Flowers
Evolution of the Floral Architecture of Angiosperms
Guillaumme Tcherkez
ISBN 978-1-57808-311-4 ; 2004; 194 pages; US $ 87.40      Buy Now

The flower is undoubtedly the most remarkable and most central characteristic of the Spermatophytes. The study of the flower is therefore central to botany. It is the sex-ual organ of plants. The understanding of the evolution and development of flowers has revealed surprising phenomena about the way in which genes determine the structure of flowers and about the ecological and evolutionary phenomena that are at work.

This book delves in detail the intimate functioning of the flower, whether it is on the biochemical, cellular, molecular, or the organism scale. It explains the form and function of the flower, not only from the physiology and developmental biology as-pects, but also from ecology and evolutionary sciences, integrating genetic, demo-graphic, and biogeographical perspectives.

CONTENTS
Architecture of Inflorescences
. Flowers and inflorescences . Architecture of inflorescences . Examples of evolution of inflorescence architecture
Floral Architecture and Morphogenesis
. Floral architecture . Genetic expression and morphogenesis . Floral evolution through genes?
Evolution of the Plane of Floral Organization
. Phylogeny of Angiosperms . Evolution of floral characters linked to the gynoecium . Evolution and overall architecture of the flower . Evolution of the flower on the scale of the whorl
Floral Architecture and Pollination
. Dispersal and collection of pollen in allogamous plants . Autogamous plants
Towards a Global Theory?
. Dispersal and diversification . Sexuality and fertility . Dispersal of pollen and fertiliza-tion in heterogeneous conditions . Conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography
General index
Botanical index