The Anatomy of Woody Plants

Abstract

BOTANISTS for several years past have felt the heed of a comprehensive text-book on the anatomy of plants worthy to take the place of de Bary's classic book published in 1877. As Prof. Jeffrey says: “In de Bary's text-book both palaeobotany and development are deliberately eschewed.” The omission of any account of the anatomy of extinct plants would in these days foe a much greater defect than it was forty years ago, and whether one agrees or disagrees with the conclusions stated by the author, he cannot be accused of undervaluing the importance of palaeobotanical data. The study of the develop ment of organs is deliberately omitted on the ground that it throws little light on the processes of evolution. The researches of Schwendener gave a stimulus to the study of anatomy from a physiological point of view, and the last edition of Haberlandt's “Physiological Plant Anatomy” admirably represents the present state of our knowledge in this branch of botany. It is surprising that Prof. Jeffrey makes no reference to Haberlandt's work.

The Anatomy of Woody Plants.

By E. C. Jeffrey. Pp. x + 478. (Chicago, Ill.; The University of Chicago Press; London: Cambridge University Press, 1917.) Price 4 dollars net.