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Plant Science Bulletin archiveIssue: 1998 v44 No 1 Spring
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| PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN ISSN 0032-0919 Published quarterly by Botanical Society of America, Inc., 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 The yearly subscription rate of $15 is included in the membership dues of the Botanical Society of America, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Columbus, OH and additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Kim Hiser, Business Manager Phone/Fax: 614/292-3519 email: hiser3@osu.edu |
President's Report: Council of Scientific Society Presidents
The Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) is an organization of presidents or other representatives of about sixty scientific federations and societies whose combined membership numbers well over 1.4 million scientists and science educators. The BSA has been a member for about six years, along with at least five other plant-related societies, American Society of Agronomy, American Society for Horticultural Science, American Phytopathological Society, American Society of Plant Physiologists, and Crop Science Society of America, as well as Ecological Society of America.
The goals of the CSSP are to "facilitate cooperation across multiple scientific disciplines; deliberate and adopt public policy positions and act upon the science research and education issues of national or international scope; develop ways to enhance the public understanding and appreciation of science; foster scientific research, science study, and dissemination of discoveries; and provide a mechanism for communicating among the various scientific disciplines through the presidents of scientific societies." The CSSP is based in Washington, DC, with offices in the American Chemical Society Headquarters. The current Chair of CSSP is a plant scientist, Dr. Jaleh Daie, from the University of Wisconsin and representing the Association for Women in Science, and the Executive Director is Dr. Martin Apple, an expert on science policy matters who has a scientific interest in crop plant engineering.
The CSSP meets twice a year in Washington, D.C. I attended the December 6 - 9, 1997 meeting this year which was organized around a series of Workshops, Issue Forums, and Task Force meetings. A workshop on Cyberspace Issues focused on "promising experiments" - societies such as the American Psychological Association, Association for Computing Machinery, and American Physical Society which have electronic publishing underway and full text journals available on line from at least 1990 onwards. The discussion centered around copyright issues, how to handle preprints and reprints, and pricing structures. These societies all had various subscription packages (print only, print and electronic, electronic only) and hearing their experiences was informative. All are larger than the BSA, however, and the experiments were still too new to answer "What is the effect of electronic publishing on member and institutional subscriptions and the financial health of the society?"
A second workshop on "Achieving a world class math/science education" focused on strategies for improving the effectiveness of educational research, and a forum on "Invasion of non-native flora and fauna" addressed issues related to invasive plants, animals, microbes and transgenic crops. This year I served as co-chair of the CSSP International Science Task Force. We invited John Boright, Director for International Affairs of the National Academy of Sciences and John Schumacher, External Affairs, NASA to lead a discussion about the role of science and technology in informing foreign policy. The need for a science advisor in the State Department was identified as a priority and we drafted a letter to Madeline Albright, Secretary of State, offering the services of the CSSP membership as a direct link to credible, respected experts on wide range of scientific questions. The CSSP meeting closed with a series of briefings on Congressional science policy, led by the Honorable Vern Ehlers, Vice Chair of the House Science Committee.
On the whole, I believe that participation in CSSP is beneficial to the Botanical Society of America. The meetings foster an exchange of ideas with other societies with similar interests or of similar sizes. Knowledge and concerns of other societies and the CSSP as a whole can be helpful to the BSA, such as previous experience with electronic publishing or the development of an ethics statement. Also, participation in CSSP activities allows us to share our efforts and experiences with many other societies, such as the BSA Education Committee has done through the CSSP Math/Science Education Task Force.
Nancy Dengler, President
1998 BSA Annual Meeting
Baltimore, Maryland - 2 - 6 August, 1998
The Botanical Society of America (BSA) will hold its annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland from August 2 to 6, 1998, at The Baltimore Convention Center. This meeting is being organized in cooperation with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). Additional societies participating in these meetings include the: American Fern Society (AFS), American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT), Association of Systematics Collections (ASC), Association of Tropical Biology (ATB), Ecological Society of America (ESA), International Society of Ecological Modeling (ISEM) and Torrey Botanical Society. For more information on the BSA Meeting, consult the BSA website at http://www.botany.org/bsa/meetings.html.
The theme of the 1998 AIBS Meeting will be "Managing Human-Impacted Systems." The AIBS Plenary Session, Sunday evening at the Baltimore Convention Center, will feature. "Restoring the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem: A Challenge for Science and Society," presented by Donald Boesch.
A wide variety of field trips and workshops are scheduled all week. Scheduled field trips include: The U.S. National Arboretum, Wetlands and an Old Growth Forest Near Baltimore, Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula, and Canoeing and Exploring the Patuxent River Ecosystems Scheduled Worksops include: "Invasive Species-Science, Management and Policy Options," "AQUATOX Fate and Effects of Pollutants Model," and "Plant Communities of the Potomac Gorge" Pre-College and Education Workshops include: "Plant Activities for Pre-College Classrooms." "Investigation-Based Teaching for K-12 Teachers," "Schoolyard Ecology for Elementary School Teachers," and "Teaching College Biology: Roles for Professional Societies."
Register before May 31 for a discount! Two rates are available - individuals registering before 31 May will receive the discount noted below: Regular - Pre-registration (before 31 May) $175, after 31 May $225. Student - Pre-registration $85, after 31 May $110. Pre-College Educator - Pre-registration $100, after 31 May $125. Companion - Pre-registration $40, after 31 May $40.. For more information, consult the AIBS website at http://www.aibs.org/ or contact Marilynn Maury, AIBS Meetings Director, voice: 703-834-0812, x203; fax: 703-834-1160; email: (mmaury@aibs.org)
Editorial Committee for Volume 44
| James D. Mauseth (1997) Department of Botany University of Texas Austin, TX 78713 |
Allison A. Snow (1998) Department of Plant Biology Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 |
Nickolas M. Waser (1999) Department of Biology University of California Riverside, CA 92521 |
| P. Mick Richardson (2000) Missouri Botanical Garden P.O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166 |
Vicki A. Funk (2001) Department of Botany Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 |
BSA Symposia for 1998 Annual Meeting
Committees of the Botanical Society of America, 1997 - 1998
Nominations Reopened: 1998 Jeanette Siron Pelton Award in Plant Morphogenesis
The Conservation and Research Foundation has recently approved several changes in its guidelines for the Jeanette Siron Pelton Award in Plant Morphogenesis. In particular, the Foundation made senior investigators also officially eligible for the award, and thus, the Pelton Award Committee of the BSA is reopening the nomination process in order to seek additional nominations for both junior and senior investigators. All individuals nominated following the previous call for nominations will automatically be considered along with any new nominations received before the new deadline listed below. Subject to the anticipated approval by the appropriate changes in the BSA by-laws in early 1998, the expanded guidelines for nominating, selecting, and awarding a winner of the 1998 award are:
The Pelton Award Committee is actively seeking nominations for the 1998 Jeanette Siron Pelton Award in Plant Morphogenesis. This prestigious award, including $1,000 prize, travel expense stipend, and certificate, is given to junior investigators exhibiting exceptional promise or to senior investigators for sustained excellence in the field of plant morphogenesis. The particular subdiscipline of the nominee's research may be molecular biology, cell biology, and/or organismal biology. Previous award winners are: R.H. Wetmore (1969), C.W. Wardlaw (1970), P.B. Green (1972), P.K. Hepler (1975), B.E.S. Gunning (1978), L.J. Feldman (1980), T.J. Cooke (1983), T. Sachs (1985), S.D. Russell (1988), E.M. Lord (1989), R.S. Poethig (1993), E.M. Meyerowitz (1994), and S. Hake (1996). The award is not restricted as to sex, nationality, or society affiliation of the recipient. It is anticipated that the award winner will present a special seminar at the annual BSA meetings. A nominating letter should describe the nature of the nominee's contributions to the field of plant morphogenesis and include the full citations of key papers or books that have resulted in the nomination. Please send the nomination before 15 April 1998 to: Fred D. Sack, Chair, Pelton Award Committee, Department of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1293 (e-mail: sack.1@osu.edu).
- Todd Cooke
News from the Sections
Ecological Section Offers Student Travel Grants
The Ecological Section will make small grants ($50 - $100) available to graduate or undergraduate students to help defray travel expenses to the 1998 annual BSA meeting. The student must be presenting a talk or a poster on an ecological topic. A letter of application should include the title of the presentation, the amount requested, and an explanation of the need for the financial support. Applications should be sent to Brenda Casper, Ecological Section Chair, Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6018 no later than May 1, 1998.
Northeastern Section Botanical Field Meeting
June 21-25, 1998
The 1998 Annual Joint Field Meeting of the Northeastern Section of the Botanical Society of America, the Torrey Botanical Society, and the Philadelphia Botanical Club will be held at Johnson State College in the Green Mountains of north central Vermont.
Field trips are planned to examine vegetation in a variety of habitats including bogs, fens and montane areas. Evening programs will address the geology of the region as well as topics of local botanical interest.
The cost is $225 per person including double occupancy dormitory housing (single occupancy available at $265), all meals, buses, leaders, speakers and handouts. Space is limited. Application Deadline is May 8, 1998. For details and registration forms, please contact: Field Meeting Chairperson Ursula Joachim, 10 Bryant Crescent #21, White Plains, NY 10605, or call 914-428-6304.
Economic Botany Section Officer Update
Plant Science Bulletin has received the following updated listing for Sectional Officers of the Economic Botany Section:
- *Chairperson (1999)
- David Lentz
- New York Botanical Garden
- Bronx, NY 10458-5126
- E-mail:
Secretary-Tresaurer (2000)
Daniel K. Harder
Missouri Botanical Garden
P.O. Box 299
St. Louis MO 63166
E-mail: harder@mobot.org
(* = Section Representative to the Council)
Paleobotanical Section
Special offer: Back volumes of the "Argumenta Palaeobotanica"
Between 1966 and 1991 eight volumes of the "Argumenta Palaeobotanica" were published by the late Prof. Dr. Winfried Remy. Most of the contributions are by the Münster palaeobotany group, but also papers by reknown authors from other institutes were included. The first four issues each consist of a text volume with a separate atlas. The printing quality of these plates is simply superb. In the later volumes the plates are bound with the text. Several benchmark papers were published in the 'Argumenta Palaeobotanica'. Especially noteworthy are modern classics like the papers by Winfried Remy and his coworkers on the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert flora, including descriptions of the anatomically preserved gametophytes. A complete list of the contents of all eight volumes can be found on our homepage: ( http://www.uni-muenster.de/GeoPalaeontologie/Palaeo/Palbot/arg.html)
These issues are now available for strongly reduced prices. A complete set of all eight volumes is offered for US $50.- plus postage. We still have a reasonable number of copies of all volumes, though some of the 24 plates of Vol 1 are getting scarce; missing plates will be replaced by good quality xerox copies.
All the money raised by selling "Argumenta Palaeobotanica" volumes will be used to strengthen the Remy & Remy Fund, a fund that was instituted last year at the Santa Barbara meeting by the Paleobotanical Section of the Botanical Society of America. This fund will be used for instituting the Remy & Remy award that will be given each year for the best palaeobotanical/palynological publication of the foregoing year. Further information on the Remy & Remy Fund can be found elsewhere in this newsletter.
"Argumenta Palaeobotanica" volumes can be ordered from Hans Kerp or North American colleagues can order a set from Thomas N. Taylor. Orders will be handled on a first come first serve basis. Volumes will be sent by surface mail unless airmail is specifically requested. You will receive a separate bill with detailed payment instructions.
Take your chance to complete your library and support the Remy & Remy Fund!
| Hans Kerp Abt. Paläobotanik - WWU Hindenburgplatz 57-59 D-48143 Münster, Germany e-mail: (kerp@uni-muenster.de) |
Thomas N. Taylor |
1998 Annual Meeting of the
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PAST - PRESIDENT’S SYMPOSIUMG. Ledyard Stebbins and plant evolutionary biology in the next millennium (half-day). Organizer: Daniel J. Crawford, Department of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, phone 614/292-2725, fax 614/292-6345, e-mail <crawford.13@osu.edu>.
DEVELOPMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL SECTIONHeterochrony in plants (half-day). Organizers: Elizabeth M. Harris, Department of Botany, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, phone 217/581-6608, fax 217/581-7141, e-mail <cfemh@eiu.edu>; and Christine M. Kampny, Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, phone 352/335-6343, fax 352/392-3993, e-mail <cmk@flmnh.ufl.edu>.
ECOLOGICAL SECTIONConsequences of plant responses to spatial and temporal heterogeneity (half-day). Organizers: Irwin S. Forseth, Department of Plant Biology, e-mail <isf@umail.umd.edu>; and D. Alexander Wait, Department of Zoology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, phone 301/405-1629, fax 301/314-9081, e-mail <await@wam.umd.edu>.
ECONOMIC BOTANY SECTIONEconomic Botany and Ethnobotany: Subjects that generate interest in plants (half-day). Organizers: David L. Lentz, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458, phone 314/577-9503, fax 314/220-6504, e-mail <dlentz@nybg.org>; and Robert J. Reinsvold, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO 80639, phone 303/351-2716, fax 303/351-1269, e-mail <rjreins@bentley.univnorthco.edu>.
