The Evolution of Plants

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This is a broad but provocative examination of the evolution of plantsfrom the earliest forms of life to the development of our present flora. Taking a fresh, modern approach to a subject often treated very stuffily, the book incorporates many recent studies on the morphological evolution of plants, enlivens the subject with current research on ancient DNA and other biomolecular markers, and places plant evolution in the context of climate change and mass extinction. It is written to be accessible to undergraduates, so, for example, geological time is discussed in terms of 'millions of years ago' as well as by the names of the ages, and English equivalents of plant names are prefered, e.g. seed plants (instead of gymnosperms), flowering plants (instead of angiosperms). Key Features This is the most accessible, modern, and comprehensive book on plant evolution ever published. ACCESSIBLE: Written in plain English to address an undergraduate audience. The authors avoid unnecessary jargon, for example giving geological time in terms of millions of years ago as well as names of the ages, and in using English equivalents for plant names more frequently than their latinate counterparts, e.g. seed plants (instead of gymnosperms), flowering plants (instead of angiosperms). MODERN: Includes consideration of the evidence from molecular biology; considers thecurrent status of ancient DNA and the biomolecular record in plant evolutionary research. COMPREHENSIVE: Special 'Biome Maps' show the flora covering the Earth at different ages in the past. The book traces the patterns seen in fossil flora from the earliest green algae through to the present day. Focuses on periods of major evolutionary change. Addresses the rates and timing of the evolutionary change seen in the plant fossil record, and suggests possible driving mechanisms. AboutThe Author K. J. Willis School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford J. C. McElwabin Assistant Curator, Paleobotany, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago Table Of Contents The evolutionary record and methods of reconstruction Earliest forms of plant life The colonization of land The first forests Major emergence of the seed plants 6 Flowering plant origins The past 65 million years Mass extinctions and persistent populations Ancient DNA and the biomolecular record Evolutionary theories and the plant fossil record