Evolution, induction of flowering, variation.

The present work is organised such that the whole phenomenon of flowing is divided into two major steps: 1. the initiation of flower primordia and 2. The development of these primordia into mature flowers until anthesis. With this volume aiming to to provide a balanced account of themost important and recent contributions in all aspects of the subject.

This unique volume presents a developmental view of the flower and its organs in contrast with more traditional treatments of phylogeny and comparative morphology. Individual chapters on the perianth, androecium, and gynoecium explore the flower's four organ types from the perspectives of organ initiation from the floral meristem, and organ growth, differentiation, maturation and function. The many illustrations highlight potential candidates as "model systems." Also explored are the developmental aspects of inflorescences and the flowers of grasses, highlighting flower and inflorescence development in Zea, Triticum, Orqza, and Lolium. The book concludes with a discussion of the partial processes and components of flower development which might be considered as sources of morphogenetic and developmental control. In addition to the critical genetic components, the roles of plant growth substances, organelles, and microtubules and microfibrilar components of wall placement are reviewed. The author persuasively argues that flower development is best interpreted as a multidimensional, interactive process in which many potential points for control of individual minor reactions can be identified. This book is a must for researchers and students in botany, plant molecular biology, and plant physiology.

A unique account of the structure, biology and evolution of tropical flowering plants.

Floral biology, floral function, sexual systems, diversification.

Plant Development and Evolution, the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on the Evolution of the plant body plan, Lateral root development and its role in evolutionary adaptation, the Development of the vascular system, the Development of the shoot apical meristem and phyllotaxis, the Evolution of leaf diversity, the Evolution of regulatory networks in land plants, The role of programed cell death in plant development, the Development and evolution of inflorescence architecture, the Molecular regulation of flower development, the Pre-meiotic another development, and much more. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series - Updated release includes the latest information on Plant Development and Evolution