PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.

December 1972 Vol. 18 No. 4

De Plantis Toxicariis e Mundo Novo Tropicale Commentationes XI Richard Evans Schultes 34
To Be Basic is Basic, Opinion/Commentary   Fred R. Richson 40
Systematics Collections: A National Plan   41
Gordon Research Conference on Plant Cell and Tissue Culture   41
NABT Establishes Fund for Freedom in Science Teaching   41
Professional Opportunities   42
Botanical Potpourri   42
Personalia   43
John Hutchinson 1884-1972   43
George Willard Martin 1886-1971   44

Book Reviews
The Diagnosis of Plant Diseases, R. B. Streets   45
Phloem Transport in Plants, A. S. Crafts and C. E. Crisp   45
Mineral Nutrition of Plants, Principles and Perspectives, Emanuel Epstein   46
Autoradiography for Biologists, P. B. Gahan   46
Tree Maintenance, P. P. Pirone   47
Progress in Phytochemistry, Vol. 2. Reinhold and Y. Liu,schits eds.   47
Secondary Plant Succession in Tropical Montane Mindanao, C. Kellman   47

34

De Plantis Toxicariis E Mundo Novo Tropicale Commentationes XI

The Ethnotoxicological Significance of Additives to New World Hallucinogens

Richard Evans Schultes*
Botanical Museum
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Notwithstanding extraordinary advances in recent years, the study of the New World hallucionogens is far from complete. It may, in fact,be actually on the threshold of greater and more significant discoveries than those standing now on our list of achievements.

Between 80 and 85 species of plants are now known to be employed hallucinogenically in primitive societies of the Americas (23, 24, 25, 28). Three of these species are Old World plants which have not found utilization for psychotropic effects in any part of the Eastern Hemisphere. There are, furthermore, five or six species reportedly used as narcotics, but we are not yet certain of whether or not their effects are truly hallucinogenic. The identification of some of the hallucinogens goes back to the early writings on their uses. Others have either only recently been discovered or else their botanical determination has been accomplished during the last few years.

The literature enumerates some eight or 10 species of New World hallucinogens the source of which is still a mystery and which future research must try to identify.

That is where we stand at the present time. We have come far in our identification of the New World hallucinogens. There is, however, another aspect of our study that has sadly lagged behind and which now cries out for immediate attention before the demise of most, if not all, primitive societies — the repositories of such plant and medicinal lore. That neglected aspect is precisely the use of additives to alter the effects of the principal hallucinogenic preparations. Here we are still standing on the threshold with one hand on the knob of a door just set ajar, not yet opened.

The vital significance of the study of additives to our understanding of hallucinogenic plants has recently become evident (5, 9, 15, 16, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27). Many secondary ingredients of psychotomimtetic preparations are of major importance in altering or prolonging the narcotic effects of the principal ingredient.

While it is undoubtedly true that some of' the plant additives are used merely for superstitious or magic reasons and have no biological function, nevertheless we can point to examples once considered to be in this category but recently shown to possess actual and potent activity. From now on, concerted emphasis must be directed towards investigation of additives.

* Part of the information included in the foregoing article was gathered and studied under the sponsorship of grant 1.M-GM-00071-01 from the National Institute of Health.

This paper was read at the meeting of the Phytochemical Section of the Botanical Society of America, American Institute for Biological Sciences, Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 28. 1972.

Perhaps the hallucinogen with the greatest variety and most interesting additives is the South American drink known variously as ayahuasca, caapi and yaje and prepared basically from the bark of the liana Banisteriopsis caapi or B. inebrianst4e (9, 15, 18, :31). The bark of these two species of the Malpighiaceae contains the B-carboline alkaloids hat-mine, harmoline and tetrahydroharmine (25,26). Yet we now know that, even though the drink occasionally contains only this plant ingredient, it is often not a simple narcotic but a complex, sometimes involving a number of plant additives. One contemporary investigator of medical practices amongst the Siona Indians of the Colombian Putumayo, for example, claims that these natives recognize 17 different "classes" of yaje and that each of these admixtures "give a different kind of' vision" (14). Unfortunately, few of these additives have as yet been identified; but the Siona are widely known as having an extraordinarily rich ethnopharmacopoea, and it is very possible that most, if not all, of these many additives, have psychoactive constituents. Another specialist has assembled for the Barasana Indians of the Rio Piraparana of Colombia a list of 29 named "varieties". Some of these names may be alternate names for the same plant; others may represent age or ecological forms of Banisteriopsis caapi; but some undoubtedly refer to different plants that are used as ad-mixtures (13).

