Structure and function of plants

Abstract

I was really pleased to have been given the opportunity to review this book. After all, structure and function is the aspect of botany closest to my own interests. So, anticipating some sort of modern-day version of Haberlandt's famous Physiological plant anatomy text, it was with great expectation that I opened MacAdam's book and explored the contents. The book's first five chapters – The Plant Cell; Plant Meristems and Tissues; Plant Roots; Plant Stems; and Plant Leaves and Translocation – are fine; you can see a definite ‘structure’ theme to these topics. In particular, in Chapter 5 you can feel a marked integration of structure and its functional dimension. However, the remaining nine chapters go far beyond the structure–function theme and is the main issue I have with the book. It is not the structure–function text its title led me to expect; instead it is a general botany text. Whilst there is nothing wrong with that, the onus must be upon the author/publisher to make it clear that this is the case – a better title would go a long way towards achieving that. Accordingly, the remaining chapters deal with the general botanical topics of: Reproduction in Flowering Plants; Plant Nutrition; Plant Water Relations; Macromolecules and Enzyme Activity; Photosynthesis; Respiration; Environmental Regulation of Plant Development; Hormonal Regulation of Plant Development; and Secondary Plant Products. The book is completed with an 18-page glossary; a reference section (a mix of very up-to-date ones, and other much older – ‘classic’? – ones, but on balance too few); and ten pages of index. One aspect of the book deserving of comment concerns the illustrations. On the plus side, abundant colour is used throughout, which I liked, and illustrations are numerous and of a good size to be seen clearly. However, it seems strange nowadays that a plant cell (Fig. 1.1), a mitochondrion (Fig. 1.13 – whose cristae are unlabelled and appear misleadingly as blobs free in the matrix) and a chloroplast (Fig. 1.14) should be illustrated solely by diagrams. Surely, suitably labelled TEM images could have been used? From an accuracy point of view some of the legends are in need of amendment. For instance, Fig. 6.12 shows an Antirrhinum inflorescence, but is labelled as foxglove in the legend. However, there is a bigger issue with Fig. 4.17, which shows bark of ‘sycamore’ yet is described as Platanus. The term ‘sycamore’ in the UK refers to Acer pseudoplatanus (a maple); whereas in North America sycamore refers to trees of the genus Platanus (known as plane trees in Europe). Proof of the value of using unambiguous scientific names, and a cautionary tale for publishers of books designed to have international appeal – many commonly-used terms do not travel far beyond national borders. In terms of topicality, the book appears up-to-date; e.g. it includes aquaporins, molecular motors and the identification of florigen as FT protein, but coverage is a little patchy in places. For example, the Hormonal Regulation chapter provides a good introductory-level summary of the ‘classical’ five plant growth regulators yet does not mention salicyclic acid, jasmonates or brassinolides. Elsewhere the book goes into great depth about historic aspects of some topics at the expense of dealing with matters of more pressing concern. For example, it provides a nice summary of the discovery of the biochemistry of photosynthesis; however, at over three pages this seems a luxury – especially so when topical subjects such as plant response to stress, climate change and biotic interactions are hardly covered at all. Also, ranging from very detailed and advanced considerations of factors influencing the balance between photosynthesis and photorespiration to the different types of flower arrangement, yet claiming to be ‘for introductory students … and plant enthusiasts’, I wonder if the book is clear on its intended audience and whether it serves their interests fully without perhaps intimidating them. Given that we now know this is a general botany text, almost any other plant biology textbook is a competitor. But if we limit consideration to the book's intended audience – which the publisher advises us is ‘undergraduates, faculty, extension faculty, and members of Master Gardener programs’, then it does its job reasonably well. Structure and function will withstand scrutiny alongside Capon (2005) and Ingram et al. (2008) as an introductory-level text: it would not fare so well against more substantial textbooks such as Smith et al. (2009 – see the following review, below), which are aimed at more advanced or specialist students. On balance, providing you are aware that this is a general plant biology text – largely aimed at an introductory level – you will find much of value here.