The long-awaited fourth edition of a classic text, which considers the implications of new advances and challenges in our understanding of the evolution of flowering plants. It has been fully revised for the molecular era, and will continue to be an authoritative resource for students in the field.

We are in the midst of a biological revolution. Molecular tools are now providing new means of critically testing hypotheses and models of microevolution in populations of wild, cultivated, weedy and feral plants. They are also offering the opportunity for significant progress in the investigation of long-term evolution of flowering plants, as part of molecular phylogenetic studies of the Tree of Life. This long-awaited fourth edition, fully revised by David Briggs, reflects new insights provided by molecular investigations and advances in computer science. Briggs considers the implications of these for our understanding of the evolution of flowering plants, as well as the potential for future advances. Numerous new sections on important topics such as the evolutionary impact of human activities, taxonomic challenges, hybridisation and speciation, and the molecular genetic basis of breeding systems will ensure that this remains a classic text for both undergraduate and graduate students in the field.