Flowers of Annonaceae: Morphology, Classification, and Evolution. 1992. (Blumea, Suppl. 7). 48 plates(line drawings). 30 tables. 218 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

The present paper describes the diversity in floral characters ofAnnonaceae and their distribution over the family, and discusses theirvalue for classification and generic delimitation. Flower morphologypredominated historical classifications of this family since Hooker &Thomson (1855) introduced floral characters to divide the Asiatic generainto a number of tribes. Since then, several taxonomists presented aclassification of the Annonaceae using floral characters, whichclassifications, however, are generally felt as unnatural. A survey ofthe flower morphology of all genera reveals a reticulate distribution offloral character states. Classification of the genera, as presented inthis study, learns that floral characters different from those inprevious classifications should be used if one aims at a bettercorrelation with non-floral features. The chromosome number in thisrespect turned out to be an important character. Classification of theneotropical genera is relatively easy compared with classification ofthe African and Asiatic genera. Current genus delimitations in manycases are disputable. The functional aspects of the flower morphologyare discussed in connection with a literature survey of the resultsfrom field studies on flower biology of Annonaceae. Some remarks onevolutionary aspects are added.