Systematics Evolution And Biogeography Of The Compositae Funk

Systematics, Evolution and Biogeography of the Compositae Funk

Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography of Compositae

This spectacular book does full justice to the Compositae (Asteraceae), the largest and most successful flowering plant family with some 1700 genera and 24,000 species. It is an indispensable reference, providing the most up-to-date hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships in the family based on molecular and morphological characters, along with the corresponding subfamilial and tribal classification. The 2009 work not only integrates the extensive molecular phylogenetic analyses conducted in the last 25 years, but also uses these to produce a metatree for about 900 taxa of Compositae. The book contains 44 chapters, contributed by 80 authors, covering the history, economic importance, character variation, and systematic and phylogenetic diversity of the family. The emphasis of this work is phylogenetic; its chapters provide a detailed, current, and thoroughly documented presentation of the major (and not so major) clades in the family, citing some 2632 references. Like the Compositae, the book is massive, diverse, and fascinating. It is beautifully illustrated, with 170 figures, and an additional 108 cladograms (all consistently color-coded, based on the geographic range of the included taxa); within these figures are displayed 443 color photographs, clearly demonstrating the amazing array of floral and vegetative form expressed by members of the clade. [Resumen del editor].

Systematics, Ecology, and Chromosomal Evolution of Melampodium (Asteraceae)

Chromosomal change has been important in the evolution of flowering plants. Cytogenetic modifications resulting in dysploid and polyploid alterations of plant genomes have often led to the formation of new species. A genus that represents an excellent example of such changes during its evolutionary history is Melampodium (Asteraceae), occurring primarily in Mexico, Central America, and the southwestern United States. This book is a detailed presentation of the diversity of species in Melampodium, their ecological requirements and phylogenetic relationships, the biogeographic patterns and migrational pathways, chromosomal diversity, and evolutionary origins of species, especially the tetraploids and hexaploids through allopolyploidy. It is an instructive case study of evolution through chromosomal change in a broadly distributed genus of importance in the ecosystems of Mexico and adjacent regions.