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Two of the many plant additives to ayahuasca are especially noteworthy because their leaves have been found to contain not the B-carbolines but N,N-dimethyltryptamine. One is Banisteriopsis rusbyana, quite generally called oco-yaje. The other represents several species of the rubiaceous genus Psychotria: P. uiridis, P. cath.argenensis and perhaps others (4, 5, 15, 26).

The use of oco-yaje has been known for many years, but only very recently has the chemical reason for this ad-mixture been discovered. The addition of the leaves of another species of Banisteriopsis the bark of which was never employed has frequently been explained by ethnologists on the basis of superstitious or magic practices. Now we know that there is a very definite chemical basis. One of the most curious anomalies is why Banisteriopsis rushyana possesses dimethyltryptamine in its leaves — when this tryptamine is absent from B. caapi and B. inebrians — but lacks the B-carboline alkaloids, the active principle in the other two species. This isolation represents the first record of tryptamines in the Malpighiaceae (4, 15).

Similarly, N,N-dimethyltryptamine has recently been found in the leaves of Psychotria oiridis and one would presume is present in the leaves of the other species employed as additives (5). Before 1970, tryptamines had never been reported from the Rubiaceae. This utilization of Psychotria was first reported only in 1967, but an earlier herbarium collection had indicated its use as an additive with Banisteriopsis caapi (William Burroughs s.n.) An extraordinarily interesting plant additive recently discovered amongst the Barasana Indians of the Colombian Vaupes is the rubiaceous Sabicea amazonenis, the leaves of which are sometimes added "to make the drink sweet instead of bitter". In view of the discovery of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in the rubiaceous genus Psychotria, the chemical examination of Sabicea acquires special significance as an admixture to the caapi drink.

The addition of plant additives to the drink made basically from the bark of Banisteriopsis caapi or B. inebrians is not new. One hundred and twenty years ago, the British plant explorer of the Amazon and Andes, Richard Spruce, suggested that the Tukano of the Rio Uaupes of Brazil occasionally add a leaf which they called caapi-pi.nima or "painted caapi" (31). He did not collect voucher material but indicated that it looked like

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the apocynaceous Prestonia Haemaclictyon] amazonica. Uncritical or careless quotation by later writers so distorted Spruce's suggestion that the botanical, chemical and ethnobotanical literature is now seriously plagued with uncertainty. Although the use of the leaves of Prestonia amazonica has been discredited, there runs through the literature a belief that ayahuasca and caapi are prepared from Banisteriopsis, whilst the source of yaje may be attributed to the Prestonia (19). The identity of caapipinima is still unknown.

Even though we are now quite certain that Prestonia amazonica is not an additive, two apocynaceous species, both little studied from the chemical point of view but both known to be toxic, are so used (18). The Makuna of Amazonian Colombia may occasionally add crushed leaves of Malouetia tamaquarina for cases where divination is expected to present difficulties. In Amazonian Peru what has, without voucher specimens, been determined as a species of Tabernaemontana is similarly valued as an additive (9).

Tobacco (Nicoliana tabacum) is rather commonly added to the caapi drink in the northwest Amazon (18). It is added usually in the form of a fine powder. Several other solanaceous plants occasionally and locally enter the preparation of the drink. Certain tribes in southern Colombia and Ecuador add the leaves of tree species of Datum — themselves hallucinogenic: peji amongst the Siona, huanto or guanto amongst several Ecuadorian groups (18). The solanaceous genus Brunfelsia is known to be alkaloidal and enters into South American folk medicine. Because of some of its native names and the special care taken in its cultivation, it has long been suspected that it had been hallucinogenically employed. Recent ethnobotanical field work has established the use of several species amongst the Kofan and Jivaro Indians of Colombia and Ecuador, and there is a distinct possibility that the Kachinaua of Brazil prepare an hallucinogenic drink directly from B. tasteuinii (27). Mounting evidence indicates that the solanaceous lochroma fuchsioides may likewise be taken with yaje or be added to the yaje drink itself by certain Kamsa medicine men in the high Andean Valley of Sibundoy, Colombia, where the plant is called borracllero ("in-toxicant").

