Written by specialists in the field, the papers in this volume explore evolution of animals and plants on the deserts of North America, South America, and Australia. Together, the articles constitute a complete survey of the geological history of the deserts of three continents, the evolution of the animals and plants of those deserts, and their adaptations to the environments in which they live.

The first paper, by Otto T. Solbrig, discusses the flora of the South American temperate and semidesert regions, citing numerous genera and reasons that they are found in the different...