This book is ambitious as it aims to cover almost every aspect of
flowers and fruits: their morphology, ecology, development, function
and phylogeny. It is now in its second edition, awaiting a translation
into English.
Leins and Erbar claim to continue the legacy of Jean-Baptiste Payer, a
19thcentury floral morphologist who produced an extraordinary work on
floral development in 1857 (Traite´ d’organoge´nie compare´e de la
fleur). The book consists of several chapters, without clear numbering
and with no major headings. It could be grossly divided into a
morphological part (floral structure), followed by adaptations to
pollination, and finally adaptations to seed dispersal. In an
appendix, the major orders and families of APG II (Angiosperm
Phylogeny Group, 2003) are listed with their floral formulae. This is
a welcome addition not present in the first edition.
The concept of the book is a progressive approach to flower structure
and reproductive mechanisms. It starts with a description of the
genetic background to flower development, then moves on to floral
initiation up to maturity and pollination syndromes, and ends with
seed formation and dispersal. The illustrations are mostly excellent,
largely drawn from the long and prolific research of the authors and
their students stretching back over four decades. The use of tables to
summarise information throughout the book is helpful and makes the
book a practical source of data.
Although the book is well written and easy to use, with clear and
concise information, the choice of sources is rather selective and
often ‘in house’. This leads to some chapters appearing overly
detailed, including superfluous statistical data (e.g. seed
distribution), while others appear rather short (e.g. a single page on
floral symmetry). The authors list a number of references at the end
of each chapter without having referred to them in the text. Although
this facilitates reading, one has to guess about the origin of
sources. For example, the only reference to the Loasaceae is to the
authors’ own floral developmental studies, with no reference to Larry
Hufford’s extensive studies on the family (e.g. Hufford, 1990).
The book begins with general information about life cycles, including
a general account of the origin of flowers. The section on floral
development is strongly infused by the authors’ own research, perhaps
at the expense of other evidence and sources. Some earlier strong
assumptions about the evolution of the androecium have been
weakened. However, I like the chapters on the development of floral
cups and the floral axis where it is shown that floral development is
a determining factor of mature structures and how subtle changes early
on can have a profound influence at maturity. The material on seed
formation lacks illustrations of the development of seeds and seed
structure. The chapter on inflorescences is limited; no aspects of
growth patterns are discussed, nor is there any discussion of bracts
versus bracteoles. As mentioned, the section on symmetry is short,
despite this representing one of the major elements of floral
morphology, and several essential references are missing
(e.g. Endress, 1999). No reference is made to review studies of
staminodes by Walker-Larsen & Harder (2000) and Ronse De Craene &
Smets (2001).
There is an abrupt transition from the floral descriptive part to the
function of flowers. The authors present good examples and
illustrations of different pollination strategies, such as dichogamy
and herkogamy. Mechanisms of secondary pollen presentation in
Campanulales are also well explained, based on the authors’ research,
but at the expense of comparable explanation of other groups. The
chapter on coadaptations of flowers to pollination relates to many
different flower types that have evolved in response to specific
pollinators. There is a good overview of flower types but it is built
up in a confusing way, mixing form, chemical properties, colours,
smells, etc. The distinction between different modes of dispersal
appears superfluous and often refers to adaptations of fruits and
seeds. There is (too) much terminology about fruit types, making this
chapter over-complex.
The appendix is very useful, although some symbols are not always
consistently used in floral formulae (e.g. Schisandraceae PNAN against
Trimeniaceae P0–21 A7–17).
In conclusion, the book is strongly infused with the research of Leins
and Erbar, which is extensive and scientifically sound. Despite some
shortcomings this is a comprehensible introduction to flower and fruit
morphology, recommended for general reading and the mature student.
L. Ronse De Craene
Edinburgh Journal of Botany vol. 66, pp 363-364 Cambridge University Press
Copyright C Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 2009
