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Morphology of flowers and inflorescences
Book reviews
81
based on these have turned out not to be entirely representative of species in other parts of the world, as studies in the tropics and Australia have shown. Occasionally, this has led some Australians to assume that most such generalisations are not applicable to the Australian avifauna. This work is a welcome balance. Not only does it give an up-to-date account of ornithological studies in Australia, but it also sets these in the context of studies elsewhere. It covers the 'standard' range of" topics, there being chapters on Distribution, F o o d and Foraging Behaviour, C o m m u n i t y Ecology, Breeding, Mating and Parental Behaviour, Population Ecology, Migration, and the Ecology of Endangered Birds. While all these emphasise recent studies in Australia, there are four other chapters covering the Australian environment, man's effect on Australian habitats, co-operative breeding (which has been shown to be particularly c o m m o n amongst Australian species) and a synthesis of Australian studies. It is perhaps difficult to single out a small number of characteristics highlighted by this book, but one must be the enormous range of honey-eaters and parrots (approaching 70 and 60 species respectively), many of which eat nectar and play an important part in pollination; certainly there is no parallel to this in other parts of the world outside the tropics. Australian ornithology has developed rapidly in recent years and this book provides a valuable insight to these studies.
Christopher Perrins
Morphology of Flowers and lnflorescences. By F. Weberling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1989. 405 pp. ISBN 0 521 25134 6. Price: £55"00 (hbk). Increasingly, following Sir Edward Salisbury's 'Reproductive Capacity of Plants', authors relate patterns of plant rarity to reproductive characteristics, which in turn correlate with floral morphology. Any conservationist interested in the morphology of the organs of sexual reproduction in plants, and wanting to 'get it right', will find this book useful. Troll's 'Vergleichende Morphologie der h6heren Pflanzen' (1937~43) is a standard work and Prof. Weberling writes in the tradition of Troll (even using many of his illustrations). He makes classical German morphology accessible and incorporates recent work, while soundly giving short shrift to non-classical interpretations of flowers. Perhaps wisely there is little attempt to discuss function or evolution. The first part is devoted to the forms of flowers, and from calyptrate
82
Book reviews
calyces to polymerous gynoecia there is much here. The second part discusses inflorescences and ranges from cauliflory to capitula of the Compositae (here called 'cephalia'). The third part is an introduction to pollination and seed dispersal, but as these two topics are covered more comprehensively in many other books, it is hard to see why they were included. The book is as well produced as the German edition and I did not notice any typographical errors. Richard Pankhurst must be congratulated on a translation that copes well with a profuse German morphological vocabulary, while only coining two new terms: dentonection and capillinection (not in the glossary, but defined in the text).
Quentin Cronk
Plant Canopies: Their Growth and Function. Edited by G. Russell, B. Marshall & P. G. Jarvis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1989. 178 pp. ISBN 0 521 32838 1. Price: £27.50 (hbk). The nine papers in this volume are derived from seminars on plant canopies at Nottingham in 1986. Two deal with canopy structure itself, one from a statistical (Campbell & Norman) and one from a morphological (Porter) viewpoint. A wide variety of subjects and of scientific approaches is also presented. The relationships between the canopy and the atmosphere receive a largely theoretical treatment (McNaughton; Raupach), while the study of the relationship between nitrogen, the canopy and growth (van Keulen et al.) has a more experimental approach. There are also chapters on canopies as populations (Harper) and on diurnal leaf movements (Ehleringer & Forseth). Finally, models for the growth of plant stands (Russell et al.) and the synthesis of canopy processes (Norman) are outlined. However, 'space was not available to allow consideration of stands of mixed species either in a g r i c u l t u r e . . . o r in natural communities' (Preface). Therefore, this book will appeal more directly to crop physiologists than to ecologists and the studies of plant canopies described here will appear rather esoteric to those directly involved in management for conservation. However, this volume may help to stimulate the development of a functional classification of easily recognised, physiologically and structurally distinct canopy types. If so, the requirements of conservation will have been well served.
