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Reproductive versatility in the grasses
354
Book reviews
There is plenty of excitement yet to be had in studies of communities. Any one who reads this book carefully will be well placed to stand on the shoulders of predecessors and see further vistas. It deserves to be widely read by intending students. In it lie many subject areas already pointed out for a PhD. No reader will embark on such a study without considerably sharpened intellectual weapons. A long but very worthwhile read.
Colin J. Bibby Reproductive Versatility in the Grasses. Edited by G. P. Chapman. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1990. 296 pp. ISBN 0 521 38060 X. Price (hbk): £40.00, US$75"00. The grass family (Poaceae or Gramineae) contains about 10000 species, distributed between 650 and 765 genera, and is one of the largest families of flowering plants. Grasses are of immense importance to Man, providing the staple food for the majority of the world's population, fodder for animals and playing a major role in stabilising land in semi-arid regions. A knowledge of the reproductive processes of grasses is essential if their full potential is to be realised by the plant-breeder and geneticist. This book, with contributions from fourteen experts, provides a valuable and detailed account of the grasses, with chapters on the structure of the spikelet, ovule structure and diversity, fertilization and embryogenesis, apomictic reproduction and the implications of reproductive versatility for the structure of grass populations. There are also chapters on the latest in vitro techniques, and on reproduction and recognition phenomena in the Poaceae, surprisingly placed next to a chapter on grass succession and development in the arid zone. The book finishes with a useful list of world grass genera, arranged by subfamilies and tribes. This is not a book for the generalist, but is a valuable addition to the literature on grasses. It provides the specialist and post-graduate student with a concise and authoritative account of the reproductive processes in this important family of flowering plants and incorporates new information which is only available elsewhere in specialist journals.
Terry Wells Other publications received but not reviewed Living in the Environment, Sixth Edition. By Tyler Miller Jr. Chapman and Hall, London. 1990. 620 + 60 pp. ISBN 0 534 12222 1. Price (hbk): £16.95.
Book reviews
There is plenty of excitement yet to be had in studies of communities. Any one who reads this book carefully will be well placed to stand on the shoulders of predecessors and see further vistas. It deserves to be widely read by intending students. In it lie many subject areas already pointed out for a PhD. No reader will embark on such a study without considerably sharpened intellectual weapons. A long but very worthwhile read.
Colin J. Bibby Reproductive Versatility in the Grasses. Edited by G. P. Chapman. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1990. 296 pp. ISBN 0 521 38060 X. Price (hbk): £40.00, US$75"00. The grass family (Poaceae or Gramineae) contains about 10000 species, distributed between 650 and 765 genera, and is one of the largest families of flowering plants. Grasses are of immense importance to Man, providing the staple food for the majority of the world's population, fodder for animals and playing a major role in stabilising land in semi-arid regions. A knowledge of the reproductive processes of grasses is essential if their full potential is to be realised by the plant-breeder and geneticist. This book, with contributions from fourteen experts, provides a valuable and detailed account of the grasses, with chapters on the structure of the spikelet, ovule structure and diversity, fertilization and embryogenesis, apomictic reproduction and the implications of reproductive versatility for the structure of grass populations. There are also chapters on the latest in vitro techniques, and on reproduction and recognition phenomena in the Poaceae, surprisingly placed next to a chapter on grass succession and development in the arid zone. The book finishes with a useful list of world grass genera, arranged by subfamilies and tribes. This is not a book for the generalist, but is a valuable addition to the literature on grasses. It provides the specialist and post-graduate student with a concise and authoritative account of the reproductive processes in this important family of flowering plants and incorporates new information which is only available elsewhere in specialist journals.
Terry Wells Other publications received but not reviewed Living in the Environment, Sixth Edition. By Tyler Miller Jr. Chapman and Hall, London. 1990. 620 + 60 pp. ISBN 0 534 12222 1. Price (hbk): £16.95.