Floral Biology Studies on Floral Evolution in Animal-pollinated Plants

This volume highlights the new synthesis of pollination biology and plant mating systems which is rejuvenating the two-hundred-year-old discipline of floral biology. It provides a current examination of the evolution and functional significance of floral traits in animal-pollinated plants, combining ecological and genetic studies with natural history approaches and theoretical modeling. Divided into three sections, the book begins with the first English translation of Christian Konrad. Sprengel's introduction to his classic work and a historical analysis of his observations. The second section addresses current conceptual problems in floral biology, concentrating on floral diversification, floral longevity, pollen dispersal and mating patterns, the ecology of geitonogamous pollination, and flower size dimorphism in plants with unisexual flowers. The final chapters of the book examine model systems and include the evolution of floral morphology and function, deceit pollination, reproductive success and gender variation, stylar polymorphisms, and the evolution of flowers in relation to insect pollinators on islands. With its a detailed treatment of the selective forces shaping floral diversification in animal-pollinated plants, Floral Biology provides ecologists, evolutionary biologists, and botanists with a wealth of current information. Everyone interested in the evolution of flowering plants will benefit from this timely, authoritative resource on the interactions between insects and plants.