The solanaceous Juanulloa ochracea is called ayahuasca in the Colombian Putumayo, a name strongly suggestive of use as an additive to Banisteriopsis drinks (27). The active alkaloid parquine is known to be present in the genus Juanulloa.

The use of the foregoing several plant additives has at least phytochemical explanation. There are, however, many additives the chemistry of which has not been elucidated. With our limited knowledge of their chemical constitution, we are too quick perhaps to ascribe the use of these additives to superstitious and magic reasons. There is every right to urge chemical study of each of them at as early a date as feasible.

Toe negra in Amazonian Peru is the acanthaceous Teliostachya lanceolata var. crispa, cultivated reputedly for use alone as a narcotic and as an additive to ayahuasca (27). The branches are boiled for most of the day with the bark of Banisteriopsis caapi. Whenever it is utilized alone, about ten leaves are gently boiled for seven hours. The effects are said to include loss of sight for three days, during which time conversation with the spirit of the plant is possible. This strange use, discovered only in 1967, should have high priority for chemical investigation — especially in view of the possibility that Justicia, another member of the family, may be hallucinogenic (3, 21).

The Chiriare on the Rio Nanay in Amazonian Peru consider the maranthaceous Calathea ueitehiana, locally called pulnca, as a "kind of yaje". It is "mixed with ayahuasca to see visions" (27). Biodynamic principles are unknown in the Maranthaceae.

Although no toxic principles are known from the Pontederiaceae, the vernacular name am aron borrachero for Ponlederia cordata in the Colombian Putumayo

 

PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN
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EDITORIAL BOARD Elwood B. Ehrle, Mankato State College Adolph Hecht, Washington State University Donald R. Kaplan, University of California (Berkeley) Erich Steiner, University of Michigan Beryl S. Vuilleumier, Smithsonian Institutuin
December 1972   Volume 18	Number Four

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suggests its use as an intoxicant or its possible use as an additive to yajc (27). In the same region, two members of the Amaranthaceae Alternanthera Lehmannii and a species of Iresine — have been indicated as additives to yaje, but no biodynamic principles have been found in this family (18).

Recent ethnotoxicological research on the components of ayahuasca amongst the Kulina and Sharanahua of Amazonian Peru — a most detailed and careful study — has indicated a great diversity of plant admixtures (16). Psychotria heads the list. Several ferns — Lyhodium Venuslum (Kulina: rawi; Sharanahua: tchai) and Lomariopsis japurensis (Kulina: ("suiileitseperi; Sharanahua: shoka) — are included, a most interesting addition to our list of possible biodynamic plants, in view of the absence from the ferns themselves of biologically active constituents and in view of the recently discovered use of Loww'iopsis• in folk medicine in the Colombian Amazon. This enumeration of additives continues with the loranthaceous Phr,yl;ilanth.us eugenioides (Kulina: kohobo; Sharanahua: miya); the labiate Ocimum micranthum (Kulina: it:oro; Sharanahua: fweroro); a species of Ccperus of the family Cyperaceae (Sharanahua: shako-shagari); a species of the guttiferous Clusia: (Kulina: appane; Sharanahua: miya); one member each in the genera Opuntia and Epiphyllum: (Sharanahua: pukara) of the Cactus Family; and two other plants, the specimens of which could not. be identified.

In Eastern Brazil, in Pernambuco and Paraiba, several tribes employ the root of the leguminous shrub Mimosa hostilis in the preparation of a "miraculous drink" known locally as ajuca or uinho de jurema (11). Another species of Mimosa — M. uerrucosa, jurema

In-anew, from the root of which a stupefacient is said to be prepared — may also sometimes be used in elaborating this drink (25, 26). The jurema cult has all the ap-

pearances of' an ancient ceremony, during which the potent drink causes warriors, on the eve of battle, to see glorious visions of the spirit lands and the clashing rocks destroying the souls of the dead or the thunder bird shooting out lightning from his head. In 1946, an alkaloid named nigerine was reported from Mimosa hostilis, but subsequent study showed that it was synonymous with N,N-dimethyltryptamine (26). This hallucinogenic tr,yptamine is, of course, present in several species of the related genus Anadenanthera from which hallucinogenic snuffs are elaborated in South America (20).

