Research Advances in the Compositae

The volume presents modern research approaches for understanding evolution among members of the family Compositae. The symposium from which the work is derived foregrounded chemical and serological tech- niques, choroplast DNA restrictive site analyses as well as classical methods for investigating the systematics of the family. The usefulness for systematics of serological studies of the main seed storage protein of members of the Compositae and the way patterns of secondary plant constituents in the tribes Vernonieae and Heliantheae can aid in understanding phylogenetic relationship are emphasized. The systematics of the large genus Vernonia was cladistically investigated while experimental taxonomy methods indicated that reproductive isolation is the dom- inant isolating factor in Heliantheae, with geographical isolation occurring in about two thirds of the taxa. This valuable research volume will encourage continued research in the domain of evolutionary botany by plant systematists and phytochemists.