between structure and function in trees; and the development of inflorescence, androecium, and gynoecium with reference to palms. This book is a valuable source of information for plant anatomists.