The Geography of Phytochemical Races

Abstract.- Zusammenfassung.-1.Introduction.-2.Examples within Continents:2.1. Africa (including Madagascar).- 2.2.Australia and New Zealand.- 2.3.Europe.- 2.4.The Mediterranean Basin.-2.5.Asia.-2.6South America.-2.7.North and Central America.-3. After the Ice:3.1.North America.-3.2. North American Conifers.-3.3.Europe.-3.4.South America.-4. Intercontinental Disjunctions:4.1Across the Atlantic Ocean.-4.2.Across the Indian Ocean (primarily).-4.3.North Pacific-4.4.South Pacific.-4.5.Western Pacific:Asia, Japan, and the Philippines.-5.Wide Disjunctions:5.1.Vascular Plants.-5.2..Nonvascular Plants.-6.Oceanic Islands:6.1.Galapagos Islands.-6.2.Hawaiian Islands.-6.3.Southern Pacific.-6.4. Juan Fernandez Islands.-6.5.Lord Howe Island.-6.6.Ullung Island, Korea.- 6.7.Tristan da Cunha and the Falklands.-6.8.Kerguelen Islands.-6.8.Macaronesia.-7. Polar Disjunctions:8.Conclusions:Bibliography

This book provides an overview of geographic patterns in the distribution of plant secondary metabolites in natural populations. Examples include most common natural product classes: acetylenic derivatives; alkaloids; carotenoids; cyanogenic glycosides; flavonoids; terpenes of various sizes; as well as other structural types less easily categorized. By comparison, earlier reports in the literature on “chemical races” focused either on individual classes of compounds, on specific taxa, or on a particular geographic region.
Following an introduction that includes definitions of phytochemical and biogeographic ideas, information is presented in five loosely defined geographic trans-oceanic categories: examples within continents; after the ice; intercontinental disjunctions; oceanic islands; and polar disjunctions.
It has often been said that natural variation is the essence of evolution. It seems reasonable to suggest that this is as true with plant secondary metabolites as with any other feature that confers an advantage to one set of individuals over antiherbivore or antifungal activity of plants as they colonize new habitats, and thus meet new challenges; or subtle changes in floral pigmentation and patterning that would affect behavior of pollinators.

First book containing an overall survey of natural product distribution pattern variation