Rheophytes of the World

Book excerpt: Descent of mountain plants along rivers. Definition of a rheophyte. The rheophytes as a biological group. Parellel development in adaptive features. How to recognize rheophytes? The sources. Rheophytes in drought areas. Census of rheophytic plants. Swift-running water. Riparian plants. Riparian rheophytes. Rare rheophytes. Facultative rheophytes. Completeness. Plan of the work. The habitat. Climate. The medium. The substratum. The concept ecological niche in botany. The ecological niche for the rheophytes. Morphology and ecology. Hydrophytic rheophytes. Torrenticolous rheophytes. Rheophytic landplants. Distribution of rheophytes. Geographical survey of the literature. South America. Extra-tropical South America: Argentina. Tropical South America: Bolivia. Amazon basin. Surinam. Venezuelan Guyana. Latitude and altitude of rheophytes. Rheophytes in seasonal and drought zones: seasonal climate. Rheophytes and bedrock. Systematic arrangement of the rheophytes. Geographical arragement of the rheophytes. Endermism in rheophytes. Rheophytes in oceanic islands. Largest ranges among the Rheophytes. Rheophytes and palaeogeography. Sociology of the Rheophytes. Cultivation of Rheophytes. Why are Rheophytes confined to Streambeds? The riddle of the willow-like leaf-shape. Autonomous evolution and the derivation of the Rheophytes.