Abstract
The work deals mainly with the morphological and anatomical investigation
of some Thymelaeaceae occurring in the Mediterranean, S. W. and C. Asiatic
regions. It broadly falls into four parts.
#1. Part A is a short introductory section, defining scope and aims.
#2. In parts B and C, the variation in morphological and anatomical
characters is surveyed. This includes studies on the stem, leaf, in-
florescence, flower, sex -distribution, fruit and seed, etc. Synoptic
descriptions of five genera are given. The species of Stelleropsis
and Dendrostellera are transferred to Diarthron, involving fifteen new
combinations. The relationships of the genera are discussed and
evolutionary trends in the family pointed out.
#3. Part D includes a taxonomic revision of Thymelaea itself. The
classification proposed is purely phenetic in origin and is intended
to replace the existing one by Brecher (1941). Four sections, seven
subsections and thirty species are recognized. One new species,
T. gattefossei, is described.
The thesis is illustrated by 65 figures, 9 plates, 1$ maps and accompanied
by two appendices, an index and cited references.
