Leaf and Cuticle Atlas of Australian Leafy Lauraceae

Book excerpt: The Lauraceae are a large family of about 50 genera and over 2500 species, with a mainly pantropical distribution. Within Australia, there are 8 genera and 130 species. One genus (Cassytha, 23 species) consists of virtually leafless semiparasitic lianes. The others are leafy trees or shrubs, confined mainly to forest communities. This book provides, for the first time, a complete description and illustration of the venation and cuticle characters of the leafy members of the family of Australia. The Lauraceae are strongly represented in suites of fossil leaves from the early (Eocene) and Middle (Miocene) Tertiary of Australia. Many of these fossils are currently unnamed, and this book should provide a most useful tool for palaeobotanists wishing to place fossils in context with modern taxa. The book provides an independent suite of characters that will complement the descriptions of the gross morphology and reproductive structures of the family in Flora of Australia Volume 2.