Origin and Evolution of the Gymnosperms. 1988. 268 figs. XIV, 504 p. gr8vo. Cloth.

Gymnosperms - plants whose seeds are never enclosed in ovaries, and are commonly found in cones (such as pine trees) - have been largely neglected in recent research on the evolution of and relationships among plants. Charles Beck, the premier authority on gymnosperms, has now brought together a number of outstanding international experts to synthesize state-of-the-science data and present their own recent original research. This compilation will bring about drastic changes inscientists' ideas about gymnosperms. - Contents: Progymnosperms, Charles B.Beck and David C.Wight/ Biology of ancestral gymnosperms, Gar W.Rothwell and Stephen E.Scheckler/ Morphology and phylogenetic relationships of early pteridosperms, Jean Galtier/ Pollen and pollen organs of fossil gymnosperms: phylogeny and reproductive biology, Thomas N.Taylor/ Major clades and relationships in some "higher" gymnosperms, Peter Crane/ Cordaitales, Gar W.Rothwell/ Morphology and phylogeny of Paleozoic conifers, Johanna A. Clement-Westerhof/ Gymnosperms of the Agara flora, Sergei V.Meyen/ The Cheirolepidiaceae, Joan Watson.- New copies, old stock.