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How does the question of additives — the subject of the paper — enter into the problem of Mimosa hostilis,

N,N-dimethyltryptamine is believed not to be active when taken orally, unless it be taken with an amine oxidase inhibitor. How then could a drink prepared from Mimosa hostilis alone be so potently hallucinogenic — unless an additive with the inhibitor be added unbeknownst to those who have studied the preparation of the drink or unless the jurema root itself possesses an amine oxidase inhibitor? Here is a fascinating challenge for ethnotoxicological research.

The use of hallucinogenic snuffs in South America opens up rich avenues of ethnotoxicological research.

In the northwest Amazon and adjacent parts of the uppermost Orinoco, the blood-red resin from the bark of several species of the genus Virola of the Nutmeg Family or Myrristicaceae provides a very potent hallucinogenic snuff. The important species are V calophylla and V. calophylloidea in Colombia; V. theiodoro in Brazil and adjacent Venezuela. The identification of this potent snuff — locally known as epena, nyakraana, parka, yakee — has been made only in the past twenty years, in spite of the fundamental significance to the religious, magic and

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(Lophophorcr Williamsii) hallucinogenically active as a direct result of its content of mescaline. Why, then, are plant additives sometimes put with the active material of 75'ichocereu.s? One reason might be that the admixtures are desired to enhance, lengthen or otherwise alter the mescaline-induced effects of the San Pedro cactus.

The identity of some of the cimora drink additives we know — and we know that several of them may indeed be of themselves potently hallucinogenic. Of others we know phytochemically nothing.

In Peru, Neorailnondia macroslibus may sometimes be an additive (8). No chemical analysis of this large columnar Andean cactus has been made. Also occasionally added to the drink in Peru is Isoloma longiflora. a member of the Campanulaceae, a family with known psychoactive principles (8). The euphorbiaceous Pecli/anthit.s lilhvntaloide.s. likewise frequently used as an admixture, is highly aromatic as a result of organic acids (8). Some Peruvian medicine men add condorillo, a species of Lvcopodium (6). In view of the recent discovery in this pteridophyte genus of unusual types of alkaloids, this report has exceptional interest. Reports that a tree-species of Dalnra may be added to cimora can be easily understood because of the strongly hallucinogenic character of this solanaceous genus rich in tropane alkaloids (8). In addition to the species mentioned above, at least one other unidentified plant, known in eastern Peru as hornanto, is employed in preparing cimora (6).

Clearly our study of the use of additives to the New World hallucinogenic preparations has so far posed more questions than it has solved. The study has brought out into perspective the urgent need and the potential value of investigating this long neglected phase of ethnotoxicological lore. Anthropological, biochemical, botanical and phy-tochemical information lies waiting to be uncovered by an interdisciplinary attack on the problem.

We are coming, even with the initial steps in this study, to realize that American Indians rarely add ingredients to their sacred hallucinogenic preparations for purely capricious purposes. However they may nowadays rationalize the use of an additive, it may basically have a valid pharmacological reason underlying its intrusion into religiously or magically important narcotic formulae.

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LITERATURE CITED

(1) Agurell, S. B. Holmstedt, J. E. Lindgren and R. E. Schultes.

Identification of two new 13-carboline alkaloids in South American hallucinogenic plants. Biochem. Pharmacol. 17 (1968) 2487-2488.

(2)       , B. Hohnstedt, J. E. Lindgren and R. E.
Schultes. Alkaloids in certain species of t'imla and other South American plants of ethnopharmacologic interest. Aria (Them. Scand. 23 (1969) 903-916.

(3) Chagnon, N. A., P. Le Quesne and J. M. Cook. Yanomamo hallucinogens: anthropological, botanical and chemical fin-dings. Curr. Anthrop. 12, no. 1 (1971) 72-74.