GENETICS SECTION, TROPICAL BIOLOGY SECTIONPopulation genetics and gene flow in tropical plants (half-day). Organizers: Matthew B. Hamilton, Smithsonian Institution, National Zoological Park, Genetics, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, phone 202/673-4677, fax 202/673-4686, e-mail <mhamilton@igc.apc.org>; Preston Aldrich, Smithsonian Institution NMNH, Department of Botany, MRC-166, Washington, DC 20560, phone 202/357-4808, fax 202/786-2563, e-mail <aldrichp@nmnh.si.edu>; W. John Kress, Smithsonian Institution NMNH, Department of Botany, MRC-166, Washington, DC 20560, phone 202/357-3392, fax 202/786-2563, e-mail <kressj@nmnh.si.edu>; and Chris Dick, Harvard University Herbaria, 22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138, phone 617/496-2380, fax 617/495-9484, e-mail <cdick@oeb.harvard.edu>.
PHYSIOLOGY SECTIONAmerican beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) (half-day). Organizer: Peter Straub, Natural Sciences and Mathematics Division, Richard Stockton College, Pomona, NJ 08240, phone 609/652-4556, fax 609/748-5515, e-mail <pete.straub@stockton.edu>.
PTERIDOLOGY SECTION/AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY (AFS)Conservation biology of pteridophytes [Part I] [Part II] (full day). Organizer: Thomas A. Ranker, EPO Biology, Campus Box 334, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309; phone 303/492-5074, fax 303/492-8699, e-mail <thomas.ranker@colorado.edu>.
SYSTEMATICS SECTION/AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANT TAXONOMISTS (ASPT)The relation of phylogeny and species distributions to spatial environmental parameters (half-day). Organizer: Gerald F. Guala, Department of Botany, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, phone 352/392-1721, fax 352/392-3993, e-mail <stinger@ufl.edu>.
Plants on demand: Research using living collections in Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (half-day). Organizer: Nancy R. Morin, American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, 351 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348, phone 610/925-2500, fax 610/925-2700, e-mail <morin@mobot.org>.
ASPT Colloquium: Systematics of the North American Senecioneae (half-day). Organizer: Theodore Barkley, Herbarium-Division of Biology, Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506; phone 913/532-6619, fax 913/532-6656, e-mail <herbksc@ksu.edu>."
BSA Committees for 1998 - 1999
Revised 4/27/99Standing Committees:
ANNUAL MEETING COMMITTEE
- Wayne Elisens (1999) (Chair)
- The Secretary of each Section
ARCHIVES AND HISTORY COMMITTEE (2 members; 5 year terms)
- Alan Whittemore (1999) (Chair)
- Darleen DeMason (2000), Immediate Past Secretary, ex officio
- Ronald Stuckey (2005)
COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES (6 appointed members; 3 year terms)
- Douglas Soltis (1999), President Elect, Chair, ex officio
- Susan Kephart (1999)
- Andrea Wolfe (1999)
- Cynthia Jones (2000)
- Bijan Dehgan (2000)
- Gar Rothwell (2001)
- Richard McCourt (2001)
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
CONSERVATION COMMITTEE (6 members; 3 year terms)
- Kayri Havens (1999) (Chair)
- Kathleen Shea (1999)
- Larry Zettler (2000)
- Kaius Helenurm (2000)
- Diane Elam (2001)
- William Hahn (2001)
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS COMMITTEE (Past Presidents)
- Nancy Dengler (2001), ex officio
- Daniel Crawford (2000), ex officio
- Barbara Schaal (1999), ex officio
DARBAKER PRIZE COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Daniel Wujek (1999) (Chair)
- Annette Coleman (2000)
- David Garbary (2001)
EDUCATION COMMITTEE (6 members; 3 year terms)
- David W. Kramer (2001) (Chair)
- Carol Baskin (1999), President, ex officio
- Donald S. Galitz, (1999), Secretary of the Teaching Section, ex officio
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
- Daniel Gilmore (1999)
- Page Owen (1999)
- Joe Leverich (2000), Editor of the Plant Science Bulletin, ex officio
- Chester Wilson (2000)
- J.S. Shipman (2000)
- Steve Rice (2001)
ELECTION COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Nancy Dengler (1999), Past President, ex officio (Chair)
- Christopher Haufler (1999)
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
- Darlene Southworth (2000)
- John LaClaire (2000)
ESAU AWARD COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Thomas L. Rost (1999) (Chair)
- Jean Gerrath (2000)
- Phil Gibson (2001)
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
- Carol Baskin (2000), President
- Nancy Dengler (1999), Past President
- Douglas Soltis (2001), President Elect
- Wayne Elisens (1999), Program Director
- Scott Russell (1999), Council Representative
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary
- Edward L. Schneider (2001), Treasurer
FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Harry T. Horner (2001), (Chair) Representing Carol Baskin, President, ex officio
- Joseph Armstrong (2000)
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
- Judy Jernstedt (2001)
- Charles Daghlian (2001)
- Edward Schneider (2001), Treasurer, ex officio
- John LaDuke (1999)
KARLING AWARD COMMITTEE (6 members; 3 year terms)
- Jeffrey Osborn (2000) (Chair)
- Cynthia Jones (2000)
- Kathleen Kron (2001)
- Diane Greene (2001)
- Carolyn Howes Keiffer (2001)
- George Yatskievych (2000)
MEMBERSHIP AND APPRAISAL COMMITTEE (5 members; 5 year terms)
- Leo Bruederle (2000) (Chair)
- David Giannasi (2001)
- Kathleen Shea (2002)
- Diane Marshall (2002)
- Donald Hauber (2003)
- Wayne Elisens (1999), Program Director, ex officio
MERIT AWARDS COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Gregory Anderson (1999) (Chair)
- Carol Baskin (1999), President, ex officio
- John Doebley (2000)
- Linda Graham (2001)
MOSELEY AWARD COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Jeffrey Osborn (1999) (Chair)
- Larry Hufford (2000)
- Michael Frohlich (2001)
PELTON AWARD COMMITTEE (3 members; 3 year terms)
- Fred Sack (2000), Chair
- Lewis Feldman (1999)
- Michael Christianson (2001) Scott Russell (2002)-->
- Edward Schneider (2001), Treasurer, ex officio
- Kim Hiser, Business Office Manager, ex officio
WEBPAGE COMMITTEE (5 members; 3 year terms)
- Scott Russell, Webmaster & Chair
- Pamela Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
- David W. Kramer (2001), Education Committee Chair, ex officio
- Joe Leverich, Editor, PSB ex officio
- Karl Niklas, Editor, AJB ex officio
- Kimberly Hiser, Office Manager, ex officio
Ad Hoc Committees:
MEETINGS ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE
- Wayne Elisens, Chair
- Brent Mishler
- Carol Baskin
- Judy Verbeke
- Barbara Schaal
PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
- J. S. Shipman, Chair
- Stanley Rice
- American Journal of Botany
- Karl Niklas, Editor-in-Chief
- Plant Science Bulletin
- Joe Leverich, Editor
- Editorial Committee for Volume 44
- Allison Snow (1998)
- Nikolas M. Waser (1999)
- Mick Richardson (2000)
- Vicki Funk (2001)
- Ann E. Antlfinger (2002)
Representatives to Various Organizations:
AAAS COUNCIL
- Vacant
AIBS COUNCIL
- Judith Verbeke (2001)
ASSOCIATION OF SYSTEMATICS COLLECTIONS
- Laurence E. Skog (2003)
BIENNIAL INCORPORATION, STATE OF CONNECTICUT
- Kent E. Holsinger (1998)
COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY PRESIDENTS (EACH THIRD PRESIDENT-ELECT)
- Nancy Dengler (1999)
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMISSION ON LIFE SCIENCES BOARD OF BASIC BIOLOGY
- Pam Soltis (2000), Secretary, ex officio
INTERNATIONAL BOTANICAL CONGRESS, 1999
- Barbara Schaal (1999)
Commentary, Personalia, Obituaries
Commentary
International Trade in Endangered Species: How can we help?
The US Fish and Wildlife Service seeks suggestions and information from the scientific community for species amendments and resolutions for consideration at the 11th Conference of the Parties (COP II) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to be held in Indonesia in December 1999. CITES is an international treaty designed to control and regulate international trade in certain animal and plant species that are currently or may become threatened with extinction as a result of trade. Live specimens, parts, or products of species protected under CITES are required to be accompanied by proper CITES documentation whenever imported and/or exported. Currently, 143 countries are CITES Parties, including the United States. Parties to CITES hold biennial meetings to consider amendments to the list of species in Appendices I and II, and make recommendations for the improved effectiveness of CITES. As part of its effort to increase the role of the scientific community in the development of proposals that may be submitted by the United States at COP II, the Service solicits relevant information that will help the Service identify species that are candidates for addition, removal, or reclassification in the appendices, or to identify issues warranting attention from the CITES technical committees. Interested individuals may provide relevant informaiton or submit well-documented proposals concerning wild animal or plant species occurring anywhere in the world. For more information contact Dr. Susan S. Lieverman at the Office of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Room 750, Arlington, VA 22203, phone: 703-358-1708, e-mail: susan_lieberman@fws.gov.
- Susan S. Lieverman
Information Request: Petiveria alliacea
Editor:
As a researcher in the Research Institute for Spice Medicinal Crops. Indonesia, I am really interested to do agronomic research regarding Petiveria alliacea Linne. To support this activity I have tried to search any information, including biology, physiology, and agronomic aspects of this plant. I would be so grateful if I could get any of this information. Sincerely yours,
| - Muchamad Yusron Research Institute for Spice and Medicinal Crops Jalan Tentara Pelajar No. 3 Bogor 161111, Indonesia tel; 0251-321879; fax: 0251-327010 |
Personalia
Stephen A. Spongberg Named Executive Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum
The Polly Hill Arboretum announced the appointment of Stephen A. Spongberg as its first Executive Director, effective February 16, 1998. Recognized as one of the world's leading horticulturists, Mr. Spongberg is currently the Horticultural Taxonomist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.
Appointed to the staff of the Arnold Arboretum in 1970 after receiving his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mr. Spongberg has played a major role in the recent development of Arnold's living collection, library, and herbarium. Colleagues cite his quiet, effective leadership and emphasize that Mr. Spongberg "is known particularly for his ability to address or write to audiences ranging from interested amateur to professional scientist with each coming away with a wealth of new information." In recognition of his service to the Arnold Arboretum, Mr. Spongberg will become Curator Emeritus when he assumes his responsibilities at the Polly Hill Arboretum.
Author of more than fifty publications, Mr. Spongberg is a leading scholar of north temperate woody plants, specializing in studies of magnolias, stewartias and mountain ashes. Mr. Spongberg's recent book, Reunion of Trees, is already recognized as the standard on the history of plant exploration, and was designated by the American Horticultural Society in 1997 as one of the "75 Great American Garden Books."
Mr. Spongberg participated in a number of plant collecting expeditions in China, and serves on a number of international commissions and organization boards. He was the editor or the Journal of the Arnold Arboretum and currently sits on the editorial boards of the Harvard Papers in Botany, Arnoldia, and The New Plantsman, published by the Royal Horticultural Society.
In 1996, Mr. Spongberg received the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal, considered one of the highest accolades in the world of horticulture. Presented annually since 1873 by England's Royal Horticultural Society for outstanding contributions to the "science and practice of horticulture," it is the highest award the Society can make to a non-British citizen. Mr. Spongberg is one of only fifteen American recipients of the medal since its inception.
Mr. Spongberg has had a long warm friendship with Polly Hill, and he has greatly admired and supported her studies. For the past forty years, Polly Hill has been investigating which woody plants will grow at her arboretum on Martha's Vineyard. Most of her plants have been grown from seed. Approximately eighty of her selections have been designated as original cultivars, including rhododendrons, magnolias, stewartia, hollies, conifers and dogwoods.
The Polly Hill Arboretum, located in North Tisbury, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard, contains more than 1,600 taxa displayed in a rural landscape setting. Dedicated as an educational and horticultural institution for students of all ages, the Arboretum will officially open to the public on Memorial Day, May 25, 1998.
Craig Greene Named to First Endowed Chair at College of the Atlantic
College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, has received a $1 million gift from the family of the late Elizabeth Battles Newlin of Northeast Harbor, Maine, and Philadelphia to endow a chair in Botany, the first endowed professorship in the history of the College. Dr. Craig Greene, who has taught botany there since 1980 and is an authority on rare and endangered plants of coastal Maine, has accepted a five-year appointment as the Newlin Chair.
Dr. Greene holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a Masters in Science in plant taxonomy from the University of Alberta and a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University. Among the courses he teaches at COA are plant taxonomy, morphology and diversity of plants, economic botany, natural history, biology and genetics. In his role as associate dean of advanced studies, Dr. Greene is responsible for administration of the college's Masters of Philosophy in human ecology program.
