Early Evolution of Flowers

The recent discovery of a large number of excellently preserved fossil flowers, studied with new techniques, and the comparative study of the flowers of extant basal clades of the angiosperms revolutionized the conception of early flower evolution. This volume brings together contributions of 17 palaeo- and neobotanists including critical reviews on the origin of flowers and the homologies of angiosperm floral organs, on the relationships of floral traits of magnoliids to those of lower eudicots (ranunculids, hamamelidids, dilleniids) and monocots, and articles on particular new Cretaceous fossils and new results on extant groups. These studies also influence the notion of early angiosperm evolution and of the macrosystematics of flowering plants.