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Systematics, Evolution, and Biogeography of Compositae (V.A. Funk, A. Susanna, T. Stuessy & R. Bayer, eds.) IAPT: Vienna. Published in August 2009.
The Compositae (Asteraceae) are the largest and most successful flowering plant family in the world with ca. 1700 genera and 25,000 species. They grow everywhere but Antarctica but prefer open areas and are common garden plants (i.e., sunflowers, daisies, artichokes, thistles, lettuce). This volume is based on recent morphological and molecular data and has overview chapters that cover topics such as chromosome numbers and chemistry as well as a chapter on every clade in the family. Nearly every chapter has a color-coded biogeography tree and color photos of plants and there is a summary chapter with a ca. 900 taxon tree (metatree) for the whole family. Appendices include an illustrated glossary and a combined literature cited (each chapter has a literature cited as well). A pdf file of the metatree can be found at www.compositae.org and a video about the book can be found at www.YouTube.com (search Compositae).
This is the first family wide phylogenetic treatment for the Compositae and the book contains 44 Chapters, 1000 pages (ca. 200 in color) contributed by over 80 authors. It is a bargain at $110 (including shipping) for addresses in the USA and Canada and $120 for addresses elsewhere in the world. Please email compositaebook@gmail.com or go to www.compositae.org for information on ordering. This low price is possible because of the support of IAPT and the Smithsonian Institution. All proceeds go to IAPT. [Posted 14 October 2009]