"The genus Mitrephora (Annonaceae) comprises 47 species of small to medium-sized trees, growing in tropical lowland and submontane forests throughout Southeast Asia. The centers of diversity lie in Borneo, where there are 12 species, and the Philippines, where there are 11 species. The flowers are pendent and hermaphroditic, with two whorls of petals, of which the outer petals are larger. The inner petals are apically con-nivent over the productive structures, forming a partially enclosed pollination chamber with small apertures between the basal claws of the petals that enable entry by pollinators. A field study of the pollination ecology of M. heyneana in Sri Lanka (the first such study for the genus) revealed pollination by small nitidulid beetles, although it is possible that other species may be fly-pollinated. This monograph is the first comprehensive taxonomic revi-sion of the genus. The work is based on a comprehensive study of comparative morphology and anatomy, including a survey of previously published work. Conservation assessments are provided for each species, according to current IUCN Red List categories and criteria. All species are mapped and many are illustrated with line drawings and/or photographs. Separate keys for flowering and fruiting material are included, as well as regional keys. Seven new species (M. amdjahii, M. endertii, M. kostermansii, M. multifolia, M. sorsogonensis, M. sundaica, and M. uniflora) and one new combination (M. macrocarpa) are proposed"--Publisher's description.

Monograph of the genus Pseuduvaria (Annonaceae) - taxnomic history, morphology and anatomy, distribution, taxonomy (keys, full synonymies, descriptions, maps), line drawings, color plates.

Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of herbal products. Plant-based remedies have been used for centuries and have had no alternative in the western medicine repertoire, while others and their bioactive derivatives are in high demand and have been the central focus of biomedical research. As Medicinal plants move from fringe to mainstream with a greater number of individuals seeking treatments free of side effects, considerable attention has been paid to utilize plant-based products for the prevention and cure of human diseases. An unintended consequence of this increased demand, however, is that the existence of many medicinal plants is now threatened, due to their small population size, narrow distribution area, habitat specificity, and destructive mode of harvesting. In addition, climate change, habitat loss and genetic drift have further endangered these unique species. Although extensive research has been carried out on medicinal and aromatic plants, there is relatively little information available on their global distribution patterns, conservation and the associated laws prevailing. This book reviews the current status of threatened medicinal plants in light of increased surge in the demand for herbal medicine. It brings together chapters on both wild (non-cultivated) and domestic (cultivated) species having therapeutic values. Thematically, conventional and contemporary approaches to conservation of such threatened medicinal plants with commercial feasibility are presented. The topics of interest include, but not limited to, biotechnology, sustainable development, in situ and ex situ conservation, and even the relevance of IPR on threatened medicinal plants. We believe this book is useful to horticulturists, botanists, policy makers, conservationists, NGOs and researchers in the academia and the industry sectors.

"Program summarizes information on 2900 timbers-yielding species and has been extended with a search facility for wood properties and an interactive wood-anatomy identification system".

Descent of mountain plants along rivers. Definition of a rheophyte. The rheophytes as a biological group. Parellel development in adaptive features. How to recognize rheophytes? The sources. Rheophytes in drought areas. Census of rheophytic plants. Swift-running water. Riparian plants. Riparian rheophytes. Rare rheophytes. Facultative rheophytes. Completeness. Plan of the work. The habitat. Climate. The medium. The substratum. The concept ecological niche in botany. The ecological niche for the rheophytes. Morphology and ecology. Hydrophytic rheophytes. Torrenticolous rheophytes. Rheophytic landplants. Distribution of rheophytes. Geographical survey of the literature. South America. Extra-tropical South America: Argentina. Tropical South America: Bolivia. Amazon basin. Surinam. Venezuelan Guyana. Latitude and altitude of rheophytes. Rheophytes in seasonal and drought zones: seasonal climate. Rheophytes and bedrock. Systematic arrangement of the rheophytes. Geographical arragement of the rheophytes. Endermism in rheophytes. Rheophytes in oceanic islands. Largest ranges among the Rheophytes. Rheophytes and palaeogeography. Sociology of the Rheophytes. Cultivation of Rheophytes. Why are Rheophytes confined to Streambeds? The riddle of the willow-like leaf-shape. Autonomous evolution and the derivation of the Rheophytes.

The Ecology of Papua provides a comprehensive review of current scientific knowledge on all aspects of the natural history of western (Indonesian) New Guinea. Designed for students of conservation, environmental workers, and academic researchers, it is a richly detailed text, dense with biogeographical data, historical reference, and fresh insight on this complicated and marvelous region. We hope it will serve to raise awareness of Papua on a global as well as local scale, and to catalyze effective conservation of its most precious natural assets. New Guinea is the largest and highest tropical island, and one of the last great wilderness areas remaining on Earth. Papua, the western half of New Guinea, is noteworthy for its equatorial glaciers, its vast forested floodplains, its imposing central mountain range, its Raja Ampat Archipelago, and its several hundred traditional forest-dwelling societies. One of the wildest places left in the world, Papua possesses extraordinary biological and cultural diversity. Today, Papua’s environment is under threat from growing outside pressures to exploit its expansive forests and to develop large plantations of oil palm and biofuels. It is important that Papua’s leadership balance economic development with good resource management, to ensure the long-term well-being of its culturally diverse populace.

Fifteen years ago, approximately half the world population was estimated to live in continental and insular South-East Asia (Burma, Thailand, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines). Then the region had a population growth of four million people every month, and the problem of malnutrition was acute for the rural population. International agricultural development organisations decided that their primary aim would be to double existing levels of agricultural production and, taking account of population growth, to double it again by the end of the century (Whyte 1976). Today, while global issues have greatly affected the parameters of the problem, the situation remains both serious and difficult. Despite impressive efforts in education and health, Indonesia for example, where population (179 millions) growth eased off only slightly between 1980 and 1990 (from 2. 3 percent to 1. 9 percent), is having to cope with increasing difficulties in managing natural resources and particularly its evanescent forest assets which, until 1986, were the second largest source of national revenue. Indonesia has the second largest surface area of tropical rain forests in the world (after Brazil) and thus all the problems linked with management and disappearance of those forests. The latest estimate gives a figure of 109 million hectares of forest in 1990, of which 40. 8 million hectares are production forests (Anon. -F AO 1990).