The eighth edition of the highly regarded botany textbook Biology of Plants by Ray F. Evert and Susan E. Eichhorn offers the most significant revision in the book's history.
Every topic has been updated with information from the most recent primary literature. The chapters have been carefully reorganized, with extensive updating of the Diversity Section and the Angiosperm Plant Body Section. The text also includes new photos, illustrations and chapter openers, making the text even more accessible and engaging.
Biology of Plants presents an emphasis on the interrelationships of growth and development, structure and function, and evolution and ecology. A highlight of the new edition is a set of 8 new ecology essays that showcase ecologically relevant stories to bring the concepts to life. They cover a range of topics, from "Google Earth: A Tool for Discovering and Protecting Biodiversity" to the "Doomsday Seed Vault: Securing Crop Diversity" and "Green Roofs: A Cool Alternative".
Botany: An Introduction
PART I: THE BIOLOGY OF THE PLANT CELL
- The Molecular Composition of Plant Cells
- The Plant Cell and the Cell Cycle
- The Movement of Substances Into and Out of Cells
PART II: ENERGETICS
- The Flow of Energy
- Respiration
- Photosynthesis, Light, and Life
PART III: GENETICS AND EVOLUTION
- Sexual Reproduction and Heredity
- The Chemistry of Heredity and Gene Expression
- Recombinant DNA Technology, Plant Biotechnology, and Genomics
- The Process of Evolution
PART IV: DIVERSITY
- Systematics: The Science of Biological Diversity
- Prokaryotes and Viruses
- Fungi
- Algae and Heterotrophic Protists
- Bryophytes
- Seedless Vascular Plants
- Gymnosperms
- Introduction to the Angiosperms
- Evolution of the Angiosperms
- Plants and People
PART V: THE ANGIOSPERM PLANT BODY: STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
- Early Development of the Plant Body
- Cells and Tissues of the Plant Body
- The Root: Structure and Development
- The Shoot: Primary Structure and Development
- Secondary Growth in Stems
PART VI: PHYSIOLOGY OF SEED PLANTS
- Regulating Growth and Development: The Plant Hormones
- External Factors and Plant Growth
- Plant Nutrition and Soils
- The Movement of Water and Solutes in Plants
PART VII: ECOLOGY (AVAILABLE ON THE COMPANION WEBSITE)
- The Dynamics of Communities and Ecosystems
- Global Ecology
Appendix: Classification of Organisms
Suggestions for Further Reading
Glossary
Peter H. Raven is the Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, USA, and one of the world's leading botanists and advocates of conservation. In December 2001, the President of the USA awarded him the National Medal of Science, the highest award for scientific accomplishment in the country.
Susan E. Eichhorn Resident Programme Manager at the University of Wisconsin, USA.
Ray F. Evert is the Katherine Esau Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology at the University of Wisconsin, USA. His research interests include studies on the development and structure of the leaves of maize and barley.