Dr. Greene is recognized as a leading authority on the taxonomy of the grass genus Calamagrostis, the reedgrasses, and on the flora of the Mt. Desert Island region of Maine. His interests also include reproductive biology of flowering plants. For over a decade, he has collaborated with Dr. Christopher Campbell and his students at the University of Maine in studying shadbush (genus Amelanchier), which is especially abundant and diverse on Mt. Desert Island. He was principal investigator for several plant inventories undertaken by Acadia National Park, including a recent survey of freshwater aquatic vegetation. He is a member of the Botanical Advisory Group of the Maine State Planning Office and has served as a consultant for the State of Maine Critical Areas Program.
Dr. Greene's research has appeared in a number of scientific publications, including The American Journal of Botany, The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California and Vascular Plants of British Columbia. He is a contributing author to the Grass Manual of North America and the Flora of North America, both of which are in preparation.
In Memoriam: Prof. Gilbert A. Leisman
The Botanical Society has been notified that Prof. Gilbert A. Leisman of Emporia, Kansas, a member of BSA since 1954, passed away in November 1996.
James A. Weber, 1944-1998
Long-time Botanical Society member James A. Weber passed away January 7, 1998. Jim suffered a fatal heart attack while riding his bicycle home from work on January 7, 1998.
Born in Santa Monica, California, Jim earned the received an A.A. from El Camino Community College. He later received an A.B. in botany from the University of California at Berkeley 1966. At The University of Michigan, he earned an A. M. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1973) in botany, specializing in the physiology and ecology of turion formation in Myriophyllum. He held a variety of positions at The University of Michigan Biological Station: Post-Doctoral Scholar (1973-1978), Assistant Research Scientist (1978-1988), Associate Research Scientist (1988). In the autumns of 1983 and 1984, he was a Visiting Researcher at the Lehrstuhl für Botanik II der Universität in Würzburg, Germany. In September, 1988 Jim joined Environmental Protection Agency laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon as a Research Plant Physiologist. He was a member of the research team investigating the effects of tropospheric ozone (smog) on ecological resources in the U.S. Over the 10 years Jim was at EPA, he published over 15 research papers and 2 book chapters. Jim's research contributed significantly to the most recent changes in the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for tropospheric ozone to protect crops and forests in the U.S. He held a courtesy faculty position since 1992 in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University.
Professional society memberships included the American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Society of Plant Physiologists, Botanical Society of America, Ecological Society of America, International Society for Ecological Modelling, Northwest Scientific Society, Society of the Sigma Xi (serving as Secretary, Oregon State University Chapter, from 1992 to his death). He served as an Editorial Review Board member for Tree Physiology from 1993 to his death. He served as Co-Editor of The Michigan Botanist Editor (1984-1988), and was a member of several native plant societies, mushroom clubs, and conservation organizations.
Jim is survived by his wife of 27 years, Nancy, of Corvallis.
Announcements, Nominations, Applications, Positions
Call for Nominations
Remy and Remy Paleobotanical Award
The Paleobotanical Section of the Botanical Society of America has established the Remy and Remy Paleobotanical Award to honor Winfried and Renate Remy for their long standing research on the Rhynie chert. Professor Remy was a Corresponding Member of the Botanical Society of America. Nominations are solicited for the first Remy and Remy Paleobotanical Award to recognize the best published paper in the fields of paleobotany and palynology in a recognized international journal. Nominees need not be a member of the Paleobotanical Section or Botanical Society of America. Nominations are to be received by 1 February 1998 and are to include the title of the paper, a brief statement as to the significance and impact of the work, and five copies of the paper. Nomination materials can be sent to either Thomas N. Taylor, Department of Botany, University of Kansas, Lawrence KS 66045, or Professor Hans Kerp, Abt. Paläobotanik - WWU, Hindenburgplatz 57-59, D-4814 3 Münster, Germany.
Lawrence Memorial Award
The award committee of the Lawrence Fund invites nominations for the 1998 Lawrence Memorial Award. Honoring the memory of Dr. George M. Lawrence, founding Director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the Award ($1,000) is given biennially to support travel for doctoral dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences, including literature and exploration.
Major professors are urged to nominate outstanding doctoral students who have achieved official candidacy for their degrees and will be conducting pertinent dissertation research that would benefit significantly from travel enabled by the Award. The Committee will not entertain direct applications. A student who wishes to be considered should arrange for nomination by his/her major professor; this may take the form of a letter which covers supporting materials prepared by the nominee.
Supporting materials should describe briefly but clearly the candidate's program of research and how it would be significantly enhanced by travel that the Award would support. Letters of nomination and supporting materials, including seconding letters, should be received by the Committee no later than 1 May 1998 and should be directed to: Dr. R. W. Kiger, Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 USA. Tel. 412-268-2434.
1998 Darbaker Prize in Phycology
The Botanical Society of America is accepting nominations for the Darbaker Prize in Phycology. This award is presented for meritorious work in the study of microscopical algae. The Darbaker Award Committee will base its judgment primarily on papers published by the nominee during the last two full calendar years (1996-1997). The award is limited to residents of North America and only papers published in the English language will be considered. A monetary prize is presented to the recipient at the BSA society banquet during the annual meeting.
Nominations for the 1998 award should include all reprints of the nominee's work that are to be considered for the 1996-97 period and a statement of the nominee's merits addressed to the committee. The materials must be received no later than April 1, 1998. Please send nomination materials to: Gary L. Floyd, Chair, Darbaker Committee, 936 Kendale Road South, Columbus, Ohio 43220; email - floyd.1@osu.edu
The 1998 Jesse M. Greenman Award
The Greenman Award, a certificate and a cash prize of $1,000, is presented each year by the Missouri Botanical Garden. It recognizes the paper judged best in vascular plant or bryophyte systematics based on a doctoral dissertation published during the previous year. Papers published during 1997 are now being accepted for the 30th annual award, which will be presented in the summer of 1998. Reprints of such papers should be sent to Dr. P. Mick Richardson, Greenman Award Committee, Missouri Botanical Garden, P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-0299, U.S.A. In order to be considered for the 1998 award, reprints must be received by 1 June 1998.
Calls for Applivations
The Furniss Foundation/American Orchid Society Graduate Fellowship
The American Orchid Society solicits applications from graduate students working towards their Ph.D. degree on orchid related dissertations for The Furniss Foundation/ American Orchid Society Graduate Fellowship ($9,000 per annum for up to three years). Interested candidates should submit an outline of their project, college transcript, a letter of recommendation from their chairperson, and a brief, one page statement of the value of their project and its impact on the future of orchidology. The deadline for submission is April 15, 1998. The successful candidate will be notified by June 15, 1998. Send applications to the American Orchid Society, attention Ms. Pam Giust, 6000 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, FL 33405-4199 USA.
1999-2000 Fulbright Awards for U.S. Faculty and Professionals
Opportunities for lecturing or advanced research in over 125 countries are available to college and university faculty and professional outside academe. U.S. citizenship and the Ph.D. or comparable professional qualifications required. For lecturing awards, university or college teaching experience is expected. Foreign language skills are needed for some countries, but most lecturing assignments are in English.
The deadline for lecturing or research grants for 1999-2000 is August 1, 1998. Other deadlines are in place for special programs: distinguished Fulbright chairs in Western Europe and Canada (May 1) and Fulbright seminars for international education and academic administrators (November 1).
Contact the USIA Fulbright Senior Scholar Program, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 3007 Tilden Street, NW, Suite 5M, Box GNEWS, Washington, DC 20008-3009. Telephone: (202) 686-7877. Web Page (on-line materials): http://www.cies.org/; e-mail: (apprequest@cies.iie.org) (requests for mailing of application materials only).
Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships
University of California, Davis
Applications and nominations are invited for Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships, which will be awarded to outstanding young scientists interested in developing careers in structural aspects of plant biology, including studies in which plant structure is integrated with function. Esau Fellowships will be awarded for a period of two years to enable successful candidates to work under the mentorship of a University of California, Davis, faculty member.
Applications/nominations should identify an appropriate faculty mentor(s) and include a curriculum vitae of the candidate, reprints of published works, and brief proposal of the research that would be carried out under this program. The names and addresses of three references are also required.
Requests for information regarding these fellowships should be addressed to Dr. William J. Lucas, Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee, Esau Fellowship Program, Section of Plant Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis CA 95616. Fellowships will be awarded on a bi-annual basis. Deadlines for this on-going program are June 1 and December 1. The University of California is an equal opportunity employer.
Educational Opportunities
Systematics of Tropical Plant Families
May 17-22, 1998 Course I: Dicots
May 24-29, 1998 Course II: Cycads & Monocots
As part of the NSF Chautauqua Short Courses for college faculty, these workshops are designed to facilitate instructors in incorporating tropical plant materials in their courses. They will be conducted at Fairchild Tropical Garden and the Montgomery Foundation, Miami, Florida, where participants are encouraged to photograph and collect specimens. Short lectures will provide orientation to field and technical characters (particularly leaf architecture of dicots), systematic placement and subdivision, and uses of the major tropical families. Costs include travel, lodging, incidentals, a $125 lab fee, and a $40 application fee. Applications available from the Science Education Center, Univ. Texas (512) 471-7354; jamesb@mail.utexas.edu. For questions about content, contact the instructor.
Siskiyou Field Institute
10-17 June 1998
The Siskiyou Field Institute, a science-based environmental education program will begin June 10-17, 1998. The Institute will include a wide range of field courses, such as Geo-Botany, Conservation Biology, Biology of Fishes, Birds of the Siskiyous, Ethnobotany, Nature Writing, etc. Each course will be taught by a leader in their respective areas of study, and many of the courses can be taken for college credit through Southern Oregon University. For more information, contact Jennifer Beigel or Erik Jules at The Siskiyou Regional Education Project, P.O. Box 220, Cave Junction, OR 97523; phone: 541-592-4459; or email: Jen@siskiyou.org.
Recombinant DNA Lab Courses
7-19 June 1998
During the summer of 1998, Indiana University's Department of Biology, in cooperation with the I.U. Division of Continuing Studies, will offer two week-long laboratory courses focusing on the techniques and procedures used in recombinant DNA research and their application. Participants also have the opportunity to work with a DNA sample of their own research organism. Both courses will be taught on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington.
Recombinant DNA Technology - The first course, "Recombinant DNA Technology," will introduce participants to procedures involved in recombinant DNA work and to the molecular aspects of genetic engineering. Most of the procedures that are taught to biology graduate students in the recombinant DNA section of a graduate techniques course at Indiana University will be covered. Participants can make arrangements to isolate genomic DNA from their own research organisms during the course.
The following techniques will be included: DNA and cloning vector manipulation, PCR technology, preparation of recombinant DNA, transformation of bacterial cells, selection and assay of cloned and amplified fragments of "foreign" DNA, transfer of DNA for probing (Southern blot), preparation of nonradioactive DNA probes, and use of web sites in research and teaching. "Recombinant DNA Technology" is designed for those with a basic understanding of the structure of DNA and elemental genetics and with a minimal understanding of enzymes and biochemistry. The course is scheduled for June 7-12, 1998. Registration deadline is May 15.
Application of recombinant DNA Technology: RFLP and Fingerprinting Analysis, RAPD Analysis and DNA Sequencing - This course will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about the materials and techniques used in recombinant DNA research. Participants may bring a DNA sample to sequence during the course. This course will emphasize the following techniques: DNA sequencing using non-radioactive methods, RAPD analysis of genomic DNA, fingerprinting and RFLP analysis of genomic DNA, electroporation of bacterial cells, chemiluminescent detection of nucleic acids, application of computers to DNA sequencing data analysis, preparation of random fragment sequencing libraries and double-stranded DNA for sequencing, use of bioneb cell and bipolymer disruption systems, and use of web-based sites for molecular biology.
A basic understanding of the structure of DNA and elemental genetics is assumed for participants in this short course, as is a minimal understanding of enzymes and biochemistry. Previous experience with PCR or RFLP analysis and DNA sequencing is not a prerequisite, nor is completion of "Recombinant DNA Technology." This course is scheduled for June 14-19, 1998. Registration deadline is May 15.
The instructor for both courses is Dr. Stefan J. Surzycki, Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University. The registration fee for each course is $1,125.00. The fee for those enrolling in both courses is $1,800,00. The fees include all instruction, laboratory supplies, use of equipment, and lab manuals. For additional information, contact Jane Clay, Bloomington Division of Continuing Studies, Indiana University, Owen Hall 204, Bloomington, IN 47405, phone (812) 855-6329, internet Jclay@indiana.edu, web http://www.indiana.edu/~scs/iub/DNA.html.
Positions Available
Plant Scientist
University of California, Riverside
Assistant level Cooperative Extension (CE)/Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) academic career-track appointment (11 months). The Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, is recruiting for a position in the area of subtropical crops with emphasis in citrus and avocado.
Applicants are required to have a Ph.D. in a plant science related field and at least 1 year of postdoctoral experience. The position includes both CE and AES responsibilities, including educational efforts within the citrus and avocado industries, establishing communication channels for conveyance of results from basic and applied research programs to all facets of the subtropical fruit industries, and research on subtropical crops, emphasizing citrus and avocado, using tools of plant physiology, breeding and/or molecular genetics to enhance fruit quality and productivity. Experience with tree crops is preferred but is not essential. Opportunities also exist for supervising graduate students.
