Ebook: Conifer Reproductive Biology

This compendium on conifer reproductive biology is intended as a text supplement for plant biology courses. Such a volume seems timely because knowledge of model flowering plants is expanding so fast that each new plant biology text has less written on conifers than the last. Conifer Reproductive Biology seems needed as a specialized botany reference for life science professionals, graduate students and advanced undergraduates. Its content was chosen for its relevance to those working in life sciences: ecology, evolution, genomics, environmental sciences, genetics, forestry, conservation and even immunology. Its content has also been shaped by a trend towards the integrative study of conifer reproduction.

"The chapters that reflect the author's expertise are masterly and I learned much from them. Bringing together this information could not have been done by anybody else."
Professor Philip Barry Tomlinson, Harvard Forest, Harvard University and National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalaheo, HI, USA.

"Conifer Reproductive Biology is a masterful compendium of the literature and a thoughtful diagnosis of what we know (and do not know) about how these fascinating, diverse, and ancient plants reproduce. I recommend it to any and all interested in plant life." Karl J. Niklas, The Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Biology, Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.

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section 1. Conifer reproductive biology overview -- Introducing conifers -- The diplohaplontic life cycle -- section 2. Consequences of heterospory -- Separate female and male meioses -- The female gametophyte inside the ovule -- The male gametophyte enclosed in a pollen wall -- Pollination and fertilization -- Syngamy, embryo development, and seed dispersal -- section 3. Mating system dynamics: form versus chance -- The dynamic wind-pollinated mating system -- The embryo lethal system -- Glossary