Austral Hepaticae Part I-III (complete set, 2000-2021)

Complete set comprising:

Part I – covers the larger genera of Hepaticae which are each illustrated with several plates and emphasis is on “key” genera which occupy critical phylogenetic positions, such as Lepidozia, Pseudocephalozia and Paracromastigum.

Part II – treats two of the largest and most complex suborders of the order Jungermanniales. The first suborder, the Cephaloziineae, includes some four families, of which the largest and most complex, the Cephaleziaceae, contains five subfamilies, with some 12 genera. The second suborder, the Jungermannlineae, includes some six families, ten subfamilies, and 40 genera.

Part III – finally, treats the two large families: Geocalyaceae (including Lophocoleoideae), Plagiochilaceae, and several smaller families including Acrobolbaceae and Balantiopsidaceae.

Schusters legacy is a classification that remains recognisable as largely his, particularly at deeper phylogenetic levels. Professor Schuster had strong views on character evolution, and framed his interpretation of character evidence and relationships in accordance with these.

The enduring value of Schusters work, despite some revision of our understanding of relationships wrought by molecular phylogenetic investigations, lies in the wealth of astute observation and superb illustration of morphology and anatomy completed by Professor Schuster. As a compendium of morphological character data the three parts of Austral Hepaticae are unsurpassed, and will be particularly valuable as morphological and molecular data are synthesised in future studies of character evolution in the hepatics.

Professor Schuster was possibly the last hepaticologist to have such a detailed and world-wide understanding of these families and was able, as a single individual, to produce a coherent and comprehensive classificatory scheme that encompasses all leafy liverworts. For regional workers on the hepatic flora this work provides a broad, cohesive, and synthetic overview of relationships, which serves the dual purpose of facilitating identification of the plants, in addition to communicating hypotheses regarding their relationships.