Plants On Islands

This thorough and meticulous study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Invaluable both because of its geographical setting and because of the duration of the study, Plants on Islands summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. Martin Cody uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His thoughtful analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. He provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition. Certain to challenge, Plants on Islands is among the first books to critically analyze the central tenets of the theory of island biogeography.

"Wayside Plants of the Islands has been designed as a guide book to the identification of the most common plant species encountered in the lowlands of the Pacific Islands. It is based upon the author's 25 years of botanical excursions in Hawai'i, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Guam, Belau (Palau), and the other Pacific Islands. The lowlands here have been highly disturbed and are now entirely dominated by "alien" weedy species. This guide book includes color photos of 170 of the most common of these lowland species, with descriptions and other pertinent information. Most of the plants covered are widespread species that may be found in any part of the tropics, so this book is useful throughout the tropical Pacific and beyond."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This book provides a comprehensive view of the origin and evolution of the plants of an entire oceanic archipelago.

This authoritative guide is the product of many years of botanical surveying, observations and systematic research both in the Falkland Islands and in the herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. A collaboration between Falklands Conservation and Kew, this guide brings together for the first-time descriptions of all the vascular plants, both native and non-native that have been recorded across the Falkland Islands during its rich botanical history. The guide covers in detail the 181 vascular plants that have been described as native to these islands as well as more than 250 widespread non-native plants, highlighting those that have become invasive and pose a threat to native plants and habitats. The guide is fully illustrated with photographs to enable field identification. Keys to the major groups of plants are included as well as detailed keys for many families including Apiaceae, Astearceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Orchidaceae. Individual species entries include plant descriptions, distribution data, conservation status and other useful notes and field characters. There are also brief illustrated descriptions of the 22 habitat types recognised in the Falkland Islands. The guide is aimed at all those interested in learning more about this fascinating flora. Book jacket.

Hawai‘i is home to some of the rarest plants in the world, many of them now threatened by extinction. Despite a benign and nurturing climate, native species are declining almost everywhere in the Islands. Human-introduced pests, the spread of competing alien plants, wildfires, urban and agricultural development, and other disturbances of modern life are eliminating native species at an alarming pace. In fact, 38 percent of all plants on the U.S. endangered species list are native Hawaiian plants. A Native Hawaiian Garden is an effort to help stem the tide. Until recent years, few people attempted to raise native plants in their gardens, in schoolyards and parks, or around public buildings. But this situation is changing as essential information about raising native plants becomes more readily available. A Native Hawaiian Garden offers the most in-depth treatment yet on cultivating and propagating native Hawaiian plants. Following an overview of Hawaiian natural history and conservation, the book treats 63 species (many for the first time), giving detailed information on all stages of gardening: from preparing seeds for germination to the care and tending of the young plants in the landscape. Habitats where the plants are most likely to thrive are also described, as well as the uses that native Hawaiians made of the plants. Over 90 color photographs enhance the book. A Native Hawaiian Garden has much to offer professional horticulturists, landscapers, and botanists, and gives reason to hope that more spaces around housing developments, shopping malls, and other commercial buildings will soon include native plants. But the book will prove especially valuable to those gardeners who wish to grow and nurture something truly Hawaiian in their own backyards. Among the many rewards of growing natives, the authors make clear, is the opportunity to contribute your own experiences and findings to a vital preservation effort.

Native Plants of Christmas Island is a beautiful book describing 118 of the more common native plants on Christmas Island. In addition, each species is illustrated in colour, and flowering and fruiting times are given. There are six colour pages showing some of the drift seeds found among the flotsam and jetsam on the island shores.