Phylogeny and Evolution of Angiosperms

Our understanding of angiosperm relationships has changed dramatically during the past ten years. The big picture of angiosperm phylogeny emerged suddenly as a direct result of collaborative molecular analyses, and longstanding views of deep-level relationships required revision. Many major clades of angiosperms did not correspond to the classes, subclasses, and orders of modern classifications. Furthermore, a wealth of recent data coupled with current understanding of phylogeny permits reevaluation of many deep-rooted evolutionary hypotheses. Soltis et al. provide a comprehensive summary of current concepts of angiosperm phylogeny and illustrate the profound impact that this phylogenetic framework has had on concepts of character evolution. In so doing, they acknowledge inadequacies in both current understanding of phylogeny and knowledge of morphological characters, as well as the need for additional study.--Publisher's description Relationships of the Angiosperms to Other Seed Plants: Introduction;Phylogenetic Studies: Extant Taxa; Phylogenetic Studies: Integrating Fossils; Future Studies. Phylogeny of Angiosperms: An Overview: Introduction; History of Efforts to Reconstruct Angiosperm Phylogeny Angiosperm Topology: Overview and Comparison with Modern Classifications; Sequence Variation: General Patterns and Rapid Radiations; Timing of Diversification Events; Future Studies. Basal Angiosperms: Introduction; Morphological Cladistic Analyses; Molecular Analyses; Combined DNA and Morphology; Combined DNA Datasets; Amborellaceae, Nymphaeaceae, and Austrobaileyales; Other Basal Angiosperms: Monocots, Ceratophyllaceae, and Chloranthaceae, The Magnoliids; Character Evolution in Basal Angiosperms; Genetics of Floral Development: Implications for the Early Diversification of the Flower; The Appearance of Angiosperms in the Fossil Record; Reconstructing the Earliest Angiosperms; Future Research. Monocots: Introduction; Phylogenetic Analyses Based on Morphology; Molecular Analyses of Monocot Relationships; Current Understanding of Relationships Within Monocots; Fossil History of Monocots; Future Research. Early-Diverging Eudicots: Introduction; Ranunculales; Proteales; Sabiaceae; Buxaceae; Trochodendraceae; Character Evolution in Early-Diverging Eudicots; Floral Developmental Genetics; Future Research. Core Eudicots: Introduction and Smaller Lineages: Introduction; Gunnerales; Berberidopsidales; Saxifragales; Santalales; Future Research. Caryophyllales: Introduction; Phylogeny of Caryophyllales; Character Evolution in Caryophyllales; Future Research. Rosids: Introduction; Vitaceae; Eurosid I (Fabids); Eurosid II (Malvids); Other Rosids; Parasitism in the Rosids; Future Research. Asterids: Introduction; Euasterids; Euasterid I (Lamiids); Euasterid II (Campanulids); Unplaced Euasterid II; Unplaced Asterids; Patterns of Character Evolution in Asterids; Future Research. Angiosperm Classification: Introduction; The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) Classification; Ranked versus Rank-Free Classification; Classification of Angiosperm (Modified from APG II 2003). Parallel and Convergent Evolution: Introduction; Parasitism; Carnivory; C4 Photosynthesis; Future Directions. Floral Diversification: Introduction; Pathways of Evolutionary Innovations; Evolutionary Radiations; Floral Phyllotaxis; Floral Merism; Floral Symmetry; Perianth; Androecium; Gynoecium; Ovules; Morphological Elaborations in Flowers Pollinated by Animals; Morphological Reduction in Flowers that are not Animal-Pollinated; Evolutionary Diversification in Flowers of the Major Angiosperm Groups; Future Directions. Evolution of Genome Size and Base Chromosome Number: Introduction; Genome Size; Base Chromosome Number; Future Studies Douglas E. Soltis, Pamela S. Soltis (both: U. of Florida-Gainesville), Peter K. Endress (U. of Zurich), and Mark W. Chase (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) synthesize the new understanding of the phylogeny of flowering plants that has emerged over the past decade. They also illustrate the effect that this phylogenetic framework has on interpreting character evolution. In addition to particular taxonomic groups, they look at classification, parallel and convergent evolution, floral diversification, and the evolution of genome size and base chromosome number. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR Providing a comprehensive summary of current concepts of angiosperm phylogeny, the authors shed light on the dramatic changes in the understanding of angiosperms. Their coverage of this subject illustrates several themes and points out current inadequacies as well as highlighting areas where further study is needed