vi PREFACE 



parison can be made. General conclusions are given at the end of the 

 account of each of the major divisions of the plant kingdom, viz., algae, 

 fungi, bryophytes, pteridophytes, and spermatophytes. Here are 

 emphasized the evolutionary tendencies within the group, its contribu- 

 tions to the evolution of the plant kingdom, and the interrelationships 

 of its classes. 



This book is designed for use in a two-semester course with adequate 

 laboratory work. It is intended to follow a course in general botany, 

 where the student has gained a knowledge of such material as the many 

 available elementary textbooks present. In particular, the student 

 should understand the cytological relations involved in alternation of 

 generations, including the behavior of the chromosomes in vegetative 

 mitosis, fertilization, and meiosis. Much material properly belonging 

 to the special fields of plant anatomy, cytology, and taxonomy has been 

 omitted from the present work, especially in the treatment of the angio- 

 sperms. Emphasis is placed throughout on the evolution of the plant 

 kingdom as revealed by a comparative study of the morphology of the 

 main groups. At the end of the book a list of supplementary readings 

 has been added. These will serve to introduce the student to the current 

 literature dealing with special groups and topics. 



More than two-thirds of the illustrations are original, and most of 

 these have not hitherto been pubhshed elsewhere. Some have been 

 taken from the author's earlier writings. Of the figures borrowed from 

 the works of others, for which credit is given in every case, almost all 

 have been redrawn and are designated in the legends by the word "after." 



The author is indebted for many valuable suggestions to his colleague, 

 Prof. Orda A. Plunkett, and to H. R. Bennett of Chicago, who read 

 Chap. IV; to Prof. P. Maheshwari, University of Delhi, India, who read 

 Chaps. VIII and IX, and to Prof. Paul D. Voth, The University of 

 Chicago, who read the entire manuscript. The author is also grateful 

 to his wife for making some of the slides from which illustrations have 

 been made and for much assistance in proofreading. 



Arthur W. Haupt 

 Los Angeles, Calif. 

 April, 1953 



