This illustrated study provides comprehensive coverage of plant breeding systems. At the levels of both the individual plant and of the plant population, genetic variation and evolutionary change are ever-present, and it is clear that they are heavily influenced by plant mating patterns.;The breeding system is considered as part of an overall adaptive syndrome that influences, and is influenced by, microevolutionary constraints. Pollination biology, gene flow, incompatibility, variation in gender, heteromorphic systems, self-fertilization, and asexual reproduction can all be important components of a breeding system. Introductory chapters place these in the context of sexual theory and sexual function.