Review

This is a magnificent book, filled with superb SEM and TEM photo-micrographs of pteridophyte spores worldwide. It is the first modern, comprehensive account of spore diversity in ferns, illustrating not only surface features but also cross-sections of the wall layers. The book contains 2,797 figures!

The book is divided into two main parts: the introduction and generic treatments. The introduction explains general characteristics of pteridophyte spores and some of the specialized terms. Particularly important to fern phylogenists will be that part of the introduction dealing with evolutionary levels of spore wall layers and the summary of spore diversity in the families of homosporous ferns. This section contains a discussion of what are ancestral versus derived character states in fern spore walls.

The generic treatments compose the bulk of the book. The authors recognize 232 genera in 35 families. Each generic treatment contains a brief discussion of the genus, a statement of range, a description of the spores, and a discussion of relationships as inferred from spores.

The book contains important new data that affect fern classification. For example, it shows that the spores of Rumohra are distinctly dryopteroid, not davallioid where Kato (Acta Phytotax Geobot. 26:52-57. 1974) has argued that the genus should be placed. The spores of Oleandra and Artliropteris support a classification of these genera in their own family, rather than the Davalliaceae.

In some cases, however, the evidence from spores has not been well-assessed nor used to test conflicting classifications. An example is Argyrochosma, which Windham (Amer. Fern J. 77:37-41. 1987) pointed out was more closely related to Pellaea than to Notholeana, where placed in the present book. This relationship was not considered in the book nor was Windham's work cited. Another example is Lellinger's (Amer. Fern J. 77:90-94. 1987) work on American tree ferns. He argued that Trichipteris and Sphaeropteris subgen. Schlephropteris should be placed in Cyathea. But Lellinger's arguments are not assessed on the basis of spore evidence nor is his work cited.

These criticisms are minor. Overall, the book is excellent and will be used by pteridologists worldwide. Much thinking remains to be done on spore data in relation to fern phylogeny. This book will stimulate interest in the field and, it will doubtless be, for decades to come, the standard reference on pteridophyte spores. - Robbin C. Moran, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-0299.