Epiphytes (plants which grow on other plants, not parasitically but for support), comprise more than one-third of the total vascular flora in some tropicalforests. Growing within tropical forest canopies, epiphytes are subject to severe environmental constraints, and their diverse adaptations make them a richresource for studies of water balance, nutrition, reproduction and evolution.This book synthesizes the body of information from research on epiphytes and their relations with other tropical biota, and provides a comprehensive overview of basic functions, life history, evolution, and the place of epiphytes in complex tropical communities. Tropical ecologists and zoologists as well as plant scientists will find this volume a useful guide to research on the twenty-five thousand species of epiphytes which root in the crowns of tropical trees. INDICE: Preface; Abbreviations; Glossary; 1. Epiphytism: a preliminary overview; 2. Photosynthesis; 3. Water balance; 4. Mineral nutrition; 5. Reproduction and life history; 6. Mistletoes; 7. Ecology; 8. Epiphyte occurrence; References; Author index; Subject index; Taxonomic index.
- ISBN: 978-0-521-04895-8
- Editorial: Cambridge University
- Encuadernacion: Rústica
- Páginas: 372
- Fecha Publicación: 31/01/2008
- Nº Volúmenes: 1
- Idioma: Inglés