Plant Structure: Function and Development : A Treatise on Anatomy and Vegetative Development, with Special Reference to Woody Plants - Hardcover

Romberger, John A.; Hejnowicz, Zygmunt; Hill, Jane F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3540563059 ISBN 13: 9783540563051

Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K, 1993

Synopsis

This book is about the developmental anatomy of large, complex plants, particularly of the woody plants that grow and survive for decades or centuries. It is focused on the meaning of that anatomy, that integrated structure, as a determinant of effective function. A pervading theme is that the plant structures that have survived "selection" processes during the eons of organismal evolution, within the larger context of geo- logic and climatic evolution, are well attuned to biochemical and biophysical principles that determine and define efficient function. The sets of structure-and-function couples existing in the various plant taxa differ so widely that generalities are often difficult to discern. This diversity is due partly to the broad range of ecological conditions to which higher plant organisms have become adapted under stresses imposed by competition and continual climatic change. It is also due to the tendency of different taxa, with their different complements of inherited information, to respond to similar situations in different ways. Cognizant of this reality, we have tried throughout the book to avoid generalizing too broadly on the basis of data from the relatively small fraction of plant species that have as yet been studied. This book is intended for those who have already studied the anatomy and develop- ment of plants. It is addressed to advanced students, teachers, and researchers in the interrelated fields of botany, forestry, horticulture, and agronomy, and to others having professional interests in the culture of woody plants and the stewardship of ecosystems.

About this title

Synopsis

This is an interpretive account of the vegetative development and functional structure of higher plants, particularly of perennial shrubs and trees that grow and survive for decades and centuries. The first part of the book treats plant structure in relation to the requirements of several essential functional systems. With reference to problems of dynamic response and regulation, attention is given to hierarchical levels from cellular and tissue to organ and organismal. The second part of the book focuses on morphogenesis and development - the dynamic aspects of functional structure. Particular attention is given to the dynamics of the vascular cambium and to the interpretation of the cellular structure of wood as an archive of recorded information about such dynamics. Structural and functional development in embryos, leaves, roots and periderms is also intensively treated.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3540563059
• ISBN 13: 9783540563051
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 524