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This book presents a concise, up-to-date and fully-integrated discussion of present-day plant taxonomy. It emphasises the dynamic nature of taxonomy which results from it being a fundamental discipline and a synthesis of all biological knowledge. Since publication of the first edition there have been many developments in the subject. Perhaps the most important of these has been the rise in popularity of cladistics, and the author fully discusses this controversial methodology. ... Read more

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Fantastic Introduction
Taxonomy doesn't get the respect it used to, but this important basic science is still alive and kicking.Anyone working on taxonomic treatments of a plant group will find this a useful introduction, reference handbook, and something of a glimpse into the basics (and I mean very basics) of systematics.Appropriate for advanced undergrads and grad students. ... Read more

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The field of plant taxonomy has transformed rapidly over the past fifteen years, especially with regard to improvements in cladistic analysis and the use of new molecular data. The second edition of this popular resource reflects these far-reaching and dramatic developments with more than 3,000 new references and many new figures. Synthesizing current research and trends,Plant Taxonomy now provides the most up-to-date overview in relation to monographic, biodiversity, and evolutionary studies, and continues to be an essential resource for students and scholars.

This text is divided into two parts: Part 1 explains the principles of taxonomy, including the importance of systematics, characters, concepts of categories, and different approaches to biological classification. Part 2 outlines the different types of data used in plant taxonomic studies with suggestions on their efficacy and modes of presentation and evaluation. This section also lists the equipment and financial resources required for gathering each type of data. References throughout the book illuminate the historical development of taxonomic terminology and philosophy while citations offer further study.Plant Taxonomy is also a personal story of what it means to be a practicing taxonomist and to view these activities within a meaningful conceptual framework. Tod F. Stuessy recalls the progression of his own work and shares his belief that the most creative taxonomy is done by those who have a strong conceptual grasp of their own research.

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Classic textbook first published in 1959 and updated in 1967, Taxonomy of Flowering Plants was created to provide a factual and simplified account of basic principles needed by beginning students in a course in taxonomy together with illustrated descriptions of more than a hundred families of flowering plants representative of the North American flora. The text assumes that the students have had some introduction to plant science. It is intended for undergraduate students in the study of agronomy, range management, forestry, wildlife management and conservation.The text is divided into three parts: Part I, dealing with historical and theoretical aspects and with terminology and morphology; Part II, dealing with orders and families of monocotyledons; and Part III, dealing with orders and families of dicotyledons. ... Read more

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Identifying trees and shrubs by their scientific name is an essential component of the professional skills of foresters and other types of environmental scientists. This book is an ideal guide for learning procedures as well as a reference book for field use. Written at a more sophisticated, professional level than most field guides, this book also explains the rationale of taxonomic classification systems and explains how plant types are linked to the whole forest ecology. ... Read more

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Despite their long tradition spices are subject to international modern scientific research. This has made it necessary to disseminate knowledge to a large audience of interest. This book addresses this need by informing the reader about the complex worldwide use of spice plants.

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Although one of the earliest of biological disciplines, plant taxonomy remains an important and relevant aspect of modern botany. A disproportionate emphasis on the practice of plant taxonomy has to some extent caused the science to be seen solely as the activity of plant identification. This book attempts to redress the balance by providing an introduction to the taxonomic theory upon which the identification procedure is based. The second edition has been completely revised and updated by the author and edited by Norman Robson to reflect the rapid advances which have occurred in plant taxonomy since publication of the first edition. ... Read more

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This fourth edition of Contemporary Plant Systematics combines the latest in updated literature and additional plant family representations with innovative electronic media.

Among the features of this fourth edition are:

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent Botany resource!
This book is an excellent introduction with a lot of valuable information about the study of botany.It is useful to both beginners and people with extensive botanical knowledge.It is definitely not light reading, but an excellent reference for anyone who spends a lot of time concerning themselves with all types of plants.The botanical glossary, diagrams, and family descriptions are particulary useful.This also makes a great companion to a technical botanical identification book.There is also an excellent history of botany but the straightforward explantions of the vast language of botany makes it super handy.

I purchased it for a two-hundred level college botany course and hope to continue to use it as a professional. ... Read more

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In the present volume - the sixth of this series - 48 flowering plant families comprising a total of 712 genera are treated. They represent the newly designed eurosid orders Celastrales, Oxalidales and Rosales and the asterid orders Cornales and Ericales. The recognition of these ordinal concepts is the result of numerous recent gene sequence analyses which, for the first time in angiosperm systematics, have provided a reliable higher order classification. The concept of Ericales is largely expanded beyond its conventional limits to make it monophyletic and now includes parts of the erstwhile Ebenales, Lecythidales, Primulales and other orders. The revised circumscription of families such as Ericaceae, Celastraceae and Cunoniaceae owes much to the application of recent molecular studies, and for the same reason in the primulalean families, a complete remodeling of family limits is proposed. ... Read more

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This book illustrates the key role played by taxonomy in the conservation and sustainable utilization of plant biodiversity. Divided into four parts, the book opens with an overview of the place of taxonomy in science and in implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity. With contributions from taxonomists and also the users of taxonomy, the volume will provide a balanced treatment, suitable for advanced students, researchers and conservation professionals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Who represents the developing countries?
The quality of the contribitions in this book varies strongly, some are below a minimum level, like the one of Cullen and Walters. What strikes me most, however, is that not one representative of a developing country was invited to participate. Is taxonomy more or less dead there or conservation not a topic? Presumably the Europeans, especially the British, are thought to be able to take care of everything in this field. Sad and stupid arrogance. ... Read more

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Subjects: University of California, BerkeleyBotanists -- CaliforniaFree Speech Movement (Berkeley, Calif.)College administrators -- California BerkeleyNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Missing pages
I bought the book and didn't realize it had missing pages until I got to class and my teacher started saying pictures and text were on certain pages, but the pages were missing. It had several times where about five pages were torn out.

Poor Editing
This book has a lot of errors in it: typos, incorrect page numbering in index, stating chapter numbers in text when no such chapter numbers exist. Very poor! When I reported it to the publishing company rep she gave me the author's phone number. Ha! That should be her job to get the corrections made.

good in information, bad in binding and typos
The information in this book is well organized and easy to understand, with many diagrams. Unfortunately, after three weeks of use, the binding started coming undone, pages falling out, entire sections of the book are sticking out. The index was bound wrong, such as when it goes from S to the end of T then Z then back to the rest of S. There are many typos and incorrect information based on these typos, such as numbers being off or words misspelled. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Many, but not all, water plants...
We were given a copy of this book by a very generous and thoughtful friend. It has been very useful during our fieldwork in the Okavango Delta of Botswana but... much to my frustration Christopher Cook's exclusion of certain species does not seem entirely justified [I was struggling with Cyperaceae spp.]. However, there are many good illustrations drawn by Dr Cook. Altogether it is an amazing work.
Ironically, the paper on which it is printed does not like getting wet... it is the kind of paper that sticks in clumps when wet. Perhaps this edition is more damp proof?
An expensive book but probably an heirloom too. ... Read more

Product Description
Presents ten case studies and three examples designed to help students learn to make taxonomic judgments. Topics include: the significance of systematics and classification; explanation of the taxonomic hierarchy; collection and types of data used; and case studies. ... Read more