The College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has a rich history and an active group of researchers in subtropical agriculture including faculty in the departments of Botany and Plant Sciences, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Nematology, and Soil and Environmental Sciences. UC Cooperative Extension has a national reputation for innovative and independent research and extension programs. Funding opportunities exist from State and Federal agencies, as well as the California Avocado and Citrus industries which currently provide more than 2 million dollars per year in grant support for basic and applied research projects.
Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, transcripts, and arrange to have at least three confidential letters of reference sent to: Dr. Elizabeth M. Lord, Chair, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0124, E-mail: (lord@ucrac1.ucr.edu), Fax: (909) 787-4437, Web Site: ( http://cnas.ucr.edu/~bps/homepage.htm) Deadline: Review of files will begin in April 1998, and will continue until the position is filled. Position Available: July 1, 1998.
The University of California, Riverside is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
Biology
SUNY New Paltz
Biology, Assistant Professor: Teach scanning electron microscopy, plant physiology, and one semester of general biology. The successful candidate is expected to develop courses in his/her specialty and establish an independent research program. Requirements: Ph.D. with specialty in plant biotechnology. Send letter of application, curriculum vitae, representative publications, separate statements of research interests and teaching philosophy, and three letters of recommendation to: Biology Search, SUNY New Paltz, Affirmative Action Office, HAB 501, 75 S. Manheim Blvd. Suite 9, New Paltz, NY 12561. Review begins 3/15/98. AA/EOE/ADA employer.
Symposia, Conferences and Meetings
Managing Human-Dominated Ecosystems
26-29 March 1998
A conference on :Managing Human-Dominated Ecosystems" will be held in celebration of the dedication of Missouri Botanical Garden's new research center, The Monsanto Center. The conference is intended to make a substantial contribution to our understanding of the relationship between economics and environment. For information, contact Donna Rodgers, tel: 314-577-9410; fax: 314-577-9595; e-mail: (rodgers@mobot.org)
Phosphorus in Plant Biology
28-30 May 1998
An international symposium entitled Phosphorus in Plant Biology: regulatory roles in molecular, organismic, and ecological processes, will be held May 28-30, 1998 at Penn State University. For information contact Jonathan Lynch, Dept. Horticulture, Penn State, University Park, PA, 16802, tel 814-863-2256, fax 814-8636139, email JPL4@psu.edu, website: http://www.lsc.psu.edu/phys/annualsym.html.
1998 Congress on In Vitro Biology
30 May - 4 June 1998
The Society for In Vitro Biology will conduct the 1998 Congress at Bally's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 30 to June 4, 1998. The abstract deadline is January 16, hotel reservation deadline is April 24, and meeting registration deadline is May 15. For information, contact Tiffany McMillan, tel 301-3245054, fax 301-324-5057, email < sicb@sivb.org>.
Columnar Cacti and their Mutualists: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation
29 June - 3 July 1998
Columnar cacti are the dominant plants in many and ecosystems in North, Central, and South America. Interest in the evolution, ecology, and conservation of these impressive plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers has increased markedly in the recent years. These topics will be the majors themes of a five-day workshop to be held in Tehuacan City, Mexico on 29 June - 3 July 1998. This workshop will bring together scientists studying many aspects of the biology of these cacti and their mutualists. It will include invited talks, posters, informal discussions, and a field trip. For further information, please contact Ted Fleming (email < tfleming@umiami.ir.miami.edu>,tel3O5-284-6881,fax 305-284-3039) or Alfonso Valiente-Banuet (email < avaliente@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx>, fax 52-56228995 or 52-5616-1976).
Canadian Botanical Association / l'Association Botanique du Canada
Annual Meeting "Saskatoon 1998"
27 June - 1 July 1998
This meeting will be held at the Universityof Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada. The theme is Plants and Biotechnology, and the plenary symposium is "Biotechnology of plants" (speakers M. Hinchee, K. Kartha, W. Keller). Three other confirmed symposia are "Biocontrol of weeds" (D. Johnson, K. Bailey, S. Darbyshire, R. DeClerk-Floate, M. Schwarzlander, Z. Zhang); "Medicinal plants" (J. Blackburn, R. Marles, J. Moes, E. Murray, G. Towers); and "Weed communities" (D. Derksen, N. Kenkel, A. Legere, G. Thomas, P. Watson). Registration fees are $175 Can (regular delegates) and $100 Can (students); early deadline is March 31, 1998. All participants will visit Wanuskewin Heritage Park (1/2 day field trip; lunch and supper included) and receive a banquet ticket. Other field trips to Last Mountain Lake Wildlife Refuge; biodiversity and agroecosystems; southern boreal forest; fescue prairie; are possible.
For further information about registration, abstract submission, accommodation and other activities, please contact the website: http://www.usask.ca/biology/cba.html; Vipen Sawhney or Art Davis, Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 5E2. Phone: (306) 966-4417 or 966-4732; email: sawhney@admin.usask.ca or davisa@duke.usask.ca.
Pollen and Spores: Morphology and Biology
6-9 July 1998
This is the fourth in an occasional series of palynological conferences organized by the Linnean Society. Palynology Specialist Group (LSPSG) in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum, London. The previous conferences were: The Evolutionary Significance of the Exine (1974); Pollen and Spores: Form and Function (1985) and Pollen and Spores: Patterns of Diversification (1990). The conference is timed to coincide with the retirement from Kew of Keith Ferguson, founder and first Secretary of the LSPSG (1974-1998). There will be a mixture of invited and contributed papers and posters on the following topics: Pollen development; Anther and tapeturn; Pollen-pollinator interactions; Pollen-stigma interactions; pollen morphology in systematics and evolution; Ultrastructure (fossil and living groups); Pre-Cretaceous palynology; Cretaceous palynology; Tertiary palynology; Quaternary palynology; Pollen and archaeology; and Preparation and techniques. The proposed registration free will be around 130 sterling with reduced rates for students. Registration forms will be included with the second circular. For more information, contact Lisa von Schlippe, Conference Administrator, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey,TW9 3AB, fax 44-0181-332-5176, e-mail: l.von.schlippe@rbgkew.org.uk
IOPB VIIth International Symposium
10-15 August 1998
The Universiteit van Amersterdam will host the VII International Symposium of the International Organization of Plant Biosystematists, with the support of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, the Royal Dutch Botanical Society, the Hugo de Vries Foundation, the Faculty of Biology, and the City of Amersterdam. The theme of the Symposium is "Evolution in Man-Made Habitats." Correspondence concerning general matters of the Symposium should be addressed to: VIII IOPB Symposium, Dr. Hans den Nijs, ISP-Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands, tel +31 20 5257660, fax +31 20 5257662, email <IOPB98@bio.uva.nl>
Tenth Wildland Shrub Symposium
12-14 August 1998
The Shrub Research Consortium in concert with the Great Basin Environmental Education Center is sponsoring the Tenth Wildland Shrub Symposium, August 12-14, 1998 at Snow College, Ephraim, Utah. The symposium theme is Shrubland Ecotones. There will be a mid-symposium field trip to the Great Basin Experimental Range and to hybrid zones in Salt Creek in the Uinta National Forest. Contributed papers and posters on succession within and between communities; biodiversity; the role of boundaries in the biology, management, and restoration of various shrubland communities and their interfaces with other communities; hybrid zones; and other shrubland biology subjects are invited. The proceeding will be published by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. If you would like to present a paper, send a title and abstract (² 200 words) to Dr. E. D. McArthur, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 735 North 500 East, Provo UT 84606 by January 15, 1998 (tel. (801) 377-5717, e-mail /S=E.MCARTHUR/OU1=S22@MHS-FSWA.ATTMAIL.COM). To receive pre-registration materials and additional information please contact: Dave Lanier, Great Basin Environmental Education Center, 150 East College Avenue, Ephraim, UT 84627 (tel. (801) 283-7261, e-mail davel@storm.snow.edu).
Sixth International Mycological Congress
23-28 August 1998
The Sixth International Mycological Congress -- IMC 6 is scheduled to take place from August 23-28, 1998 in Jerusalem at the ICC Jerusalem International Convention Center. The Congress Program encompasses a wide array of themes structured of symposia sessions and workshops, daily plenary lectures, social activities, and a special program for accompaning persons. For further information please contact: Congress Secretariat, P.O. Box 50006, Tel Aviv 61500, Israel. Tel: 972 3 5140014, Fax: 972 3 5175674/514007. E-mail: for Compuserve users: ccmail:MYCOL at Kenes; for Internet users: MYCOL@Kenes.ccmail.compuserve.com Information on the Sixth International Mycological Congress may be found on: the WWW at: http://lsb380.plbio.lsu.edu/ima/imc6.html
1998 Midwest Rare Plant Conference
4-6 November 1998
The 1998 Midwest Rare Plant Conference, sponsored by the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Center for Plant Conservation will be held November 4-6, 1998, at Glencoe, Illinois. For information, contact Kayri Havens, Program Chair, Rare Plant Conference, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Rd., Glencoe IL 60022.
XVI International Botanical Congress
1-7 August 1999
The XVI International Botanical Congress will be held in St. Louis, Missouri at the America's Center on 1-7 August 1999. This promises to be a major scientific event, and marks the first time the IBC has been held in the United States since 1969 in Seattle. The Secretariat has a web site up and running (" http://www.ibc99.org/") For further information, contact the XVI International Botanical Congress, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis MO 63166-0299, USA; tel: (314) 577-5175; fax: (314) 577-9589; e-mail: ibc16@mobot.org
INQUA XV International Congress
3-11 August 1999
We intend to organize a Workshop for the International Union for Quaternary Research during the INQUA XV International Congress in Durban (3-11 August, 1999) with the following topic: "Migration of Asiatic (Turanian) and ecosystems to East and South Africa during the Miocene-Pliocene and the environmental conditions contributing to evolution of Hominidae (Kovalev's hypothesis)". This problem might include the following issues. 1. The Messinian climaticcrisis (6.7-5.3 Myr) and the formation of ecosystems involving C4 plants of the aspartate type in Southern Turan. Migration of riparian ecosystems (with Tamarix, Phragmites, Caroxylon and Populus as dominant elements) from Southern Turan to East and South Africa, where they replaced the climate-affected tropical rain forest. Comparison of such communities with their modem analogs (the South African relic communities and the North American saltcedars of the Asiatic origin). 2. Traces of the faunal migration accompanying the spreading of the Turanian plant assemblages and the possible Asiatic origin of the early hominoids (e.g., migration of Sivapithecus). 3. Developing of such communities in Africa during the Pliocene. The influence of these exotic (adventive) plant assemblages upon the African mammalian fauna, causing its essential pauperization and providing relatively safe conditions for the early hominid inhabiting (in contrast with the intensive predators' pressure in the savannahs). Contacts: Dr. Oleg V.Kovalev, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 St.Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: kov@zisp.spb.su, and Dr. Sergey G.Zhilin, Dept. of Palaeobotany, Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 197376 St.Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: zhilin@herb.bin.ras.spb.ru; fax: (812)234-4512
International Conifer Conference 1999
22-25 August 1999
The 4th International conference follows the tradition of the Royal Horticultural Society in organizing conferences addressing the major developments in conifers. The conference will be held 22-25 August 1999, Wye College, Kent, England. This conference is designed to promote maximum interchange of information between all users of conifers. Keynote sessions will address major subject areas of current interest. The conference will have a worldwide geographical coverage from the arctic to the tropics.
Main scientific sponsors: Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Royal Horticultural Society, Forestry Commissions and The International Dendrology Society. For more information contact: Miss Lisa von Schlippe, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE. Tel.: 0181 332 5198, Fax.: 0181 332 5197, E-mail: L.von.schlippe@rbgkew.org.uk
Book Reviews
Book Reviews: Conservation Biology
La Forêt en jeu: l'extractivisme en Amazonie Centrale Emperaire, Laure, 1996. ISBN 2-7099-1334-8 (Paperback FF130, about US$22) 231 pp. In French with English and Portuguese Book Summaries. ORSTOM Editions 32 Avenue Henri-Varagnat, 93143 Bondy Cedex, France - One of the first mandatory requirements reading La Forêt en jeu: l'extractivisme en Amazonie Centrale is the fluency of French language applied especially to botanical science. This book is of prime interest to a wide audience ranging from the general public concerned with tropical rain forest exploitation to the expert in the ecology of the Amazon basin. First, let us define succinctly, Amazonian rain forest extractivism. It is the exploitation of forest products for commercial purposes, often leading to traders' control of the indigenous population in a business relationship defined as Aviamento. The Aviamento refers to a paternalistic, authoritarian, economic system where forest products are exchanged for manufactured goods in a disproportionate manner leading to the indebtedness of the indigenous collector. Extractivism is still today the dominant economic activity of the state of Amazonas, and affects half its territory (about 1,227,530 km2). In other areas of Brazil this activity is disappearing or is combined with agricultural enterprise.
