The genera of Chrysobalanaceae: a study in practical and theoretical taxonomy and its relevance to evolutionary biology. With an account of Dactyladenia by R.Letouzey. 1988. (Philoso- phical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B.Biol.Sc.,vol. 320, no. 1197). 44 figs. 184 p. Lex8vo. Paper bd.

This account is a generic monograph of a medium-sized (494 species)pantropical plant family. Its rank, circumscription and relationships toother families are examined. An attempt is made to provide an objectiveand repeatable taxonomy and to formulate evolutionary hypothesesconsistent with the facts presented. The monograph is also used to testthe general application of certain relatively new and stillcontroversial theoretical approaches to descriptive and evolutionarybiology, notably numerical taxonomy, cladistics and vicariancebiogeography. The practical value of some potentially useful sources oftaxonomic information, especially electron microscopy and phytochemicalanalysis, is also examined. This is possibly the first time thatnon-traditional approaches to taxonomy have been so comprehensivelyevaluated within the framework of a worldwide monograph.