Abstract
IN view of the great importance of Calluna in diverse types of vegetation, a monograph, which aims at bringing together all that is known about this plant, will be very welcome to the ecologist. The author has sifted a large volume of literature and, where needful, has supplemented available information by his own investigations so that information on a wide diversity of topics is provided. Considerable space is devoted to a consideration of external and internal structure, as well as of the life-history, and this is copiously illustrated. Occasional points are obscure; for example, it is difficult to follow the data on cork-development on p. 34. On the ecological side the monograph falls a little short of the ideal. Thus, there is but little information on such topics as rooting depth, seedling mortality, and regeneration after fire, while the British reader would no doubt seek more data than are afforded on the vegetation-types in which Calluna plays a part. The subject-matter is well arranged, but for a treatise of this size some kind of index would have been desirable.
Calluna
A Monograph on the Scotch Heather. By W. Beijerinck. (Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Neder-landsche Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afdeeling Natuurkunde, Sectie 2, Deel 38, No. 4.) Pp. 180 + 30 plates. (Amsterdam: N. V. Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1940.) 7.50 fl.
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F., F. [Short Reviews]. Nature 145, 1005 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/1451005d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1451005d0