1 2011 BookreviewFloraldiagrams
1 2011 BookreviewFloraldiagrams
1 2011 BookreviewFloraldiagrams
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BOOK REVIEW
When we study unknown flowers, it is helpful to first draw a ground plan of the
flower, like an architect draws the plan of a house representing the rooms and
connections between them, thus gaining an idea of the spatial arrangement of all the
parts. Such a floral diagram conveys information that may help to determine the
systematic position of a plant. It is also a first crude but practical approach to get to
know a flower.
Since the classic work by A. W. Eichler on floral diagrams (Blüthendiagramme, 1875,
1878), the present book is the first work that approaches the topic by covering a large
diversity of angiosperms, worldwide. The author, Louis P. Ronse De Craene, is a well-
known researcher on comparative floral morphology, and through his own work on
many families has great experience in the diverse structures of angiosperm flowers.
The most valuable aspects of the present work are that a systematic approach is
used, and that many angiosperm groups for which previously there were no floral
diagrams available in the literature are comparatively treated. The main text is
a broad-brush description of flower diversity and evolution through many of the
major angiosperm clades as they are currently recognised in the classification of
the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The text contains many references, which help
the reader to find more detailed studies on the groups treated.
For a family, mostly one genus (with one species) is represented, sometimes two,
very rarely three or four (five in Fabaceae). In total 181 genera (of 150 families) are
considered. This is only about one third of the angiosperm families, but it is a good
representation. In Eichler’s work many more genera were treated and illustrated, and
also more families. However, the present work contains some additional families,
and diagrams are revised according to new insights into the flowers. Many diagrams
are based on original observations by the author. Families represented here with
diagrams that were not in Eichler include Amborellaceae, Illiciaceae, Hernandiaceae,
Atherospermataceae, Monimiaceae, Triuridaceae, Nelumbonaceae, Trochodendra-
ceae, Berberidopsidaceae, Aextoxicaceae, Olacaceae, Simmondsiaceae, Cactaceae,
Moringaceae, Cunoniaceae and Elaeocarpaceae. An innovation is that for a number
of flowers the sequence of organ initiation is indicated. In concert with floral
diagrams, floral formulae are another, complementary way to represent basic
features of a flower, especially the number of organs and of organ whorls or series,
and fusion of organs. The author provides a formula for each species represented
with a diagram and a general formula for each family or subfamily covered.
158 BOOK REVIEW