Information on 250 selected plants on a world scale.

This volume is the final document of the 1st Balkan Botanical Congress and comprises after reviewing the full texts of the Congress Lectures submitted by their authors. The articles refer to all branches of plant sciences in the field of pure and applied research. The subjects dealt with in the Congress, and each representing a separate section in this book covered the following areas of interest: I. Taxonomy, geobotany and evolution II. Biochemistry, metabolism and bioenergetics lll. Ecology and ecophysiology IV. Structure and its dynamics V. Genetics, plant breeding and biotechnology VI. Growth, development and differentiation. The Congress was organized by the Department of Botany, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Hellenic Botanical Society. The city of Thessaloniki was chosen by the Organizers since it enjoyed the accolade of the "cultural capital of Europe" for the year 1997. The Thessaloniki Congress has taken on the character of an International Congress since 320 scientists, mainly from the Balkan countries and the rest of Europe (26 countries in all) took part in it. The 11 invited speakers who shared their experience with us, were well-known specialists from all the European countries.

The flora of the Mediterranean islands includes many rare and localized species unique to the islands. Some of these are particularly threatened with extinction due to various pressures caused by people and their activities in Mediterranean ecosystems. It includes 50 descriptive sheets of species which are especially threatened, based on the IUCN Red List criteria. Each sheet gives a description of the species with illustrations and maps, emphasizing the threats to the species, existing conservation measures and additional measures needed for their conservation. Aimed at the layman, the text is easily accessible to the non-botanist.

This volume provides essential information on the origin and evolution of Greek rivers, as well as their ecological and anthropogenic characteristics. The topics covered include geomythology, biogeography, hydrology, hydrobiology, hydrogeochemistry, geological and biogeochemical processes, anthropogenic pressures and ecological impacts, water management – both in the antiquity and today – and river restoration. The book is divided into four parts, the first of which explores the importance of rivers for ancient Greek civilization and the natural processes affecting their evolution during the Holocene. In the second part, the hydrological, hydrochemical and biological features of Greek rivers and the unique biogeographical characteristics that form the basis for their high biodiversity and endemism are highlighted, while the third part comprehensively discusses the impacts of environmental pollution on the structure and function of Greek river ecosystems. In turn, the final part describes the current socio-economic factors in Greece that are affecting established water management practices, the application of ecohydrological approaches in restoring fragmented rivers, and the lessons learned from restoring aquatic ecosystems in general as a paradigm for understanding and minimizing anthropogenic impacts on water resources, at the Mediterranean scale. Given the breadth and depth of its coverage, the book offers an invaluable source of information for researchers, students and environmental managers alike.

This book focuses on how the the scientific discovery of "plant sex" unfolded due to cultural biases, beliefs, and perceptions about plant reproduction. "Flora Unveiled" is a deep history of perceptions about plant gender and sexuality, from the Paleolithic to the nineteenth century. The evidence suggests that a plants-as-female gender bias both prevented the discovery of two sexes in plants until the late 17th century, and delayed its acceptance for another 150 years.