(4) der Marderosian, A., H. V. Pinklev, M. F. Dobbins. Native use and occurrence of N,N-dimethyltryptamine in the leaves of 73anisleriopsi,s rusbvana. Ain. JoanPharui. 140 (1968) 137-1.17.

(5)       , K. M. Kensinger, J. M. Chao and F..3. Gold-
stein. The use of hallucinatory principles of a psychoactive beverage of the Cashinahua tribe (Antaaon basin). Drug Dependence, no. 5 (1970) 7-14.

(6)   Dobkin, M. Trichocereu.s pachanoi - a mescaline cactus used in
folk healing In Peru. Econ. 13ot. 22 (1968) 191-194.

(7)   Friedberg, C. Rapport sur une mission an Peru. Tray. Inst. Franc.
Etudes Andines 7 (1959-601 65-94.

(8)       , Utilisation (l'un cactus a mescaline au nord
du Perou (Trichocereus pachonoi Brit. et Rose). i'roc. VI int. Congr. Anthrop. Ethnol. Sci. 2, pt. 2 (1964) 21-26.

(9)       , Des Rcmislcriopsi.s utilisces cnrntue drogue
en Ameriquc du Slid. Jowl). Agric. Trop. 13ot. Appl. 12 (1965) 403-437: 550-594; 729-780.

(10)   Gitlin, J. :17oche: a Perttt'ian coastal community. Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C. (1945).

(11) Goncalves de Lima, O. Ohs, ryacocs sobre it viii ho de jurema' utilizado pelos indios Pancaru do Tacaratu (Pernambuco). Arqu. Inst. Pcsq. Agrou. 4 (1946) 45-80.

(12)   Gutierrez-Noriega, C. Area de uiescalismo en el Peru. Am. Ind. 10
(1950) 215-220.

(1:3)   Hugh-Jones, S. Letter to R. E. Schul(es. (May 2. 1972).

14. Lang-don, E. J. Letter to R. E. Schultes. (July 19, 1972).

(15)   Poisson, .1. Note sur Ic 'mntem', boissou toxique peruvienne et ses
alcaloides. Ann. Pharm. Fr. 2:3 (1965) 241-244.

(16) Rivier, L. and J. E. Lindgren. Ayahuasca, the South American hallucinogenic drink: an ethnobotanical and chemical investigation. Econ. Hot. (in press, 1972).

(17)   Schultes, R. E. A new narcotic snuff from the northwest Amazon.
Rol. Mus. Lean., Iiarvard University. 16 (1954) 241-260.

(18)       , The identity of the malpighiaceous !narcotics
of South America. Rot. Mus. Leat1. Harvard University. 18 (1957) 1-56.

(19)       , and R. F. I2affaof. P,'esloniu: an Amazon
narcotic or not'? 13ot. Mus. Lea11., Harvard University. 19 (1960) 109-122.

(20)       . The botanical origins of South American
snuffs. In Droll, D., I Ed.] Ethnopharmacologic search for psychoactive drugs. Pub!. Health Serv. Pub]. no. 1645, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (1967) 291-306.

(21)       , and B. Helmstedt. De plantis toxicariis e
Mundo Novo tropicale c'ommentationes II. The vegetal ingredients of the myristicaceous snuffs of the northwest Amazon. Rhodora 70 (1968) 113-160.

(22)       . Dc plant is toxicariis e Mundo Novo
tropicale conuuentationes V. Pinola as an orally ad-ministered hallucinogen. But. Mus. Leaf1., Harvard University. 22 (1969) 229-24(1.

(23)       . Hallucinogens of plant origin. Science 1(33
(1969) 245-254.

(24)       . The Plant Kingdom and hallucinogens.
Bull. Narcotics 21, no. :3 (1969) 3-16: no. 4 119(39) 15-27; 22, no. 1 (1970) 25-53.

(25)    . The botanical and chemical distribution of
hallucinogens. Ann. Rev. Pl. Physiol. 21 (1970) 571-598.

(26)    , and A. Hofmann. The hot any and chemistry
of' hallucinogens. Charles C Thomas, Publishers, Springfield, Illinois, (ill press, 1972).

