From the reviews: "...the present work is an invaluableaddition to the literature on reproductive biology ofplants... Few botanists today are better qualified than vander Pijl to write on dispersal (and pollination) biology...an excellent up-to-date treatment of a long neglectedsubject... this splendid volume is unlikely to be surpassedfor quite some time..." Science I. Introduction.- A. The Place of Dispersal in the Chain of Life.- B. Limitations and Objections.- C. History and General Literature.- II. General Terminology.- III. The Units of Dispersal.- Vegetative Parts in Dispersal and False Vivipary.- IV. The Relation Between Flowers, Seeds and Fruits.- A. Seed and Fruit.- B. Morphological Fruit Systems.- C. Morphological Interaction Between Fruit and Flower.- D. Inadequacy of Current Fruit Terminology.- V. Ecological Dispersal Classes, Established on the Basis of the Dispersing Agents.- A. General.- B. Invertebrates.- C. Fishes and Ichthyochory.- D. Reptiles and Saurochory.- E. Birds and Ornithochory.- F. Mammals and Mammaliochory.- G. Ants and Myrmecochory.- H. Wind and Anemochory.- J. Water and Hydrochory.- K. Epizoochory, Transport on the Outside of Animals in General.- L. Autochory, Dispersal by the Plant Itself.- M. Barochory, Dispersal by Weight Only.- N. Retrospective View.- VI. Dispersal Strategy and the Biocoenosis.- A. Atelochory.- B. Polychory and Attendant Phenomena.- C. Concluding Remarks on Synecology.- VII. Establishment.- A. General.- B. Fixation.- C. Vivipary.- D. Germination.- VIII. The Evolution of Dispersal Organs in General.- A. Aims.- B. Isosporous Pteridophytes.- C. Heterosporous Pteridophytes with Free Megaspores.- D. Pteridosperms.- E. Gymnosperms (or Pre-Angiosperms).- F. Angiosperms.- IX. Ecological Developments in Leguminous Fruits.- X. Dispersal and the Evolution of Grasses.- A. Comparison with Cyperaceae.- B. Return to Gramineae (i.c. Oryzeae).- C. Bambusoid Grasses.- D. Bamboos.- E. Open Plains and Higher Grasses.- F. Some More Remarks on Awns and on Establishment.- G. Retrospective Views.- XI. Man and His Plants in Relation to Dispersal.- References.- Index of Scientific Plant Names.- Index of Scientific Animal Names.
