Bromeliaceae Profile of an Adaptive Radiation [Hardcover]

This book covers bromeliad biology, rather than cultivation.The large, mainly neo-tropical plant family Bromeliaceae includes many members that are grown for horticultural interest. There are numerous publications that deal with their cultivation, but to date there has been no volume that tackles the biology of these fascinating plants. This book is the first to synthesise information about bromeliad biology, focusing on reproductive and vegetative structure and related physiology, ecology and evolution to help explain why members of this family exhibit more adaptive and ecological variety than most other families of flowering plants.The large, mainly neo-tropical plant family Bromeliaceae includes many members that are grown for horticultural interest. There are numerous publications that deal with their cultivation, but to date there has been no volume that tackles the biology of these fascinating plants. This book is the first to synthesise information about bromeliad biology, focusing on reproductive and vegetative structure and related physiology, ecology and evolution to help explain why members of this family exhibit more adaptive and ecological variety than most other families of flowering plants.This book presents a synthesis of the extensive information available on the biology of Bromeliacea, a largely neotropical family of about 2700 described species. The author emphasizes reproductive and vegetative structure, related physiology, ecology, and evolution, rather than floristics and taxonomy. Guiding questions include: Why is this family inordinately successful in arboreal (epiphytic) and other typically stressful habitats and why is this family so important to extensive fauna beyond pollinators and frugivores in the forest canopy? Extraordinary and sometimes novel mechanisms that mediate water balance, tolerance for high and low exposures, and mutualisms with ants have received much study and allow interesting comparisons among plant taxa and help explal3*