(27)    . De plan/is toxicariis e Mundo Nato tropicale
conuuentationes X. New data on the malpighiaceous narcotics of South America. Rot. Mus. Leafl., Harvard University. 2:3 (1972) 1:37-147.

(28)    . An overview of hallucinogens in the Western
Hemisphere. In Furst, P. T. Ed.] Mesh of the pools. Praeger Puhlishers, New York, N. Y. (1972) 3-5.1.

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(29) Sharon, D. The San Pedro cactus in Peruvian folk healing. In Furst, P. T. [Ed.] Flesh of the gods. Praeger Publishers, New York, N. Y. (1972) 114-135.

30. Silverwood-Cope, P. Letter to R. E. Schultes (May, 25, 1969).

31. Spruce, R., A. R. Wallace [Ed.] Notes of a botanist on the Andes

and Amazon. Macmillan and Co., Ltd., London, Eng. 2 (1908)

413-455.

OPINION/COMMENTAR Y

To Be Basic is Basic

In the December 1971 issue of the Plant Science Bulletin, the Editor, in response to an article on the use of bryophytes to indicate air pollution and soil minerals, made the comment "The bryologist has become relevant just as the rest of us must!" No matter the intent of that statement, it seems that the word "relevant" has just about assumed the proportion of a stenciled heading when it comes to discussions of where modern science might, or indeed must, be going. In most grant applications and in the final paragraph of research papers, one is almost expected to intellectualize on how his or her special interest can perhaps feed the starving masses or cure cancer. It was indeed stunning and refreshing to find an introduction to a recent paper that read in part ... "They (heterodont sharks) have no commercial importance and are usually regarded as harmless to man". (1)

Unfortunately, this new direction has been aided and abetted by even NSF jumping on the "see me, I am relevant" bandwagon. Note for instance that in showing the NSF logo, we find SCIENCE describing it as "The National Science Foundation, in keeping with the trendiness of the times, has chosen to emphasize its concern for humanity and cooperation by adopting a new seal that depicts little hand-holding people arrayed around a circle containing a map of the world"(2). It also now appears that the Sea Grant Program is exclusively interested in becoming a combined USDA-EPA of the sea rather than trying to encourage research into some of the fundamental biological questions underlying the marine environment.

I should interject that applied research is, of course, the benefactor of mankind. There is an ever-present need for those few, bright individuals who can gather the correct information from a huge stockpile of data, and tie the pieces together into a functional whole. And, that need will never diminish. My point is, rather, that basic research, unbridled by the pragmatic constraints of private industry, or "experiment station" funded projects, will always be the cornerstone of all scientific knowledge. If we cease exploring and generating the basic ideas of the biological and physical world, then the applied fields and all of their technology will enter into steep declivity. It must be remembered that applied work is a "using" discipline rather than a "generating" one.

Perhaps we are seeing a type of C. P. Snow dichotomy within science itself. We find developers and producers on one hand and users on the other, with both sides becoming more and more mutually exclusive. Alternately, science, or at least those in a place of power, faced with a tremendous library of basic data, is now beginning to say that we should no longer gather random data (or perhaps have data producers), but we must begin to use those data. Such reasoning is logically viable only if, at the time of decision, we know and understand all of the facts pertaining to the problem at hand. If some of the basic information is still unrecorded, then any decision has to be tenuous.

It might be argued that money is the real cause of this shift in thinking towards the pragmatic rather than the pure. Unfortunately, it is ever so much easier for one administrator to go before a higher administrator and ex-plain his need of more money in terms of applied research rather than for him to present a knowledgeable justification for some estoteric bit of basic science being clone back in the laboratory. This problem is then compounded in that those with the ultimate money granting powers, the legislature or Board of Trustees, often have absolutely no knowledge of how any science works, either pure or applied, and they too take the course of least effort and expound the wonders of more food and less disease rather than trying to understand the background information which makes such advancements possible.

