There are still heroes in science. They are recognized because the issues and problems they chose to study became the issues and problems of a major field of research. They are also recognized because their insights and solutions are the ones that are tested and evaluated when new ideas and technologies become available. In the field of plant evolutionary biology, the hero is George Ledyard Stebbins. His first scientific publi cation appeared in 1929 and has been followed by nearly 60 magnificent years of seminal ideas, proofs, and proposals that defined much of what was worth doing in plant biosystematics, evolution and biological conser vation. His energy, enthusiasm and good humor (widely shared at many congresses and symposia in the 'Singalongs with Stebbins') made him a wonderful teacher for both undergraduates and graduate students. He is the mentor of several generations of botanists, plant geneticists and evo lutionists. A brief biography and publication list were included in Topics in Plant Population Biology, edited by Otto T. Solbrig, Subodh Jain, George Johnson and Peter Raven (Columbia University Press, 1979) which resulted from a symposium held on the occasion of Ledyard Stebbins' 70th birthday. In this volume, population biology and physio logical ecology received major attention particularly in relation to plant form and function. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Essays in comparative evolution. The need for evolutionary comparisons....Pages 3-20 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 Evolution and variation in plant chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes....Pages 23-53 Organization and evolution of sequences in the plant nuclear genome....Pages 55-83 Onagraceae as a model of plant evolution....Pages 85-107 Phylogenetic aspects of the evolution of self-pollination....Pages 109-131 Evolution of mating systems in cultivated plants....Pages 133-147 Back Matter....Pages 149-153 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 Ontogeny and phylogeny: phytohormones as indicators of labile changes....Pages 157-176 Back Matter....Pages 177-181 Front Matter....Pages 183-183 Biophysical limitations on plant form and evolution....Pages 185-220 Evolution and adaptation in Encelia (Asteraceae) ....Pages 221-248 Back Matter....Pages 249-251 Front Matter....Pages 253-253 Natural selection of flower color polymorphisms in morning glory populations....Pages 255-273 Genetic variation and environmental variation: expectations and experiments....Pages 275-303 Local differentiation and the breeding structure of plant populations....Pages 305-329 Back Matter....Pages 331-337 Front Matter....Pages 339-339 Vegetational mosaics, plant—animal interactions and resources for plant growth....Pages 341-369 The C-S-R model of primary plant strategies — origins, implications and tests....Pages 371-393 Back Matter....Pages 395-399 Epilogue....Pages 401-403 Back Matter....Pages 405-414