In the first five years of the 1990's decade, the National Institute for Scientific Research for Cooperative Development (English for the French Scientific Research Institute: ORSTOM) and the Brazilian scientific institute INPA (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia) lead interdisciplinary research on extractivism in Central Amazonia. This work, undertaken by a team of Franco-Brazilian scientists, was financed by the UNESCO, the French Ministry to the Environment and the Commission to European Communities. The results of a variety of scientific investigations are presented in the reviewed book in an original format. The short articles outlining the results of a particular research topics are grouped in four major chapters. These major subdivisions outline such broad topics ranging from the history of extractivism in Amazonia to the ecological and socioeconomic perspectives of this activity in the basin. These articles were written by a variety of experts. What makes this book challenging, though profoundly interesting to read, is the diverse background of the scientists. Economists, sociologists, botanists, geographers, agronomists and anthropologists all contribute to the synthesis by authoring an article. These case studies are therefore very diverse in scope. For example, Arnaldo Carneiro Filho (geographer) describes the history of the town of Manaus. Aline de Castro (botanist) compares the natural harvesting to the agro-forestry management of Açai; (Euterpe precatoria). Some of the ecosystemic studies would have benefit of enhanced cartographic analysis using GIS based data. The maps included in the texts lack geographic names for townships and main river course. Furthermore, the reader would have acquired a better understanding of the forces at work in the extractivist exploitation of the Amazon basin by an examination of landscape ecology issues. Modeling at the landscape level of the various alternatives to the traditional activity of extractivism is missing. A beneficially surprising conclusion, which ties the eclectic body of work comes at the end of the book and is authored by Jean-Paul Lescure (botanist, coordinator of the multidisciplinary study). Last, we are presented with the advantages and the drawbacks of extractivist activities in Amazonia. In a nutshell, extractivism does not generate superior revenues compared to agricultural activities such as Manioc monoculture. Extractivism may have a negative impact on biodiversity, depending on the botanical species harvested and the intensity of exploitation. The limiting factors to extractivist activities are essentially socioeconomic in scope. Furthermore, the beneficial aspects of Amazonian extractivism lie in its inherent flexibility and its capacity to integrate in complex production systems.
There is a conscious effort to thoroughness made by the editors. The book comes with a Portuguese and English summary. Glossaries of Portuguese terms (both botanical and vernacular), acronyms, were placed at the end of the book. Each case study comes with a complete bibliography specific to the research presented. Finally, for the botanically minded a Linnean index of botanical taxa is included. These texts form a solid body of work which is difficult to synthesize. The reader is left with the task of forming independently an educated point of view on the issue of forest extractivism in Amazonia. This type of organization is quite common in interdisciplinary works, though a synthesis at the end of each major chapter could have helped here. - Laurent M. Meillier, University of California, Davis, Clear Lake Environmental Research Center, Lakeport, CA.
Tropical Forest Remnants: Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities Laurance, William F. and Bierregaard, Richard O., Jr., editors. 1997 ISBN 0-226-46899-2 (paper US$38) 226-46898-4 (cloth US$105) 632 pp. University of Chicago Press, 5801 South Ellis Ave., Chicago IL 60637 - The effects of forest fragmentation on biodiversity and ecosystem properties are the topics of this important new book. I had the opportunity to read this book shortly after attending a conference where one of the symposia was on tropical forest restoration: many of the speakers worked in areas where forests persisted only as small fragments. Clearly, a need existed to bring together in a single book many of the widespread studies on forest fragmentation to enhance the dissemination of ideas useful in research and management.
Laurance and Bierregaard assembled a well-rounded group of articles (33) from scientists working in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Madagascar, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Australia. Curiously, tropical Africa is absent. They divided the book into sections (Economics, Physical Processes, Faunas, Plants, Restoration, Reserve Design, and Summary). Each section is introduced by an overview by Laurance that summarizes the contributions of each chapter. Length of the sections varies, with the section on faunas contributing the bulk of the book (11 chapters, 190 pages). This dominance reflects the many studies on faunal assemblages (butterflies, birds, frogs, mammals, and even centipedes) in tropical forest fragments. Befitting an edited volume, there are a wide range of topics in the other sections. Chapters range from economic forces explaining deforestation, the use of GIS and landscape ecology in quantifying fragmentation, to studies of the microclimate of forest fragments.
The section on plants and plant-animal interactions only comprises 72 pages and 5 chapters. However, plants and forests are mentioned throughout the book. In the plant section, Nason, Aldrich, and Hamrick present an excellent chapter on gene flow and genetic structure in tropical tree populations. One of their conclusions is that effects of forest fragmentation on gene flow depend on the population structure of a species. If tropical trees persist as metapopulations, isolated remnant trees may play important roles in gene flow and genetic structure if animal pollen and fruit vectors are not limiting. Other chapters in the plant section include a model of predicting rates of plant extinction based on a distribution profile of neotropical plant species, a study of seed predation of large-seeded tree species in forest fragments in Australia, and a study of recolonization of lava flows by native and exotic species in forest fragments on La Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
One of the more interesting conclusions of the book is that forest fragmentation has less of an impact on plant biodiversity than on animal biodiversity. Many species and populations of long-lived tropical plants persist in tropical forest fragments (Corlett and Turner - Chapter 22, ìLong-term survival in tropical forest remnants in Singapore and Hong Kongî). However, faunal assemblages of pollinators, frugivores and seed predators have been altered or eliminated in many forest fragments, potentially leading to population declines. Thus, the future of plant populations in forest fragments may be at risk, especially for species with specialized pollinators or seed dispersers.
One of the chapters in the restoration section (Lamb et al. - Chapter 24, ìRejoining habitat remnants: restoring degraded rain forest landsî) suggests restoring tropical forests through some type of plantation forestry. Although this approach may be useful for restoring ecosystem properties and for rehabilitating degraded soils, plantation forestry is not likely to meet the ecological requirements of many tropical species. A likely solution may lie in some combination of naturally regenerated forest, intensively managed natural forest, and tropical plantation forestry, depending on local needs and land use history.
The final summary section includes three chapters, including a spirited chapter by Crome on the limits of ecological research. This chapter alone would be good required reading for new graduate students thinking about beginning studies in this field. I would recommend this book to scientists interested in fragmentation of natural habitats (tropical or temperate) and tropical ecology in general. Because of the wide diversity of articles and narrow focus, the book probably would be best used as a supplemental text for courses in conservation biology, ecology, and tropical biology. The only obvious error I found was mislabeling Hispaniola as Puerto Rico in the figure on geographic locations of study sites. Otherwise, the layout of the book is well organized. A color cover and color and black and white photographs complement the text. - John B. Pascarella, Department of Biology, Valdosta State University, Valdosta GA 31698.
Book Review: Developmental and Structural
Microscopic Venation Patterns of Leaves and their Importance in the Distinction of (Tropical) Species. Handbuch der Pflanzenanatomie XIV, part 4 Roth, Ingrid, 1996. ISBN 3-443-14023-8 (cloth US$98) 196 pp. Gebruder Borntraeger, Johannesstr. 3 A, D-70176 Stuttgart, Germany - This book is so narrowly focused that it is hard to imagine the audience for it. It contains photographs and brief (usually) qualitative descriptions of the fine venation (without any, or hardly any, reference to the major venation or other leaf architectural features) of cleared and stained quarter centimeter squares cut from leaves of 170 species of dicot trees that happened to be growing in a single Venezuelan forest when it was harvested for an inventory 30 years ago.
There is little or no sense of intraspecific variability and extremely little synthesis. Keys are provided for the up to a dozen species in the larger families, but these wouldn't be particularly useful for identification, even elsewhere in Venezuela. Each of these families has many more species in northeastern South America and 1000-10,000 species worldwide. For the physiological ecologist, we have the already established observation, without quantitative testing, that venation gets denser and more compact as leaves get smaller with increasing stature in the forest. This applies, as well, to juveniles of canopy species, which also have less organized venation than adults of the same species.
Except for some casual citations in the introductory parts, there is virtually no acknowledgment of the extensive literature on leaf venation, particularly the rich paleobotanical and paleobotanically inspired literature. There isn't even any meaningful cross-referencing of the author's other books on the same trees. All told, then, this in not Prof. Roth's most interesting book.
It is easy to think of different approaches to the material that would have been far more useful and had a bigger impact than the approach taken here. Since more than 65,000 trees were felled for the original sample, there was a real opportunity to assess patterns of intraspecific variability, a potential problem that has never been dealt with in depth. Alternatively, Roth might have taken a more ecological tack and covered the broad range of environments in Venezuela that she has investigated over the years, with a serious attempt to test for environmental correlates of fine venation patterns. Finally, selecting a single family, or a few families, for more detailed comparative study would also have more clearly matched the title of this book than its actual contents. - James E. Eckenwalder, Department of Botany, University of Toronto.
Book Review: Economic Botany
Oxford Dictionary of Plant Lore Vickery, Roy, 1997. ISBN 0-19-280053-1 (paper US$17.95) xix + 437 pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016 - In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in, what can be called, the folklore of plants or ethnobotany. This book attempts to present a listing of both recent and historical aspects of the subject. The area covered is the 'British Isles' which includes the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, and Jersey. 'Ireland' was used to include both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is stressed that all designations were used in a strictly geographical sense and not to have any political connotations.
It is stated that while most books of this type rely strongly on previously published works concentrating on the late 1900 century, 5600 items collected between 1981-94, from 700 informants, were used as a basis for this collection of plant lore. The name "plant" is used in the broadest sense of the word, including flowering plants, ferns, mosses and liverworts as well as lichens, algae and fungi. Information supplied for each plant includes one or all of the following items; general folk-beliefs or superstitions, use in traditional customs, uses in folk-medicine, legends and other miscellaneous information. Plants are listed, alphabetically, by their standard English name (book name), except when the common name is used more often than the standard name. Book names are not to be confused with scientific or Latin names. If the book name is unknown, an appendix is provided listing the Latin names with their corresponding book name.
Interspersed amongst the alphabetical listing of plants are the diseases treated by certain plants. It is noted by the author that these treatments or cures are given as received from the informants or as listed in previous publications and no attempt was made to evaluate their effectiveness. The reader should exercise caution in trying any of the "cures". Also included are holidays and events associated with plants, such as, May Eve, Christmas and All Soul's Day.
This book would be a fine acquisition for those with an interest in all plant lore or in plant lore of the British Isles. However, if your interest is in plant lore somewhere other than the British Isles, this book would not be of much help. The common, and even book names, are unfamiliar outside the area treated in this text, making it difficult to find anything other than the most common plants. - Cynthia M. Galloway, Dept. of Biology, Campus Box 158, Texas A&M University, Kingsville, TX 78363
Book Review: Ecological
World Weeds: Natural Histories and Distribution Holm, L., J. Doll., E. Holm, J. Pancho, and J. Herberger. 1997. ISBN 0-471-04701-5 (cloth US$195.00) xv + 1129 pp. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012. - World Weeds is the third of three books by the authors on the identification, geographical distribution, and biology of the world's worst weeds. The first volume was published in 1977 (Holm et al. 1977) and the second in 1979 (Holm et al. 1979). In A Geographical Atlas, Holm et al. (1979) provide a list of the world's most serious weeds and give countries in which they occur. The World's Worst Weeds (Holm et al. 1977) contains information on the geographical distribution and biology of 18 of the world's most serious agricultural weeds and on 73 other troublesome weeds in crops, pastures, and waterways. Cyperus rotundus is said to be the world's worst weed; it occurs as a weed in 100 countries. The distribution and biology of 126 additional serious weeds are covered in World Weeds. Information reported in these three books represents 40 years of research to identify which plants "...cause 90% of the losses of food due to weeds in agriculture across the world..." (Preface, p. xiii). The authors now believe that about 200 species are responsible for these losses.
For the 126 taxa covered in the book under review (itself 13 years in the making), information is given on the world geographical distribution (i.e., maps show countries, or portions thereof for large countries, where they have been reported as weeds) and habitat, ecology and biology [including morphology, physiology, life cycle type(s), propagation and reproductive biology, dispersal, etc.], and agricultural importance. For some species, one or more of the following topics also is(are) discussed: herbicide resistance, taxonomy, anatomy, utility, chemistry and toxicity, host relationships (for parasitic plants), and biological control. A list of common names by country is given for each taxon. The book contains a glossary of 236 terms and a bibliography of about 3300 references.
Within the group of 126 weeds covered in World Weeds, there are great differences in geographic range (e.g., tropical vs. temperate), habitat, ecological tolerances and requirements, growth form, life cycle type, and physiology. From a taxonomic/phylogenetic point of view, the list consists of a disparate group of plants, which includes ferns (Azolla, Marsilea, Pteridium), dicots, and monocots. Most of the species are herbaceous, but a few are woody. There are many contrasts in species biology among this group. Twenty of these are: (1) annuals/ephemerals (reproduce by seeds only) vs. perennials that reproduce by both seeds and vegetative propagation; (2) one generation per year vs. more than one generation per year; (3) monoecious vs. dioecious; (4) single-season- vs. year-round flowering; (5) wind- vs. insect pollination; (6) agamospermy vs. sexually-produced seeds; (7) autogamy vs. self-incompatibility; (8) production of many- vs few seeds; (9) production of large- vs small seeds; (10) wind- vs. animal dispersal of seeds/fruits; (11) physiological- vs. physical [hard seed (or fruit) coat] dormancy of seeds (or fruits); (12) small- vs. large soil seed bank; (13) single short germination season vs. year-round germination; (14) autotrophic vs. heterotrophic (holoparasites); (15) photoperiodic control of flowering (SDP, LDP) vs. day-neutral; (16) C3- vs. C4 pathway of photosynthetic carbon fixation; (17) N2-fixing vs. not N2-fixing; (18) mycorrhizal vs. non-mycorrhizal (e.g., Brassicaceae, Cyperaceae); (19) good- vs. not-so-good competitive ability; and (20) allelopathic vs not allelopathic; there are others.