A glowing monument to the shallowness that can result from slighting basic research in favor of more highly visible applied work, can be found in the Philip-pine rice project. For the past few years uncomfortable rumors have been heard that the new "miracle" rice was not all it had been touted to be. One of the major television news programs, a few years back, ran a feature on how the new rice was not as palatable as the usual "inferior" rice. Such a trivial thing as bad taste, was, however, soon to be overlooked as the people realized the wondrous benefits of this new crop. Now, Mr. Marvin Harris writing in the June-July 1972 issue of Natural History Magazine lays open the threads of the Green Revolution fabric for all to see. The new rice appears weak on a number of fronts including taste, pathogen resistance, fertilizer needs, water needs, etc. The obvious rhetorical question is — Could a well-financed, nonagriculturally oriented, basic research program have ameliorated any of these problems. Instead, the various philanthropic organizations continue to cling to their grand plans of instant success through better crop breeding. This type of vision appears a bit myopic.

It now seems clear to me what the basic scientist must do. Rather than trying to mold our efforts towards an unnatural, nonattainable, immediately pragmatic goal, we must set out to educate our administrators, legislators, and voters on the value of basic research as the firm foundation upon which applied research is built. It isn't going to be an easy task. The amount of money for basic research is at best remaining steady (at least in election years) or more often decreasing. Applied organizations such as USDA, AID and the private groups often have a paid public relations staff to grind out their propaganda. The basic researcher, on the other hand, of-ten has only himself in his laboratory. But, we must try. Research results should go to the local newspapers or national weekly magazines. I think that often these sources would use our work but mostly only hear from the more-organized public relation groups mentioned above. If we don't educate the public on the necessity of basic work, we have only ourselves to blame as the well dries up.

Let me close with a few examples of how one must build a solid set of often unrelated facts before theory and pragmatic usage can be developed. I offer the following for your consideration.

From Harvey A. Miller's enjoyable article on bryophytes (PSB, December 1971) I would point out that without the initial basic taxonomic studies, how is one to distinguish between Racdula or Orthotrichum as being more sensitive than Mnium hornum to SO,. The original taxonmists, I am quite sure, never gave soil mineral con-tent a thought when differentiating between Gym iiocolea acutiloba, Racomitrium sudeticum and Cephalozia

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bicuspidate, but now we can use each, perhaps, as a specific mineral indicator if we can recognize the correct tax a.

Or, consider the chemistry of any of the modern herbicides or pesticides. Knowledge of the compound's basic molecular structure, its method of synthesis, and most modifications of its structure is the product of decades of basic organic chemistry — not information gained in the last few years as the compound became useful. In fact, had it not been for years of basic research we simply would not have the arsenal of chemicals used in our everyday life. On second thought, that might be a good argument against basic research.

Finally it would be fun to speculate on the con-sequences to present-day plant breeding and genetics if, back in the mid-1800's, some Chairman or Dean Friar had waiked up to a certain monk and said "Gregor!, get these damn wrinkled, yellow peas out of here and get on to something important like growing bigger potatoes!"

In closing, I submit that when Molecular Biology first appeared on the scene, great numbers of biologists who could neither do, nor understand, this new area of study, came forth to damn it as being only momentarily popular. But now that "environmental" or "food production" studies can be almost anyone's bag, we are told to shape up — do your own thing baby, but be sure it's relevant (and best of all environmental).

The Editor's comment notwithstanding, it seems to me that there is still a place for any kind of well-done research, be it immediately relevant or not.

Fred R. Rickson Oregon State University

1. McLaughlin, R. H. and A. K. O'Gower, 1971. Life History and Underwater Studies of a Heterodont Shark. Ecological Monographs 41:271-289.

2. SCIENCE 175 (4023) 18 Feb. 1972. p. 738. systematics collections and the services they provide will take the opportunity to read the Report in its draft form and provide the editors with thoughtful and constructive comments, all of which will be considered by the editors in their efforts to make the Report a more effective instrument for the communities it is designed to serve.

Association of Systematics Collections

Gordon Research Conference on
Plant Cell and Tissue Culture
June 25-29, 1973
Holderness School, Plymouth, N.H.

The theme of the Conference is: "Plant Tissue Culture techniques and their application in Crop Improvement". Enquiries should be sent to: Dr. Alexander M. Cruickshank, Director, Gordon Research Conferences, Pastore Chemical Laboratory, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881.

