A stem refers to one of the primary structural axes of a vascular plant, while the other part is root. It provides support to fruits, leaves and flowers. It is also responsible for generating new living tissue, storing nutrients, and transporting water and dissolved substances among the shoots and roots in the phloem and xylem. There are two parts of the stem which include nodes and internodes. The majority of plants have stems that are above ground whereas certain plants contain underground stems. There are three types of tissues found in a stem, namely, vascular tissue, dermal tissue and ground tissue. The dermal tissue normally covers the exterior surface of the stem and is responsible for protecting, waterproofing and regulating gas exchange. The ground tissue is primarily made up of parenchyma cells and surrounds the vascular tissue. It occasionally plays a role in the process of photosynthesis. Vascular tissue is responsible for long-distance transport as well as structural support. This book provides comprehensive insights into the anatomy of the plant stem. It is an essential guide for both academicians and those who wish to pursue this discipline further.

This atlas gives a unique assemblage of microscopic slides of wood anatomy and of the respective species in nature and demonstrates the reaction of stem anatomy to environments in which plants form woody stems. It provides insight into the evolution of wood, to the variation of wood anatomy in response to climate and disturbances, and it gives an introduction to the methodology used to study wood. Special attention has been given to the unique feature of secondary growth. In color throughout and with more than 700 both beautiful and instructive illustrations, the wide-ranging scientific content of this book makes it both attractive and unique.

This work, published in two volumes, contains descriptions of the wood and bark anatomies of 3000 dicotyledonous plants of 120 families, highlighting the anatomical and phylogenetic diversity of dicotyledonous plants of the Northern Hemisphere. The first volume principally treats families of the Early Angiosperms, Eudicots, Core Eudicots and Rosids, while the second concentrates on the Asterids. Presented in Volume 1 are microsections of the xylem and phloem of herbs, shrubs and trees of 1200 species and 85 families of various life forms of the temperate zone along altitudinal gradients from the lowland at the Mediterranean coast to the alpine zone in Western Europe. The global perspective of the findings is underlined by the analysis of 500 species from the Caucasus, the Rocky Mountains and Andes, the subtropical zone on the Canary Islands, the arid zones in the Sahara, in Eurasia, Arabia and Southwest North America, and the boreal and arctic zones in Eurasia and Canada. The presence of annual rings in all life forms demonstrates that herbs and dwarf shrubs are an excellent tool for the reconstruction of annual biomass production and the interannual dynamic of plant associations. The common principle of the anatomical expression of secondary growth is a key factor in understanding evolution and adaptation processes in all life forms, from the 2 cm tall whitlow grass (Draba arctica) in the arctic to the 40 m tall beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Central European managed forests. The study opens vast fields of research for dendrochronology, wood anatomy, taxonomy and ecology.

This book presents light microscopic anatomical images of aquatic and wetland plant stem. It features double-stained cross- and longitudinal sections of almost 400 species of vascular plants from the lowland to the alpine zone in Central Europe, including plants from lakes, ponds, rivers, bogs, fens, wet meadows, saline meadows, tall herb associations and alpine snow beds. The microscopic photographs at various magnifications are supplemented with detailed anatomical descriptions. For each species it provides a photo of the whole plant, a short morphological and ecological description as well as indications about its world- and Central European distribution. The book includes a hydrobotanical and an anatomical section. The hydrobotanical section describes the ecological classification of aquatic and wetland plants and explains major ecophysiological processes e.g., photosynthesis, mineral nutrition, gas exchange, adaptations to soil anoxia, turion formation and ecology. The anatomical section highlights the variety of structures and anatomical features of vascular plants in all wet environments.

This work, published in two volumes, contains descriptions of the wood and bark anatomies of 3000 dicotyledonous plants of 120 families, highlighting the anatomical and phylogenetic diversity of dicotyledonous plants of the Northern Hemisphere. The first volume principally treats families of the Early Angiosperms, Eudicots, Core Eudicots and Rosids, while the second concentrates on the Asterids. Presented in Volume 2 are microsections of the xylem and phloem of herbs, shrubs and trees of 1000 species and ca. 35 families of various life forms of the temperate zone along altitudinal gradients from the lowland at the Mediterranean coast to the alpine zone in Western Europe. Special attention is given to the very diverse family of Asteraceae. The global perspective of the findings is underlined by the analysis of 400 species from the Caucasus, the Rocky Mountains and Andes, the subtropical zone on the Canary Islands, the arid zones in the Sahara, in Eurasia, Arabia and Southwest North America, New Zealand and the boreal and arctic zones in Eurasia and Canada. The presence of annual rings in all life forms demonstrates that herbs and dwarf shrubs are an excellent tool for the reconstruction of annual biomass production and the interannual dynamic of plant associations. The common principle of the anatomical expression of secondary growth is a key factor in understanding evolution and adaptation processes in all life forms, from the 3 cm tall crepide pigmea (Crepis pygmaea) in the alpine zone to the 40 m tall ash (Fraxinus excelsior) in Central European riparian forests. The study opens vast fields of research for dendrochronology, wood anatomy, taxonomy and ecology.

This is the first book to provide comprehensive information on the anatomy and ecology of arctic and alpine plants from cold sites around the globe, including representative species from Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, Himalaya, Japan, Argentina, Ecuador and Western USA. It presents the study sites, including characteristic landscape and vegetation photographs. It also discusses species distribution, habitat preferences and features plant pictures, particularly focusing on the specific stem anatomical features, which differ in many cases from temperate zone herbs. Furthermore, each plant is characterized according to a newly constructed codification system. Based on the first author’s 20-years of field research, a close collaboration with numerous botanical gardens, and the vast ecological experience of the other authors, the book presents approximately 350 species. The general layout is comparable to Doležal et al’s 2018 book Anatomy, Age and Ecology of High Mountain Plants in Ladakh, the Western Himalaya.