Thus, it is not obvious to this reviewer that a common "thread" runs through the autecological characteristics of this group of plants. However, (1) many of the species are highly variable (e.g., cytologically, morphologically), (2) most appear to be autogamous, and (3) the great majority appear to be able to form a persistent seed bank. Apparently, some combination(s) of life history and ecological characteristics "bestow(s)" weediness on this group of plants (e.g., see Baker 1974).
Holm et al. have done an impressive job of assembling and summarizing the huge amount of literature on the biology of the 126 species covered in World Weeds. This book is a mine of information on the biology (in the broad sense) of weeds that will be useful to both basic and applied scientists working on weeds at the whole-plant level and/or at a higher level of biological organization. Further, World Weeds is a great source of information for students in, and instructors of, weed biology and plant autecology courses. However, the very high cost of the book probably means that few individuals (and some libraries, especially those in third-world countries) will not be able to purchase a copy of it. - Jerry M. Baskin, School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225.
Literature Cited:
- Baker, H. 1974. The evolution of weeds. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5: 1-24.
- Holm, L., J. Pancho, J. Herberger, and D. Plucknett. 1979. A Geographical Atlas of World Weeds. John Wiley and Sons, New York. xlix + 391 pp.
- Holm, L., D. Plucknett, J. Pancho, and J. Herberger. 1977. The World's Worst Weeds: Distribution and Biology. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. xii + 609 pp.
Book Review: General
Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis, and Evolution Margulis, Lynn, and Dorion Sagan, 1997. ISBN 0-387-94927-5 (cloth US$27) 368 pp., and Visual Revelations: Graphical Tales of Fate and Deception from Napoleon Bonaparte to Ross Perot Wainer, Howard, 1997. ISBN 0-387-94902-X (cloth US$35) 180 pp. Both from Copernicus Press, Springer Verlag, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10100. - What is the difference between explaining and understanding? The celebrated biochemist Erwin Chargaff recently posed this question in a critique of reductionism in science (Chargaff, 1997). Chargaff's critique is a radical stand, particularly in view of the nature and consequences of his work. At least as we teach it in introductory biology courses, "Chargaff's Rule" elegantly reduces life to combinations of purines and pyrimidines. Implicit in Chargaff's recent essay is an attack on the sequence of intellectual abuses that have grown out of his discovery, including certain highly reductionist and ahistorical paradigms that were developed to explain evolution. In this review I discuss two books that look at the sometimes paradoxical relationship between explaining and understanding. In its own way, each book treats reduction and reductionism. One book is rich in understanding but poorly explained. The other, a book about explanation, doesn't lead to understanding.
Like Chargaff's essay, the critique by Margulis and Sagan, constructed of chapters steeped in history, attacks reductionism. Our authors present ideas that challenge the reader to expand his intellectual horizons in order to include some concepts that in the end, unfortunately, seem downright silly. Margulis states, "a totally preposterous idea requires absolute unflinching faith." Is the Gaia hypothesis preposterous? Perhaps no more so than the idea that variation is stored in nitrogenous bases. But one takes pause at the presumption that reproduction is one of the attributes of the 'living Earth,' just as one might flinch at the conceit of a 'selfish gene.' Let the reader decide.
Although it is radical, the critique of Margulis and Sagan is less unexpected than Chargaff's. Our authors have been writing "essays on Gaia, symbiosis, and evolution" for a long time. The news about metascience, women in science, and funding policies of the National Science Foundation is not good news, but it's not new news. The authors understand that profound scientific ideas are worth fighting for. The pen is mightier than the sword, but why is the writing (and the thinking) in this book so sloppy? Consider this sample from Sagan's essay, "What Narcissus Saw."
That humankind is currently the only tenable midwife for Gaian reproductive expansion is a gauge of our possible evolutionary longevity and importance - provided that the violently phallic technology that promises to carry life starward does not destroy its makers first.
Here is the view from "Futures," co-authored by Margulis and Sagan, who seem to have been carried away with their vision of the technological paradise to come. Have you ever read anything like it?
Traditional printed books will become as extravagant - and as expensive - to people of future as first editions or hand-printed manuscripts seem to us. Books will appear to be immensely laborious undertakings. Each bulky mass of ink-spotted paper will take on the antiquated aspect of the Mainz Bible...
I do my bibliographic work at the Farlow Reference Library at Harvard, and I agree that those "bulky masses" were immensely laborious undertakings. But antiquated? Our authors overlook the possibility that inspiration might be drawn by holding an illuminated manuscript in one's hands.
While on the subject of illustrations, and as a segue to Wainer's Visual Revelations, I am obligated to comment on the figures in Slanted Truths. Let all prospective authors know: Difficult ideas require excellent illustrations! The harder it is to get an idea across, the better the pictures should be. Actually one of the best scientific illustrations I ever saw, a cartoon of the evolution of endosymbiosis, was presented at a conference by Lynn Margulis. As best I remember it, a fuzzy little prokaryotic cell with human-like appendages was riding on a rocket ship, which represented another cell. As the rocket ship-cell went faster (and the atmosphere got thinner), the little rider held on harder and harder. As the speed (and selective pressures?) increased, things got blurry until at last, he was safely inside the rocket ship. The intended message of the evolution of endosymbiosis came across loud and clear. The illustration, while it was perfectly "unscientific," was charming, funny, and took itself none too seriously. Most of the illustrations in Slanted Truths lack these qualities. The photos are indistinct, the half-tones are too gray, and the thematic drawings are heavy-handed. The SEM photomicrograph on page 163 was printed with no editing (the scale bar and other data are off to the far right, partly cut off). Most of these illustrations would be edited out of a professional paper. How have they stayed on as a part of this book?
To her credit, Margulis writes in a challenging and thought-provoking style. Her revealing autobiographical essay, "Sunday with J. Robert Oppenheimer," is a portrait of an uncomfortable ugly duckling who comes of age in a dazzling scientific milieu. "Science Education, USA" says many of the right things about how wrong we are in our system of training scientists. I have put it on reserve, along with Chargaff's essay on reductionism, for my non-major students. However, in all honesty I have to say that I wouldn't reserve a space for this volume in my botany library.
Questions of explanation, understanding, and perception are central to Visual Revelations: Graphical Tales of Fate and Deception from Napoleon Bonaparte to Ross Perot. Howard Wainer addresses what may be the most important type of reduction outside of culinary sauces-reducing information into graphical form. The author, whose tenth book this is, has concocted a bubbling cassoulet of topics that range from preparing overheads to making maps. The book reflects a range of experience and thought that is clearly the product of many years of professional work. Almost every page of the book is taken up by diagrams, but most of them are ugly, poorly constructed, horribly reproduced graphs. I think this goes beyond Wainer's intent in the first chapter, a how-to on displaying data badly. The book appears to be a cross between the marvelous How to Lie with Statistics (Huff, 1982) and the recent spate of sublime books of E. R. Tufte, for example, Envisioning Information (Tufte 1990). Unfortunately, this volume lacks characteristics that make the others "must" reading. The lightness of How to Lie with Statistics is missing here and this volume lacks the clarity of Tufte's work. The text is difficult to wade through. The illustrations look greasy and grimy. The collection of poorly constructed graphs may have been meant in part to be a study in bad taste, but somehow it went too far. The distortion that characterizes so many of the diagrams finds its way too deeply into the book itself. The reader has to dig through the visual mud for some really interesting concepts like the Wainer's "lie factor" (one Washington Post graphic is assigned a whopping 'near record' lie factor of 131,000%)! But what bothers me is that I can't see it and the author hasn't given me a really good handle on how to interpret it. Here is explanation that doesn't provide understanding. How can I find the lie factor in the next paper I review? Maybe the problem is with the illustrations themselves. Perhaps Copernicus Press (the division of Springer-Verlag responsible for this and the Margulis-Sagan volume) needs to perfect its reproduction techniques. Wainer understands human cognition and presents many good discussions of cognition and understanding vis a vis his material. And he has drawn that material from a great variety of sources. But the presentation is so ungainly that the message is lost. - Samuel Hammer, College of General Studies, Boston University.
Literature Cited:
- Chargaff, E. 1997. In dispraise of reductionism. BioScience 47: 795-797.
- Huff, D. 1982.
How to Lie with Statistics
- . W. W. Norton, New York.
- Tufte. E. R. 1983.
Envisioning Information
- . Graphics Press, Cheshire, CT.
Retracing Major Stephen H. Long's 1820 Expedition: The Itinerary and Botany Goodman, George J., and Cheryl A. Lawson, 1995. ISBN 0-8061-2703-1 (cloth US$39.95) xvi + 366 pp. University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019-6051 - This attractively designed book, as the subtitle implies, is divided into two parts; a detailed reconstruction of the itineraries of the 1820 expedition of Major Stephen H. Long and a thorough analysis of the plant specimens collected on the expedition by Edwin James, M.D., who served as surgeon-naturalist. From June through September 1820 the expedition traversed portions of the Great Plains and briefly penetrated the southern Rocky Mountains. They passed through parts of what we now call Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. (In late July, the expedition split into two parties and the party that did not include James descended the Arkansas River across what is now Kansas). James is credited with being the first botanist to collect the flora above timberline in Colorado. More importantly, he returned from the expedition with almost 700 plant specimens, including over 100 species new to science. James described several of these new species in his published account of the expedition and in a separately published catalog of the plants collected during the journey. Other species were described by John Torrey in three papers, among which was the first treatment of American plants published in America using the "natural system" of Jussieu (as opposed to the "sexual system" of Linnaeus). As Goodman and Lawson note, however, the localities cited by Torrey frequently have proved to be at variance with other information regarding the expedition.
In reconstructing the expedition's itineraries Goodman and Lawson relied on several sources. They had the narrative of the expedition compiled by James and published in 1823 (which also would have been available to Torrey). In addition, they consulted an unpublished diary of James (the current location of which they do not state), a recently published journal of Capt. John R. Bell, who served as "journalist" on the expedition, and original paintings by Samuel Seymour, artist on the expedition. They also consulted topographic maps and visited most of the accessible (and some of the inaccessible) campsites of the expedition. Their field work permitted them to make comparisons between watercolors by Seymour of scenes viewed by the expedition in 1820 and present-day photographic impressions of the same localities (see for example figures 10 and 11). Goodman and Lawson present the information they gathered in chronological sequence. Each chapter in the first part of their book corresponds to the expedition's route in what we now recognize as a state. Separate maps of each of the states (two for Colorado) are provided and the route of the expedition can be followed day by day. Campsites are indicated by date. Contemporary place names, including the names of counties and important physiographic features, are used on the maps. A map to orient the reader to the overall itinerary of the expedition unfortunately was not provided.
The second part of the book, "The Botany," is arranged alphabetically by family, genus, and then species. The entries are organized by what the authors determined to be the currently recognized name for a taxon, including author and bibliographic citations. This is followed by a common name, if one exists, in parentheses. In a separate paragraph the number assigned by Torrey to James' collection, if there is a number, is given along with the reference to Torrey's paper and the locality Torrey cited. Finally, in third and subsequent paragraphs, Goodman and Lawson provide commentary on the probable locality of the James collection and the taxonomy of the plant in question. The result is a much more precise understanding of where a given taxon was collected by James. This is especially helpful with respect to type localities.
Two appendices (a list of eponymous plant names and a list of the names of plant taxa based on James' collections), sources cited, and three indices are also provided by the authors. There are separate indices to scientific and common names, as well as a "General Index." This last one is essentially an index to localities cited in the text.
Retracing Major Stephen H. Long's 1820 Expedition should be in the library of every herbarium concerned with the North American flora. It is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the natural history of the Great Plains and southern Rocky Mountains. The book, however, will not please those looking for a history of Long's 1820 expedition. The authors are mostly silent regarding the political motivations that pushed the expedition forward and seriously curtailed its original design, and they have little to say about the impact of the expedition. They do note that it was but the fourth government sponsored expedition into the land that the United States acquired through the Louisiana Purchase (the first being the celebrated Lewis and Clark expedition). A broader perspective of the Long Expedition is offered by H. E. Evans in The Natural History of the Long Expedition to the Rocky Mountains (1819-1820) (1997). - Laurence J. Dorr, Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
Book Review: Horticultural
The Gardener's Guide to Growing Peonies Page, Martin, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-388-5 (cloth US$29.95) 160 pp. Timber Press Inc., 133 SW Second Ave., Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527 - The Gardener's Guide to Growing Peonies attempts to revive interest in a group of plants which the author believes to have been inexplicably neglected by modern gardeners - the tree and herbaceous peonies (Paeonia spp.; Paeoniaceae). These introductory thoughts are followed by an informative chapter on the history and botany of peonies, delving into the uses of peonies in traditional Chinese medicine and in traditional Western medicine, peony scent, and peony anatomy and taxonomy. The last section of this chapter provides excellent line drawings of peony flower structure and an informative sampling of the structure of peony leaves.
