Variation and Evolution in Plants
Encyclopedia
Variation and Evolution in Plants is a book written by G. Ledyard Stebbins
, published in 1950. It is one of the key publications embodying the modern evolutionary synthesis
, as the first comprehensive publication to discuss the relationship between genetics and natural selection in plants. The book has been described by plant systematist Peter H. Raven
as "the most important book on plant evolution of the 20th century" and it remains one of the most cited texts on plant evolution.
The book is based on the Jesup Lectures that Stebbins delivered at Columbia University
in October and November 1946 and is a synthesis of his ideas and the then current research on the evolution of seed plants in terms of genetics.
The book is written in fourteen parts:
The 643-page book cites more than 1,250 references and was the longest of the four books associated with the modern evolutionary synthesis. The other key works of the modern evolutionary synthesis, whose publication also followed their authors' Jesup lectures, are Theodosius Dobzhansky
's Genetics and the Origin of Species
, Ernst Mayr
's Systematics and the Origin of Species
and George Gaylord Simpson
's Tempo and Mode in Evolution
. The great significance of Variation and Evolution in Plants is that it effectively killed any serious belief in alternative mechanisms of evolution for plants, such as Lamarckian evolution
or soft inheritance
, which were still upheld by
some botanists.
Stebbins book Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level
was published in 1974 and was based on the Prather Lectures which he gave at Harvard. It is considered as an update to Variation and Evolution.
In January 2000 a colloquium was held in Irvine, California
, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Variation and Evolution in Plants. A 16 chapter book entitled Variation and evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins (ISBN 0-309-07099-6) was released to mark the occasion.
G. Ledyard Stebbins
George Ledyard Stebbins, Jr. was an American botanist and geneticist who is widely regarded as one of the leading evolutionary biologists of the 20th century. Stebbins received his Ph.D. in botany from Harvard University in 1931. He went on to the University of California, Berkeley, where his work...
, published in 1950. It is one of the key publications embodying the modern evolutionary synthesis
Modern evolutionary synthesis
The modern evolutionary synthesis is a union of ideas from several biological specialties which provides a widely accepted account of evolution...
, as the first comprehensive publication to discuss the relationship between genetics and natural selection in plants. The book has been described by plant systematist Peter H. Raven
Peter H. Raven
Peter Hamilton Raven is a botanist and environmentalist, notable as the longtime director, now President Emeritus, of the Missouri Botanical Garden.-Early life:...
as "the most important book on plant evolution of the 20th century" and it remains one of the most cited texts on plant evolution.
The book is based on the Jesup Lectures that Stebbins delivered at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in October and November 1946 and is a synthesis of his ideas and the then current research on the evolution of seed plants in terms of genetics.
The book is written in fourteen parts:
- Description and analysis of variation patterns
- Examples of variation patterns within species and genera
- The basis of individual variation
- Natural selection and variation in populations
- Genetic systems as factors in evolution
- Isolation and the origin of species
- Hybridization and its effects
- Polyploidy I: occurrence and nature of polyploid types
- Polyploidy II: geographic distribution and significance of polyploidy
- Apomixis in relation to variation and evolution
- Structural hybridity and the genetic system
- Evolutionary trends I: the karyotype
- Evolutionary trends II: External morphology
- Fossils, modern distribution patterns and rates of evolution
The 643-page book cites more than 1,250 references and was the longest of the four books associated with the modern evolutionary synthesis. The other key works of the modern evolutionary synthesis, whose publication also followed their authors' Jesup lectures, are Theodosius Dobzhansky
Theodosius Dobzhansky
Theodosius Grygorovych Dobzhansky ForMemRS was a prominent geneticist and evolutionary biologist, and a central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the unifying modern evolutionary synthesis...
's Genetics and the Origin of Species
Genetics and the Origin of Species
Genetics and the Origin of Species is a 1937 book by the twentieth century Ukrainian-American evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky and one of the important books of the modern evolutionary synthesis. The book describes the Modern Synthesis of Evolution Theory, also known as Synthetic...
, Ernst Mayr
Ernst Mayr
Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
's Systematics and the Origin of Species
Systematics and the Origin of Species
Systematics and the Origin of Species from the Viewpoint of a Zoologist is a book written by zoologist and evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr that was first published in 1942...
and George Gaylord Simpson
George Gaylord Simpson
George Gaylord Simpson was an American paleontologist. Simpson was perhaps the most influential paleontologist of the twentieth century, and a major participant in the modern evolutionary synthesis, contributing Tempo and mode in evolution , The meaning of evolution and The major features of...
's Tempo and Mode in Evolution
Tempo and Mode in Evolution
Tempo and Mode in Evolution was George Gaylord Simpson's seminal contribution to the evolutionary synthesis, which integrated the facts of paleontology with those of genetics and natural selection....
. The great significance of Variation and Evolution in Plants is that it effectively killed any serious belief in alternative mechanisms of evolution for plants, such as Lamarckian evolution
Lamarckism
Lamarckism is the idea that an organism can pass on characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring . It is named after the French biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , who incorporated the action of soft inheritance into his evolutionary theories...
or soft inheritance
Soft inheritance
Soft inheritance is the term coined by Ernst Mayr to include such ideas as Lamarckism, that an organism can pass on characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring. It contrasts with modern ideas of inheritance, which Mayr called hard inheritance...
, which were still upheld by
some botanists.
Stebbins book Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level
Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level
Flowering Plants: Evolution Above the Species Level is a book written by evolutionary biologist and botanist G. Ledyard Stebbins which was first published in 1974....
was published in 1974 and was based on the Prather Lectures which he gave at Harvard. It is considered as an update to Variation and Evolution.
In January 2000 a colloquium was held in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Variation and Evolution in Plants. A 16 chapter book entitled Variation and evolution in Plants and Microorganisms: Toward a New Synthesis 50 Years After Stebbins (ISBN 0-309-07099-6) was released to mark the occasion.