Plant Fossils: The History of Land Vegetation (Fossils Illustrated) [Hardcover]

Christopher J. Cleal (Author), Barry A. Thomas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0851156843 | ISBN-13: 978-0851156842 | Publication Date: September 16, 1999

Plants have played a central role in the evolution of life on Earth and the colonisation of land, to the extent that without them we would not exist, yet even to scientists the history of land vegetation and plant fossils is not well-known. This book describes plants' origins and development, illustrated with a unique selection of plant portraits, many of which have never been seen before. The fossil record shows that plants first `invaded' the land some 400 or more million years ago, as tiny leafless stems which only grew upright for a few centimeters and were restricted to lowlying, waterlogged habitats; from these unpromising beginnings, the whole of Earth's flora has evolved. Each of the major groups of plants is described in general order of appearance in the records, from the first giant clubmosses, horsetails and ferns, which contributed so much to the developing forests, through the seed plants to the angiosperms, the flowering plants, which dominate the landscapes of today. The authors conclude the book with an account of the scientists who have contributed to the development of the story, and hazard some predictions about the directions which future research may take.CHRISTOPHER J. CLEALis Head of the Vegetational History Section at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales at Cardiff; BARRY A. THOMASholds a personal chair in the Department of Geography at Lampeter. They have made lifetime studies of ancient flora.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The centerpiece is an exquisite collection of photographs of fossil plants, culled from collections around the world... an important work, and on the strength of its plates alone should be used as a supplemental reference in any college-level course about the history of life. CHOICE

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (September 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851156843
• ISBN-13: 978-0851156842
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,679,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing. well-rounded study, March 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Plant Fossils: The History of Land Vegetation (Fossils Illustrated) (Hardcover)

Although written chiefly for students of paleontology, Plant Fossils is an accessible and attractive book for anyone interested in origin and evolution of land plants. It also reveals how paleobotanists obtain microscopic cross-sections of plant fossils for study and reviews some of the major figures in paleobotany since its professional inception in the early 19th century. Many beautiful line drawings and exceptional black and white plates enliven the text.

4.0 out of 5 stars Consice overview of fossil plants, June 9, 2003

By 

Lars Karlsson (Örebro Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Plant Fossils: The History of Land Vegetation (Fossils Illustrated) (Hardcover)

This book provides a very readable and concise overview of different groups of fossil plants, from the Middle Silurian to the present. There are plenty of books out there about fossil animals, and in particular dinosaurs. For those of us who want to know a bit more about what grows as well, this is a good book to start with. The latter half of the book consists of photographs of fossils.