First published in 1975, this book is a comprehensive and quantitative study of the shoot apex and leaf growth. Its central purpose is to provide precise quantitative descriptions of shoot apical systems of very diverse types. Vegetative apices are considered except for wheat for which a description of the developing inflorescence is also given. The descriptions rely on a development of the old technique of serial reconstruction, which allows the early stages in growth of leaf primordia and related tissues to be measured as volume. An important feature of the book is the numerous three-dimensional scale drawings, which, together with the photomicrographs, enable the reader to build up a clear picture of the process of growth in the stem apex. The appendix contains details of the methods employed in this quantitative study together with the procedures used for data processing. This major study on the growth of higher plants will be a standard work and will be a valuable source of quantitative information. Botanists, particularly those studying plant physiology, crop science, developmental biology and theoretical biology, will find this stimulating book has much to say that is of permanent value.
