Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
Perhaps PvR can comment as to whether Judd et al would be an acceptable
substitute (I haven't seen Cronquist myself), tho' Judd et al tends to
miss out minor families.

Although I am not PvR, I can comment. Judd et al. not only
misses many families (including many not so small), but it
spends more time on the mechanics of systematics, hence less
on the synthesis (overall classification) and even less on
the family descriptions.

I like Judd et al. very much, but I would not use it as a
substitute for Cronquist. Cronquist still has its uses,
despite the rather obsolete classification.

Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545
--
Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
Perhaps PvR can comment as to whether Judd et al would be an acceptable
substitute (I haven't seen Cronquist myself), tho' Judd et al tends to
miss out minor families.

Although I am not PvR, I can comment. Judd et al. not only
misses many families (including many not so small), but it
spends more time on the mechanics of systematics, hence less
on the synthesis (overall classification) and even less on
the family descriptions.

I like Judd et al. very much, but I would not use it as a
substitute for Cronquist. Cronquist still has its uses,
despite the rather obsolete classification.

Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545
--
Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545

Frank Reichenbacher wrote:
I am looking for a single volume synopsis of plant systematics for the
world. Cronquist '68 was limited to flowering plants, I would like
everything in Plantae.

You want descriptions of all families, and an explanation
of the family circumscription, and references to related
families. Anything else?

No such book exists; it sounds as if, for your purposes,
you would do best to buy a used copy of Cronquist's book.

There is "Families and Genera of Vascular Plants", which is
a multivolume series: the series is very good, but most
volumes are still in preparation and the ones in print
each cost several hundred dollars US.

There is "Angiosperm Families" (also known as "Families of
Flowering Plants") by Watson and Dallwitz. The source is
an online database, with derivative HTML web pages etc.:
http://biodiversity.bio.uno.edu/delta/angio/. You could
download each of the over 500 families they describe into
a PDA or print each family's description and lug with you.
The downloads are free.

Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545
--
Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545

"Una Smith" wrote in message
...
Frank Reichenbacher wrote:
I am looking for a single volume synopsis of plant systematics for the
world. Cronquist '68 was limited to flowering plants, I would like
everything in Plantae.

You want descriptions of all families, and an explanation
of the family circumscription, and references to related
families. Anything else?

No such book exists; it sounds as if, for your purposes,
you would do best to buy a used copy of Cronquist's book.

There is "Families and Genera of Vascular Plants", which is
a multivolume series: the series is very good, but most
volumes are still in preparation and the ones in print
each cost several hundred dollars US.

There is "Angiosperm Families" (also known as "Families of
Flowering Plants") by Watson and Dallwitz. The source is
an online database, with derivative HTML web pages etc.:
http://biodiversity.bio.uno.edu/delta/angio/. You could
download each of the over 500 families they describe into
a PDA or print each family's description and lug with you.
The downloads are free.

This is very nice Una, I thought I had searched every corner of the Net for
complete online source. I guess not. Thanks.

Frank




Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545
--
Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS K-710, Los Alamos, NM 87545