Flower and fruit. Morphology, ontogeny, phylogeny, function, ecology

Abstract

This textbook describes the origin of flowers and delineates the crucial role they play in the life cycle of plants. Basic terminology is explained and the genetic approach to the determination of floral organs is introduced. On the basis of ontogeny, a morphological analysis of the flower structures follows, constituting the basis for discussing further phylogenetic and diverse functional and ecological questions such as hermaphroditism, optimization of pollination, etc.