Green Plants: Their Origin and Diversity [Hardcover]

Peter R. Bell (Author), Alan R. Hemsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 23, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0521641098 | ISBN-13: 978-0521641098 | Edition: 2

The central theme of Green Plants is the astonishing diversity of forms found in the plant kingdom. The book is arranged according to generally accepted classification schemes, beginning with prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae and moving through mosses, liverworts, fern allies, ferns and gymnosperms to flowering plants. Copiously illustrated throughout, it provides a concise account of all algae and land plants, with information on topics from cellular structure to life cycles and reproduction. The authors include newly emerging information on features of plants known only as fossils. This new edition has been completely updated to reflect current views on the origin of the major plant groups.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent line drawings and photographs...an unusually good reference for students of botany. Amazingly concise and succinct, Green Plants still manages to cover a wide range of plant groups and topics." Science Books & Films

"Only a trained botanist or biologist will be able to follow the intricate technical expositions of this masterpiece, but it so well written that an educated layman will gain a basic appreciation of the subject." Chicago Botanic Garden

"This is an excellent, comprehensive botany reference for ecologists, biologists, and students of botany." Wildlife Activist

Book Description

This book considers the astonishing diversity of plants, from simple algae to complex flowering plants. Copiously illustrated throughout, it provides a concise account the plant kingdom, with information on topics from cellular structure to life cycles and reproduction. The authors maintain a refreshingly cautious approach in discussions of possible evolutionary relationships and also include information on plants known only as fossils. This new edition has been completely updated to reflect current views on the origin of the major groups of plants as uncovered by the most recent experimental techniques.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (October 23, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521641098
• ISBN-13: 978-0521641098
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,129,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great upper-level book, but not for an intro course, June 22, 2002

By 

Amy Miller (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Green Plants: Their Origin and Diversity (Hardcover)

I was needing a book for an introductory botany course, covering plant evolution and structure. This book is too advanced for a course like that, but would be excellent for a 300 or 400 level course after students have the basics of evolution, taxonomy, and plant structures down. As a grad student, this is a text I'd love to have as a resource and will use as a reference text in my course...but it's too dry and the language is at too high a level for beginners. I am recommending this text to a professor of a botany class I was TA'ing for on Comparative Plant Anatomy, a 300 level course. So...if you want to be a botanist, grab it. If you want to teach plant anatomy and origins after an introductory botany course, this is perfect (best I've seen for the price, too!). If you want to teach an AP Botany course to high school students that only have a high-school biology background with no botany experience....not a good choice except as a strong reference. Book explains well, has excellent black-and-white diagrams, follows a thorough and logical pattern of evolution, but simply uses terminology too advanced for a lower-level course. They have trouble with the concepts of transcription and translation, much less page 103, "The passage of materials into the sporophyte is entirely through the apoplast since in all archeoniates the boundary between the two phases lacks plasmodesmata." Clear to me....but not to a beginner. I can't stress how good this book is for an advanced course or a serious botanist/taxonomist/plant geneticist/etc. GREAT upper-level/professional text!!!!!

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic botany text., April 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Green Plants: Their Origin and Diversity (Paperback)

This is a short book on plant diversity. There are lots of B/W drawings and diagrams. The book can be used in botany classes or for amateurs who want to learn more about plants.