Valdés, B., M. J. Díez, and I. Fernández (editors), 1987.

Reviewed by D. J. Batten, Institute of Earth Studies, University College
of Wales, Aberystwyth, U.K., in CAP Newsletter 13(1):18-19, 1990.

This substantial, multi-authored book is largely devoted to descriptions and illustrations of pollen grains of plants that grow in the western Andalucian provinces of Huelva, Cádiz, Sevilla and Córdoba. It is aimed to be used primarily as a point of reference for studies on pollen from other areas of the Iberian Peninsula as well as from northwest Africa. Altogether, not far short of 600 types of pollen are dealt with. Among the omissions are representatives of the Cymodoceaceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Zosteraceae, for which it was not possible to obtain any grains suitable for study.

The introduction to the volume is eight pages long and includes a paragraph on material, a slightly longer section on methods, and observations on some of the characters of pollen grains and the terms used to describe them; these are arranged under the headings - polarity, symmetry, form, size, exine and apertural system. The next "chapter" consists of a lengthy key (39 pages) to the pollen types described and illustrated in the 346 pages in double-column format (unlike the rest of the book) which follow it. It is necessary to read the introduction to the volume before it is possible to understand the meaning of the abbreviations used in the descriptions and in the captions for the transmitted light photographs (e.g., c.o.m. for corte opticó meridiano). These figures, which are mostly positioned in pairs occupying the width of a column, are generally good, but some are very pale. The scanning electron micrographs are mainly twice as big and range in quality from poor (variously out of focus, grainy, too bright, too dark, no contrast) to excellent. Among the best are some at high magnifications showing sculptural and apertural details, and wall structure. Morphological information is inevitably lost from micrographs that are of poor quality. This not only reduces their value but also frustrates the reader who knows that with better instrumentation or technique, more satisfactory images could have been produced.

These criticisms should not, however, put off potential purchasers. I have not regretted buying my copy. The large number of pollen-types covered (albeit from less than a quarter of the species of higher plants known from western Andalucia and including only four of gymnospermous origin), the combination of transmitted light photographs and scanning electron micrographs, the useful descriptions, and the extensive bibliography make this a valuable addition to the literature. I recommend it not only to palynologists who are concerned primarily with extant plants but also as a useful reference for those who work on fossil angiosperm pollen.