Biosystematics of the New Zealand Flora, 1945–1964

Abstract

Modern taxonomy (Davis and Heywood, 1963) attempts (1) to provide a convenient method of identification and communication; (2) to arrive at a classification which as far as possible expresses the natural relationships of organisms; and (3) to detect evolution at work, discover its processes, and interpret its results. Like any other branch of science, it has grown enormously in content, in concept, and in method over the past 20 and more years. The descriptive studies of comparative morphology and distribution, anatomy, embryology, palaeobotany, and palynology have become more and more conjoined and to them have been added the experimental and analytical methods of genetics and cytology, genecology, statistics (numerical taxonomy), and chemistry (chemotaxonomy).