The Systematics Association Special Volume: Early Events in Monocot Evolution (Volume 83)

Tracing the evolution of one of the most ancient major branches of flowering plants, this is a wide-ranging survey of state-of-the-art research on the early clades of the monocot phylogenetic tree. It explores a series of broad but linked themes, providing for the first time a detailed and coherent view of the taxa of the early monocot lineages, how they diversified and their importance in monocots as a whole. Featuring contributions from leaders in the field, the chapters trace the evolution of the monocots from largely aquatic ancestors. Topics covered include the rapidly advancing field of monocot fossils, aquatic adaptations in pollen and anther structure and pollination strategies and floral developmental morphology. The book also presents a new plastid sequence analysis of early monocots and a review of monocot phylogeny as a whole, placing in an evolutionary context a plant group of major ecological, economic and horticultural importance.

Paul Wilkin is Lilioid and Alismatid Monocots and Ferns Team Leader in the Herbarium, Library, Art and Archives Directorate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His main research foci are systematics of Dioscoreales (yams and their allies) and Dracaenoids (dragon trees and mother-in-law's tongues), lilioid monocots widely used in human diet and horticulture, with taxa of high conservation and ecological importance. He is principal investigator of the eMonocot biodiversity informatics project.

Simon J. Mayo is an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Since 1977 he has worked on the systematics and phylogeny of the Araceae, the largest plant family of the early divergent clades in monocots. He has been active in postgraduate teaching in Brazilian universities since 1988, focussing on monocot families and especially the Araceae.