John Hodgson
81
based on these have turned out not to be entirely representative of species in other parts of the world, as studies in the tropics and Australia have shown. Occasionally, this has led some Australians to assume that most such generalisations are not applicable to the Australian avifauna. This work is a welcome balance. Not only does it give an up-to-date account of ornithological studies in Australia, but it also sets these in the context of studies elsewhere. It covers the 'standard' range of" topics, there being chapters on Distribution, F o o d and Foraging Behaviour, C o m m u n i t y Ecology, Breeding, Mating and Parental Behaviour, Population Ecology, Migration, and the Ecology of Endangered Birds. While all these emphasise recent studies in Australia, there are four other chapters covering the Australian environment, man's effect on Australian habitats, co-operative breeding (which has been shown to be particularly c o m m o n amongst Australian species) and a synthesis of Australian studies. It is perhaps difficult to single out a small number of characteristics highlighted by this book, but one must be the enormous range of honey-eaters and parrots (approaching 70 and 60 species respectively), many of which eat nectar and play an important part in pollination; certainly there is no parallel to this in other parts of the world outside the tropics. Australian ornithology has developed rapidly in recent years and this book provides a valuable insight to these studies.
Christopher Perrins
Morphology of Flowers and lnflorescences. By F. Weberling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1989. 405 pp. ISBN 0 521 25134 6. Price: £55"00 (hbk). Increasingly, following Sir Edward Salisbury's 'Reproductive Capacity of Plants', authors relate patterns of plant rarity to reproductive characteristics, which in turn correlate with floral morphology. Any conservationist interested in the morphology of the organs of sexual reproduction in plants, and wanting to 'get it right', will find this book useful. Troll's 'Vergleichende Morphologie der h6heren Pflanzen' (1937~43) is a standard work and Prof. Weberling writes in the tradition of Troll (even using many of his illustrations). He makes classical German morphology accessible and incorporates recent work, while soundly giving short shrift to non-classical interpretations of flowers. Perhaps wisely there is little attempt to discuss function or evolution. The first part is devoted to the forms of flowers, and from calyptrate
82
Book reviews
calyces to polymerous gynoecia there is much here. The second part discusses inflorescences and ranges from cauliflory to capitula of the Compositae (here called 'cephalia'). The third part is an introduction to pollination and seed dispersal, but as these two topics are covered more comprehensively in many other books, it is hard to see why they were included. The book is as well produced as the German edition and I did not notice any typographical errors. Richard Pankhurst must be congratulated on a translation that copes well with a profuse German morphological vocabulary, while only coining two new terms: dentonection and capillinection (not in the glossary, but defined in the text).
Quentin Cronk
Plant Canopies: Their Growth and Function. Edited by G. Russell, B. Marshall & P. G. Jarvis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1989. 178 pp. ISBN 0 521 32838 1. Price: £27.50 (hbk). The nine papers in this volume are derived from seminars on plant canopies at Nottingham in 1986. Two deal with canopy structure itself, one from a statistical (Campbell & Norman) and one from a morphological (Porter) viewpoint. A wide variety of subjects and of scientific approaches is also presented. The relationships between the canopy and the atmosphere receive a largely theoretical treatment (McNaughton; Raupach), while the study of the relationship between nitrogen, the canopy and growth (van Keulen et al.) has a more experimental approach. There are also chapters on canopies as populations (Harper) and on diurnal leaf movements (Ehleringer & Forseth). Finally, models for the growth of plant stands (Russell et al.) and the synthesis of canopy processes (Norman) are outlined. However, 'space was not available to allow consideration of stands of mixed species either in a g r i c u l t u r e . . . o r in natural communities' (Preface). Therefore, this book will appeal more directly to crop physiologists than to ecologists and the studies of plant canopies described here will appear rather esoteric to those directly involved in management for conservation. However, this volume may help to stimulate the development of a functional classification of easily recognised, physiologically and structurally distinct canopy types. If so, the requirements of conservation will have been well served.
John Hodgson