When Rolf Dahlgren and I embarked on preparing this book series, Rolf took prime responsibility for monocotyledons, which had interested him for a long time. After finishing his comparative study and family classification of the monocots, he devoted much energy to the acquisition and editing of family treatments for the present series. After his untimely death, Peter Goldblatt, who had worked with him, continued to handle further incoming monocot manuscripts until, in the early 1990s, his other obligations no longer allowed him to continue. At that time, some 30 manuscripts in various states of perfection had accumulated, which seemed to form a solid basis for a speedy completion of the FGVP monocots; with the exception of the grasses and orchids which would appear in separate volumes. I felt a strong obligation to do everything to help in publishing the manuscripts that had been put into our hands. I finally decided to take charge of them personally, although during my life as a botainst I had never seriously been interested in monocots.

Conspectus of Families Treated in This Volume

General References
Acoraceae
Alismataceae
Anarthriaceae
Aponogetonaceae
Araceae
Bromeliaceae
Butomaceae
Cannaceae
Centrolepidaceae
Commelinaceae
Costaceae
Cymodoceaceae
Cyperaceae
Dasypogonaceae
Ecdeiocoleaceae
Eriocaulaceae
Flagellariaceae
Haemodoraceae
Hanguanaceae
Heliconiaceae
Hydatellaceae
Hydrocharitaceae
Joinvilleaceae
Juncaceae
Juncaginaceae
Lemnaceae
Limnocharitaceae
Lowiaceae
Marantaceae
Mayacaceae
Musaceae
Najadaceae
Palmae
Philydraceae
Pontederiaceae
Posidoniaceae
Potamogetonaceae
Rapateaceae
Restionaceae
Ruppiaceae
Scheuchzeriaceae
Strelitziaceae
Thurniaceae
Typhaceae
Xyridaceae
Zannichelliaceae
Zingiberaceae
Zosteraceae
Index of Scientific Names.