This book provides an important reference guide to pollen and spore identification for Chinese Quaternary palynological studies. Presenting and describing more than 400 color photomicrographs of pollen grains and spores retrieved from sediments in China, it offers a unique asset for researchers, graduate students, and newcomers to the field of Quaternary palynology, which constitutes a major aspect of Quaternary paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and paleogeography.

The National Botanical Research Institute came into being as the 13th among a chain of National Laboratories established during April, 1953 under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research by the Govt. of India for advanced research in fields of specialisation which have a direct bearing on socio-economic, industrial and scientific advancement of the nation. Christened initially as National Botanic Gardens, the nucleus around which the institution took shape under its founder- Director Late Prof. K. N. Kaul, was a large herbarium of Indian flora and a centu- old botanical garden spread over 35 ha of land on the banks of River Gomti in the heart of Lucknow city. It’s a matter of great pleasure and profound satisfaction to me that a Golden Jubilee volume entitled, “Pteridology in the New Millennium” is being published and released during the Golden Jubilee year of NBRI in the honour of Professor B. K. Nayar who laid the foundation of the Pteridology Laboratory of the NBRI, which is now a well equipped laboratory for the study of Indian pteridophytes. Professor Nayar is a holistic Botanist as evident through his contributions and publications in almost all the areas of study of Pteridophyta. The contribution of Professor Nayar towards the development of modern Pteridology and the role of NBRI in it is indeed great and very important. His publications will be valuable for the younger generation of scientists in the field as well as for the more mature research workers and teachers.

This book constitutes a unique, encyclopedic reference work that systematizes and categorizes for the first time in such comprehensive fashion all known fern spores. The dominant feature of the work are the over 350 plates of electron micrographs showing the morphological characteristics of typical representatives of each spore type. The purpose of the book is to provide a complete survey of the available data on the fine structure and composition, development, and evolu- tionary significance of different types of spore walls, which have proven resistant to fossilization throughout geological ages. The classification system developed by the authors as the result of many years of research will be a point of reference, if not "the" systematic basis, for all future publication on the subject. The book will be of great interest to all botanists and evolutionary biologists working with spores and/or ferns, but it will also be of major importance to paleobotanists, palynologists, stratigraphers, and exploration geologists, since the focus of this treatise is on spores as highly adapted and longlived reproductive forms.

Over 30 papers, from internationally recognized palynologists, are brought together in Pollen and Spores: Morphology and Biology, covering topical and current research from a wide range of pollen related disciplines. These include development and ontogeny, pollen variability within populations, theoretical modelling, pollen morphology and ultrastructure, pollen evolution, fossil pollen and Quaternary palynology. Published in association with The Linnaean Society, The Natural History Museum and the Systematics Association.