Review

The title of this volume is a bit misleading. Apart from Rosaceae also the Chrysobalanaceae (two autochthonous species) and the Neuradaceae (one species) are treated. The bulk, however, concerns the Rosaceae in the more restricted and generally adapted sense. In India 32 genera of this family, comprising some 450 species, are autochthonous. Nine genera are treated in this volume, four ( Aruncus, Neillia, Sorbaria, and Spiraea) belonging to the subfamily Spiraeoideae and five ( Agrimonia, Alchemilla, Filipendula, Geum, and Sanguisorba) to the Rosoideae. Most of the genera have only few species (1 to 6) in India but Spiraea has 31 and Alchemilla has 26. The second part of the series is now in production and will contain studies on Rosa, some Maloideae and Prunus of the Amygdaloideae. The treatment is largely based on Purohit’s unpublished doctor’s thesis written under the direction and on instignation of the second author. These regional revisions summarize a large amount of information not only on morphology but also on distribution, anatomy, karyology, ecology, chemistry (and some little on uses). In several places theoretical taxonomy is amply considered too, among others in the chapter on “principles for recognition of taxonomic categories in relation to the Rosales”, but also in the introduction to the revision of Alchemilla where the concept of microspecies is elaborated. There are also special discussion paragraphs on distribution patterns, endemism, and on evolutionary trends in the family as far as India is concerned.