Systematic Botany of Flowering Plants
A New Phylogenetic Approach of the Angiosperms of the Temperate and Tropical Regions
Rodolphe-Edourard Spichiger: A l'Universite de Genéve, Switzerland
Vincent V. Savolainen: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
Murielle Figeat: Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Switzerland
Daniel Jeanmonod: Université de Genève, Switzerland
ISBN 978-1-57808-373-2; 2004; 428 pages, pb; 16 color plates + CD Rom; US $ 65.00      Buy Now

This is a translation of the second edition. It has been completely updated and sup-plemented, and enhanced by the contribution of a new author. Also included is a CD-Rom with 351 colour photographs, summary tables on useful plants, and keys to identification.

The principal objective of this book is to describe a range of families of flowering plants in a sequence corresponding to current phylogenetic classification based on the most recent results of molecular systematics. The selection of families is large and comprises families of temperate European flora as well as tropical flora. They are integrated in their respective orders and keys are given to help the reader recognize them. Each family is richly illustrated, the identifying characters being shown as clearly as possible. A glossary complements the overall didactic qualities of this reference.

This book is designed for the use of university students of biology, pharmacy, or en-vironmental sciences as well as for any botanical researcher interested in the adop-tion of a new perspective on classification.

CONTENTS
. History of Botanical Classification
. Species and Speciation
. Flora and Vegetation
. Algae and Angiosperms
. Evolution and Classification of Seed Plants
. Selected Orders and Families
. Descriptive Plates of Families
. Glossary
. Key to Identification of Tropical Families by Observation of Vegetative Charac-ters
. Taxonomic Index