Guide to Pollen and Spores (2nd Edition) [Spiral-bound]

R.O. Kapp (Author), O.K. Davis (Author), J.E. King (Author)

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 279 pages
• Publisher: American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists; 2nd edition (December 10, 2000)
• ISBN-10: 0931871050
• ISBN-13: 978-0931871054
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,524,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pollen Keys...State of the Art..., March 12, 2001

By 

DMJarzen (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guide to Pollen and Spores (2nd Edition) (Spiral-bound)

"... the work has withstood the test of time and remains the only work of such geographic breadth --yet with the insightful simplicity of line drawings"

With these words, the revised, improved, enlarged and much needed second edition of Ronald Kapp's "Pollen and Spores" has been published. Davis (University of Arizona) and King (Cleveland Museum of Natural History) have continued the work of the late Ronald Kapp, and have provided palynologists, botanists, allergists and others, with a pictorial key of pollen and spore types from North America. Kapp had earlier begun a revised second edition of his work; but his efforts were cut short by his untimely death in 1990. Many of us have used the first edition of this guide for many years and have found it to be one of the "standards" we keep near our microscopes.

This second edition continues the tradition of an easy-to-use, keyed guide, to the pollen forms found in Quaternary deposits. It has been improved by expanding the original key with several new illustrations, providing a consistent format for each taxon which includes Latin binomial, parent plant common name, size (in micrometers), geographical range, and notes regarding details of pollen morphology.

The introduction to the revised edition includes information about the study of palynology since the publication of the first edition (1969), specifically noting the proliferation of pollen keys and illustrated guides which cover specific areas of the United States and/or Canada. Additions to this edition include a section titled "Unusual palynomorphs and microfossils that might be confused with pollen" and include a brief description and illustration of some pre-Quaternary pollen forms (e.g. Normapolles), algae, dinoflagellates, chitinozoans, forams, diatoms and phytoliths. A well-illustrated glossary, bibliography and a systematic list of illustrated species are found at the end of the guide. I found the glossary especially helpful.

Despite a dozen or so typographical, grammatical or spelling errors, and despite the fact that some of the line drawings are less sharp than those illustrated in the first edition, the guide remains useful and, considering the price, a worthy purchase.

The American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists Foundation has published the 2000 edition, and has managed to keep the price ...reasonable for students to purchase. The book is spiral bound, with a glossy, plastic cover that folds back to allow the guide to open flat on a desk surface. Copies of this excellent publication may be ordered from The AASP Foundation. Contact: Vaughn M.Bryant, Palynology Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4352, U.S.A. (FAX [phone]; [e-mail]).