In a natural progression, The Gardener's Guide to Growing Peonies then moves on to cultivation of tree peonies and herbaceous peonies, including propagation by sexual and asexual means and cultivation in gardens. This chapter is brief, and perhaps more advice specifically aimed at the raising of peonies in particular areas of the globe, especially the U.S. and Great Britain, would have been more appropriate in a guide for gardeners. To the credit of the author, the general requirements for successful culture are discussed, so anyone who has several years experience gardening in a particular place can probably make use of the information presented.
"Peonies in the Garden" follows the chapter on cultivation and is the only truly disappointing chapter in this book. The perspectives offered, though they address a broad geographic range compared to that in the chapter on cultivation, are limited in number and some are anecdotal. For example, on p. 37 the author gives us a short table of recommended varieties "...based on my own experience and taste." (p.36) This chapter breaks the otherwise good flow of this book.
This tendency to describe some plants or techniques anecdotally also is seen earlier in the author's self-inconsistent discussion of color charts: p. 9 "It is quite difficult to describe a colour in words. We all use the word scarlet, but how many of us could actually point it out in a garden?...colour charts ...by the British Colour Council...While extremely useful, the charts were not without fault and some colours, such as crimson, were clearly incorrect." A related flaw is the author's insistence on the use of locally used rather than more standard place names-e.g. Krym not Crimea.
The author gets back on track with a brief but complete chapter on diseases, pests, and cultural problems relevant for both American and British gardeners. This is followed by descriptions in chapters dealing with species of peonies, first tree peonies and then herbaceous peonies. Then come chapters on cultivars of the horticulturally important P. lactiflora cultivars and hybrids, cultivars and hybrids of tree peonies, tree-herbaceous peony hybrids, and sites in North America, Britain, Europe, Australia, and China for viewing peonies. Appendices provide a concise glossary, an excellent bibliography, a list of specific synonyms, and a list of peony sources from around the world.
All-in-all, The Gardener's Guide to Growing Peonies by Martin Page is admirable for its scope, dealing in a balanced way with both tree and herbaceous peonies and considering a wide geographic range. Gorgeous photography illustrates a large number of peonies in both garden settings and in more formally arranged plates. Of course, the subject matter of the photographs, peonies in their range of rich, vibrant colors, gives a distinct advantage. Even the dust jacket is magnificent, jumping out when the reader first sights the book.
This book would best serve those mentioned in the title, gardeners, and for them it is highly recommended. It would also fit well into the reading list for some introductory classes such as floriculture or botany for horticulturists, and the excellent photography would make this book a useful vehicle for exciting students' interest in plants. The species descriptions are good, though the taxonomic discussions may not be detailed enough for a taxonomist. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801
Book Review: Physiological
Advances in Photosynthesis. Volume 5: Photosynthesis and the Environment. Baker, Neil R., Ed. 1996. ISBN 0-7923-4316-6. xii + 491 pp. Kluwer Academic Publishers, P.O. Box 17, 3300AA Dorfrecht, The Netherlands. - This volume is the 5th in a series of multi-authored books dealing with diverse aspects of the process of photosynthesis. It is designed for use by people ranging in expertise from the beginning researcher to specialists desiring to understand how photosynthetic performance may be influenced by changes in the environment.
This book is composed of 20 independently authored chapters which are loosely divided into two parts. The first chapters deal with the structure and functional aspects of photosynthesis and their relationship to processing of light by thylakoids, metabolic regulation and source-sink regulations. The second part examines how environmental factors such as light, temperature, water, CO2 concentration, ozone and UV-B effect photosynthetic performance.
Each chapter is prefaced with a summary. A table of contents and an extensive list of references are also included for each chapter. The authors the chapters are researchers who I would consider to be experts in the areas addressed. The authorship is international, with nationalities ranging from Japan to the United States to various countries in Europe.
The first three chapters deal with various aspects of electron transport. Chapter 1 is a detailed treatment of the processing of excitation energy by antennae pigments. The next two chapters deal with the control and measurement of photosynthetic electron transport in vivo and regulation of light utilization for photosynthetic electron transport. The next seven chapters deal with metabolic processes that are altered by environmental changes that may serve as useful systems to study when examining plant-environment interactions. Chapter 4 looks at photodamage and protein degradation during photoinhibition of photosystem II while Chapter 5 examines radical production and scavenging in photosynthesis.
Metabolic regulation of photosynthesis is treated in Chapter 6. The chapter takes the reader through the sometimes complex enzymatic pathways of carbon metabolism and distinguishes between regulatability and the regulatory capacity of an enzyme. It includes a detailed review of carbon metabolism complete with exemplary pathway diagrams that should be understandable to senior level undergraduates with an introductory plant physiology background. Carbon metabolism and photorespiration are reviewed in Chapter 7 and aspects of gas exchange are treated in Chapter 8. Chapters 9 and 10 deal with the biophysical and biochemical aspects of stomata and, source, sinks and sucrose, respectively. The importance of stomatal function to a plants interaction with the environment cannot be emphasized enough and Chapter 9 presents a very thorough treatment of the topic. The reference list included with this chapter is, by far, the most extensive listing given in this book. Chapter 10 discusses how sucrose may serve as a regulator, acting as an environmental sensor and signal molecule, resulting in alterations in metabolism.
The next nine chapters address the effects of various environmental factors on many of the processes addressed in the first ten chapters. Chapter 11 looks at the effects of light and nutrition on photosynthesis, while Chapter 13 also looks at lights affects by looking at fluctuating light environments. Chapter 14 and 15 deal with the effects of drought and temperature, respectively.
Chapters 16 and 17 deal with environmental ozone and CO2, topics that are often bantered about in the popular press, but commonly with little explanation. Chapter 16 deals with the effects of an increasing CO2 level in the environment. This chapter is the only one lacking charts and illustrations, making for slow reading and no quick way to determine chapter content in a quick scan. Chapter 17, dealing with the modification of photosynthetic capacity induced by ozone exposure, raises questions about ozone entry points, effects on metabolism, and the amount of basic information still needed to be obtained to better understand ozone effects in an environment that is becoming increasingly polluted. The effects of loss of stratospheric ozone are discussed in Chapter 18 in the context of increased ultraviolet-B radiation.
Chapter 12 deals with molecular biological approaches to environmental effects while Chapter 19 deals with evaluation and integration of environmental stress using stable isotopes. These are techniques chapters which contain much useful information; they might have been better placed in the volume for easy location; perhaps between the first ten chapters and the last ten chapters. Chapter 20 serves as a wrap up, discussing issues raised in the previous chapters and suggesting future directions of research.
This proved to be a difficult volume to review, not due to any deficiency in the publication but because of the depth and breadth of information included. With so many excellent papers in one place it was too much of a temptation to flip between chapters to try to determine how everything might fit together. I would strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in photosynthesis include this book in their reference collection. It would be useful as a review text for upper division students who have a basic knowledge of photosynthesis. This volume has more than fulfilled the purpose stated by the author. - Cynthia M. Galloway, Department of Biology, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363
Book Reviews: Systematics
Plant Collectors in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. A biographical and bibliographical guide to individuals and groups who have collected herbarium material of algae, bryophytes, fungi, lichens and vascular plants in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Dorr, Laurence J. 1997. ISBN 1-900347-18-0 (Cloth ) xlvi, 524 pp. Including read-only CD of book. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England. - My interest in the plants of Madagascar and a photograph of me taken in days long gone prompted me to delve deeply into Plant Collectors in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. This wonderful compendium of botanists, collectors, and authors who have recorded the botanical riches of Madagascar and the Comoros over the last two hundred plus years grabbed my attention once opened. It's a handy reference to those names that appear in exsiccatae or text that can only improve the science and personalize our efforts.
The work contains hundreds of biographical sketches -- I did not wish to count them and found no reference to the number -- of naturalists and authors involved in collecting and writing about the plants of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. Biographical information, bibliographic and biographical references, itineraries, collection data, institutional affiliation, in addition to frequent anecdotes, are included for the more famous or prolific collectors. Regrettably less information is available for most of the Malagasy collectors. This is of course not always the case, and the increased activity of the current, enthusiastic and eager group of Malagasy naturalists will result in greater notation of their efforts.
My attention was first drawn to those contemporaries that I know or work with, each sketch delivering some new bit of information or prompting a question to be asked. Next came a random search for those names one sees almost daily but rarely at a time when curiosity can be satisfied. How old was Henri Humbert when he died? Over 80. I once read a note he penned and left in a bottle at the summit of Marojejy. How did Ferdinand Renauld get the wealth of collections for his bryophyte flora of Madagascar? Seems more from correspondents than collecting. And why did David Lorence leave the dairy farm in Wisconsin for islands of the Indian Ocean - a question only presented, not answered.
The book is full of interesting notes and details. I have scanned only a relatively few entries, attracted more by an interesting profile than a name, but each provided a glimpse into a time filled with discovery and exploration, a time now more romantic than politically correct. Capt. James Augustus Grant writes of an expedition to the source of the Nile, when "many a pleasant hour might be spent in collecting plants and seeds while traversing the country to be explored" Dorr's use of quotation and anecdote allows brief escapes to the realms of Prince Roland-Napoléon Bonaparte or Capt. John Speke. The impatient ringing phone or beeping e-mail drags one back to the reality of Fanja Rasoavimbahoaka or Jeannie Raharimampionana struggling to study, document, and preserve the remaining biodiversity.
The work also contains an unusual collection of literature used in the text as biographical references, a list of the national parks and reserves along with a map of their locations, and chapter photographs by Andrew McRobb that capture, for me, the feel of Madagascar. The captions for these photographs are at the end of the Illustration credits, p. xiv. A CD read-only version of the book was included with the copy I received. The CD comes with program to view the information in the same format as the book. I did not try the search option that was also provided, however did try, without problems, to view several pages.
Some will quibble about the format, presentation, or somewhat dated photographs - although I noted Larry's seemed more recent -- but I find the work an entertaining, informative, and useful reference. This is not a publication for everyone's shelf, but a must for anyone interested in plant collecting in Africa. Plant Collectors in Madagascar and the Comoro Islands is surely a necessary reference for university and museum libraries because of the wide scope of the research of many of the characters presented, and an important resource for natural history historians. - Robert Magill, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
Protologues in seed catalogues from Botanic Garden Copenhagen 1843-1875. Hansen, Bertel, Kai Larsen, & Sven-Erik Sandermann Olsen. 1997. (paper DKK90.00) 53 pp. The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, Biologiske Skrifter 47. Available from Munksgaard Export and Subscription Service, Nørre Søgade 35, DK-1370, Copenhagen K, Denmark. - In the 19th century, European botanic gardens regularly published seed catalogs. Not rarely, there were species described in Latin as new to science in these catalogs. The practice is forbidden (after 1 January 1973) by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, because of the ephemeral nature of these catalogs; indeed, in some instances the catalogs were not preserved even by the institution's adjacent library. Moreover, the old catalogs were sometimes not carefully dated, and thereby application of the principle of priority became difficult.
Evidently, the Index Seminum Hauniense (ISH) was no exception to these generalizations. For these reasons, the authors have gone through all the issues of ISH from 1843 through 1875, when the practice of publishing new species in the annual catalog was discontinued in Copenhagen, and they have reprinted each of the type descriptions and accompanying discussion (= protologue). There are in all 81 of them, by my count.
This alone would be a significant contribution, because not all years of ISH are available from IDC on microfiche, so far as I can tell. But the authors have gone much farther: they have searched out where each name was published or re-published. Most of the names treated here do indeed stem from ISH, but there are some which were published elsewhere before they appeared in ISH. Sometimes, when the name was re-published the author gave supplemental data or characters not mentioned in the protologue.
And then the authors have taken the critical last step, of searching through the Phanerogam Herbarium of the Botanical Museum, Copenhagen, for type material. We are told in the introduction that they failed to find relevant material in 12 instances, which will serve to alert the monographer to the necessity of neotypifying some taxa. Quite properly, the authors forbore to do that themselves. (The authors have even gone to the trouble to point out where the characters of the presumed type are at variance with the protologue.)
This is a valuable piece of scholarship, graced by the addition of 9 plates at the back (4 in full color). The series of which this is volume 47 covers everything from crustaceans to autism to pigeons; if available on your campus, it is going to be shelved elsewhere than in the herbarium library - buy an extra copy and keep it handy. - Neil A. Harriman, Biology Department, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI 54901.
Vascular Plants of Texas: A Comprehensive Checklist including Synonymy, Bibliography, and Index Jones, Stanley D., Joseph K. Wipff, and Paul M. Montgomery. 1997. ISBN 0-292-74044-1, (cloth US$55) 404 pp. University of Texas Press, P. O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819. - This is the first synonymized checklist for the vascular plants of Texas to include an index of all taxa, all cultivated crops and forages, and all the introduced ornamental perennial vascular plants that are likely to persist in the state. As such, it is extremely useful to plant taxonomists or any other professional from the pure to the applied sciences as well as lay people that deal with plants in Texas.
The goals of the authors in writing this checklist are listed in the preface and include the following: (1) provide an in-depth list of the vascular plants that are known to occur in Texas, (2) provide the current classification and nomenclature of these plants, and (3) make the nomenclature readily assessable through the indexing of all names. Having used the checklist in updating nomenclature for a regional flora and for a checklist of a national park, I am satisfied that the checklist meets the goals of the authors.
Because the checklist covers cultivated and introduced as well as native plants, it is the most in-depth checklist available. It contains information on 227 families, 1599 genera, 5812 species, 939 infraspecific taxa, and 117 hybrids. It also designates taxa that are endangered or threatened and those that are listed as federal noxious weeds. This makes the checklist more useful for plant conservation workers. Cultivated names should be very useful to those that work in agriculture as well as other disciplines. In addition to comprehensive taxonomic information, the checklist also contains an excellent bibliography of literature on Texas plants.
The checklist is easy to use being alphabetical by family, genus, species, and infraspecific taxa. Italics are used in the index to indicate current classification and nomenclature. This allows one to use the index efficiently when conducting an alpha search on a name. The organization of the body of the book is also excellent. It follows the basic format of the Kartesz checklist for the USA, Greenland, and Canada which is highly user friendly. The taxa in the checklist are first arranged by classes according to Cronquist's system of classification and then taxa are alphabetical as described previously. The Cronquist system was chosen because it is taught in most plant taxonomy classes and is followed in most new manuals including the Flora of North America.
The only criticism that some might have is that common names are not given in the checklist. The authors justify this exclusion by pointing out that vernacular names are regional in nature so that many plants have several common names. They also point out that a singly common name may apply to several taxa. They further allude to the need for international standardization of common names. In regard to this, I would present the viewpoint of the late Lloyd Shinners, "There is no magic which will make it child's play to find out the names of so huge a quantity of variable plants. No real familiarity with them can be acquired without the use of technical terms. No worthwhile list of them is possible without using scientific names. If you wish something painless and effortless, the pursuit of botany is not for you. Nature gives away few secrets of the lazy, and none to the incompetent." I personally have no problem with common names not being included and it should not be a problem for the professionals for which this work was primarily written. Lay people my wish to use common names when they first begin their pursuit of botany but most often quickly adopt scientific names once they understand the usefulness of them in terms of standardization of names and in elucidating taxonomic relationships. - Allan Nelson, Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX.
John Wurdack Festschrift. BioLlania, Edici-n Especial No. 6. Dorr, L. J. and B. Stergios, eds. 1997. ISBN 980-231-131-6 (paperback, US$10.00). i-xi + 571 pp. Universidad Nacional Experimental de Los Llanos Occidentales, Venezuela; orders to L. J. Dorr, Department of Botany, MRC-166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560. - It is altogether fitting that John Wurdack should be so honored on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday. It is especially appropriate that his Festschrift should be published in Venezuela, where his work has done so much to elucidate the Melastomataceae and other families.
The editors have done a fine job in pulling together 48 contributions, which are by no means limited to Melastomataceae; also present are studies on Acanthaceae, Asteraceae, Bonnetiaceae, Bromeliaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Clusiaceae, Dichapetalaceae, Gesneriaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Orchidaceae, Passifloraceae, Poaceae, Polygalaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, and Sapindaceae. Some of these are quite brief, others are sub-monographic. In short, there is much solid science of interest to the plant taxonomist and to the plant geographer.
But a Festschrift is an occasion to publish many other works of history and appreciation that might otherwise never appear in print, and this volume richly avails itself of that opportunity. Under "Tributes and Reminiscences," there appear eight papers that piece together the personal and professional history of this fine gentleman. They make great reading, because the authors took a conversational approach and spoke to the reader so clearly from the heart.
Scattered through the work are photographs of John Wurdack from his family's archives and elsewhere. They convey the spirit and essence of the young boy and the mature scholar. In the earliest picture, p. 152, he looks to be about 6 months old and is clearly not all that pleased with the proceedings; in the last picture, with which the volume concludes, p. 573, he looks straight ahead at the camera, as though to say, "Can we get this over with so I can get back to my melastomes?" I suspect he wanted to take off his necktie and unbutton his collar, too. The John Wurdack that I know in his more usual attire is pictured on p. 34.
It is characteristic of the care with which this volume was assembled and edited that there is a full-scale index to the photographs, p. vi in the introductory portion of the volume. For the convenience of the taxonomic bibliographer, there is a complete, 3-page list of the nomenclatural innovations published in this volume; it must have given Dr. Wurdack great pleasure to see 16 more epithets honoring him. All of these are of course included in the paper, "Plant taxa named for John J. Wurdack," pp. 133-142, which lists almost 150 instances of Wurdackian eponymy.
I congratulate the authors and the editors for this beautifully wrought tribute to a fine gentleman and scholar. - Neil A. Harriman, Biology Department, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901.
Books Received
If you would like to review a book or books for PSB, contact the Editor, stating the book of interest and the date by which it would be reviewed (15 February, 15 May, 15 August or 15 November of the appropriate year). Send e-mail to <leverich@slu.edu>, call or write as soon as you notice the book of interest in this list, because they go quickly! - Ed.
* = book in review or declined for review
** = book reviewed in this issue
African Orchids in the Wild and in Cultivation la Croix, Isobyl and Eric, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-405-9 (cloth US$39.95) 423 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
At the Desert's Green Edge: An Ethnobotany of the Gila River Pima Rea, Amadeo M., 1997. ISBN 0-8165-1540-9 (cloth US$60) 430 pp. The University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park Avenue, Suite 102, Tucson AZ 85719-4140.
Biodiversity Information: Needs and Options Hawksworth, D.L., P.M. Kirk, and S. D. Clark, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-183-1 (cloth US$60) 194 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
Biomolecular Electronics: An Introduction via Photosensitive Proteins Vsevolodov, Nikolai, 1998. ISBN 0-8176-3852-0 (cloth US$64.50) 275 pp. Birkhäuser Boston, 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139.
Biotechnology and Plant Genetic Resources: Conservation and Use Callow, J.A., B.V. Ford-Lloyd, and H.J. Newbury, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-142-4 (cloth US$90) 308 pp. Biotechnology in Agriculture Series, No. 19. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
Cuttings from a Rock Garden: Plant Portraits and Other Essays Foster, H. Lincoln, and Laura Louise Foster, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-377-X (paper US$24.95) 446 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
The Biology of the Cycads Norstog, Knut J., and Trevor J. Nichols, 1998. ISBN 0-8014-3033-X (cloth US$145) 363pp. Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 E. State Street, Ithaca NY 14850.
The Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants de Kroon, Hans, and Jan van Groenendael, 1997. ISBN 90-73348-73-0 (paper NLG120.00 US$67.00) 456 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Eucalypt Ecology: Individuals to Ecosystems Williams, Jann, and John Woinarski, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-49740-X (cloth US$150) 430 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
A Field Guide to Common South Texas Shrubs Taylor, Richard B., Jimmy Rutledge, and Joe G. Herrera, 1997. ISBN 1-885696-14-0 (paper US$19.95) 106 pp. Texas Parks and Wildlife Press c/o University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin TX 78713-7819.
Flora Malesiana Series I - Seed Plants, vol. 13 Meijer, W., H. Riedl, T.-C. Huang, R.M.K. Saunders, and B.A. Barlow, 1997. ISBN 90-71236-33-1 (paper Dfl. 125.00) 454 pp. (Includes Rafflesiaceae, Boraginaceae, Daphniphyllaceae, Illiciaceae, Schisandraceae, Loranthaceae, and Viscaceae) Rijksherbarium/Hortus Botanicus, Publications Dept., P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
Functionality of Food Phytochemicals Johns, T., and John T. Romeo, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-306-45691-5 (cloth US$95) 273 pp. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry, vol. 31. Plenum Publishing Corp., 233 Spring Street, New York NY 10013-1578.
Gardening with Grasses King, Michael, and Piet Oudolf, 1998. ISBN 0-88192-411-3 (cloth US$34.95) 152 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
*Hardy Perennials Rice, Graham, 1997 (paper; 1995 cloth) ISBN 0-88192-401-6 (paper US$17.95) 210 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527. (Reviewed PSB 42(4), p. 123)
Introduction to Artificial Life Adami, Christopher, 1998. ISBN 0-387-94646-2 (cloth US$59.95) 374 pp + CD ROM. Springer-Verlag, New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Ave., New York NY 10010.
Marine Botany, 2nd Ed. Dawes, Clinton, 1998. ISBN 0-471-19208-2 (cloth US$79.95) 480 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave. New York NY 10158.
Metapopulation Biology: Ecology, Genetics, and Evolution Hanski, Ilkka A., and Michael E. Gilpin, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-12-323446-8 (paper US$44.95) 0-12-323445-X (cloth US$89.95) 512 pp. Academic Press Inc., 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego CA 92101-4495.
Molecular Biology of Steroid and Nuclear Hormone Receptors Freedman, Leonard P., ed., 1991997. ISBN 0-8176-3952-7 (cloth US$99.50) 319 pp. Birkhäuser Boston, 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139.
Molecular Embryology of Flowering Plants Raghavan, V., 1997. ISBN 0-521-55246-X (cloth US$150) 690 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Phenology in Seasonal Climates I Lieth, H., and M.D. Schwartz, eds., 1997. ISBN 90-73348-79-X (paper NLG76.00, US$42.25) 144 pp. Progress in Biometeorology, vol. 12. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Photosynthesis: A Comprehensive Treatise Raghavendra, A. S., ed. 0-521-57000-X 1997 (cloth US$115) 376 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Photosynthetic Unit and Photosystems: History of Research and Current View (Relationship of Structure and Function) Wild, A., and R. Ball, 1997. ISBN 90-73348-70-6 (paper NLG100.00 US$56.00) 230 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Pinus (Pinaceae) Farjon, Aljos, and Brian T. Styles, 1997. ISBN 0-89327-411-9 (cloth US$31) 286 pp. Flora Neotropica, Vol. 75. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York 10458-5126.
Plant Invasions: Studies from North America and Europe Brock, J.H., M. Wade, P. Pysek, and D. Green, eds., 1997. ISBN 90-73348-23-4 (paper NLG95.00 US$52.75) 224 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Plant Life Histories: Ecology, Phylogeny, and Evolution Silvertown, Jonathon, Miguel Franco, and John L. Harper, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-57495-1 (paper US$29.95) 313 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Plant Responses to Elevated CO2: Evidence from Natural Springs Raschi, A., F. Miglietta, R. Tognetti, and P. R. van Gardingen, eds. 1997. ISBN 0-521-58203-2 (cloth US$69.95) 272 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
*Plant Variation and Evolution, 3rd Ed. Briggs, D., and S.M. Walters, 1997. ISBN 0-521-45295-3 (cloth US$80) 0-521-45918-4 (paper US$34.95) 512 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Pollen Biotechnology for Crop Production and Improvement Shivanna, K. R. and V. K. Sawhney, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-47180-X (cloth US$80) 462 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
*Principles of Population Genetics Hartl, Daniel L., and Andrew G. Clark, 1997. ISBN 0-87893-306-9 (cloth US$56.95) 481 pp. Sinauer Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 407, Sunderland MA 01375-0407.
Recombinant Proteins from Plants Cunningham, Charles, and Andrew J.R. Porter, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-896-03390-2 (cloth US$79.50) 328 pp. Methods in Biotechnology, No. 3. Humana Press, 999 Riverview Drive, Suite 208, Totowa, New Jersey 07512.
Scaling Up: From Cell to Landscape Van Gardingen, P.R., G. M. Foody, and P. J. Curran, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-47109-5 (cloth US$120.00) 386 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Soilborne Diseases of Tropical Crops Hillocks, R.J., and J.M. Waller, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-121-1 (cloth US$120) 452 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
Some Branch Against the Sky: The Practice and Principles of Marginal Gardening Dutton, G.F., 1997. ISBN 0-88192-409-1 (cloth US$29.95) 207 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
Sulphur Metabolism in Higher Plants: Molecular, Ecophysiological, and Nutritional Aspects Cram, W.J., L.J. De Kok, I. Stuler, C. Brunold, and H. Rennenberg, eds., 1997. ISBN 90-73348-13-7 (cloth NLG175.00 US$97.00) 368 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
Trees - Contributions to Modern Tree Physiology Rennenberg, H., W. Eschrich, and H Ziegler, eds., 1997. ISBN 90-73348-67-6 (cloth NLG235.00 US$130.00) 565 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
The Well-Tended Perennial Garden DiSabato-Aust, Tracy, 1998. ISBN 0-88192-414-8 (cloth US$29.95) 338 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
Volvox: Molecular-Genetic Origins of Multicellularity and Cellular Differentiation Kirk, David T., 1997. ISBN 0-521-45207-4 (cloth US$85) 381 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
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