The eight sessions to be conducted are: 1. Growth and Differentiation: (a) Growth and Embryogenesis. (b) Organogenesis in meristems and cultured cells. 2. Organ Culture: (a) Virus disease therapy. (b) Anther culture and haploid plants. :3. Plant Protoplasts: (a) Isolation culture, division. (b) Fusion. 4. Cell Structure and Organelles: (a) Cell membranes. (b) Organelles. 5. Plant Genetics: (a) Methods of gene transfer. (b) Mutant plants and cells. 6. Nitrogen Fixation: (a) In Vitro systems. (b) Genetics of bacterial systems. 7. Host-Parasite Relation-ships: (a) In Vitro systems of plant cells and fungi. (b) Virus and protoplasts. 8. Tissue Culture in Crop Improuenzent: (a) Sugar Cane. (b) Rice.

Systematics Collections:
A National Plan

Draft copies of a Report entitled "Systematics Collections: A National Plan ..." will be available at no charge

until 31 January 1973 from Philip S. Humphrey, Interim

Secretary, Association of Systematics Collections, Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.

The Report presents a "National Plan" for making systematics collections and their associated resources a more effective national resource, better able to serve the needs of systematic biologists and those agencies of society which depend on systematic information in seeking solutions to various biomedical, environmental, agricultural, and other problems. The "National Plan" presented in the draft Report is an important first step which, hopefully, will lead soon to solutions to some of the most basic problems which have been plaguing systematics collections and their associated resources for a great many years.

The editors responsible for prqaring the Report for publication, will be doing so d-t latter part of February 197:3. It is hoped that all those interested in

NABT Establishes Fund For Freedom in Science Teaching

The Board of Directors of the National Association of Biology Teachers has established an NABT Fund for Freedom in Science Teaching. This action was taken in response to an increasing number of incidents throughout the nation in which the academic freedom of science teachers has been endangered. If appropriate action is not taken to offset this trend, the decade of the Seventies may witness a continual erosion of sound classroom and laboratory teaching techniques, delayed or decreased development and implementation of new and scientifically sound curriculum materials, and a potentially disastrous limitation on the freedom of secondary school and college science faculty to teach in a professional manner.

The Board of Directors of the National Association of Biology Teachers has recognized that the apathy of many teachers, scientists, and professional associations is due to the lack of a rallying point; i.e., some society willing to play an activist role. NABT is willing to do just that. All it needs is money. With a substantial Fund for Freedom in Science Teaching, NABT can act in a responsible and professional way to protect the academic freedom of all science teachers.

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Won't you support the NABT Fund for Freedom in Science Teaching? Not a penny accrues to the organizational and operational costs of NABT; on the contrary, the Fund is used exclusively for the furtherance of academic freedom in the teaching of science.

Your contribution is tax deductible ... and urgently needed. Make your check payable to: NABT Fund for Freedom in Science Teaching. Mail it to: NABT 1420 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005.

Professional Opportunities

AUBURN UNIVERSITY has a faculty position available for a Taxonomic Mycologist in the Department of Botany and Microbiology. This is a graduate teaching-research position. Instructional duties will involve the teaching of introductory and advanced mycology to graduate amd advanced undergraduate students in microbiology and plant pathology and to thesis supervision. Research responsibilities will be on the isolation, identification and solution of' taxonomic problems of fungi, especially ascomycetes and fungi imperfecti, associated with research programs in tnycotoxicology, microbiology, and plant pathology. They mycologist will assist current projects and will have the opportunity to develop research projects of his own. The candidate should have a Ph.D. degree in the plant sciences with major in mycology and emphasis on taxonomy. Three to five years postdoctoral experience or equivalent. in research, teaching, and direction of graduate students is highly desirable. Please ad-dress inquiries to Dr. -Icrntc's A. Lyle, Professor and Head, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Funchess Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama :36830.

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES, Facultad de Ciencias, Merida, Venezuela, is inviting applications for a position in the Department of Biology. Candidates must have research experience in one of the following areas: plant morphology; plant cell, organ, and tissue culture; or, plant physiology. The position involves undergraduate teaching in taxonomy of vascular plants. Candidates must also have good command of the Spanish language. Per-sons interested in further details are asked to write to Dr. . V. Scur_a, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Merida, Venezuela.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Department of Botany announces an open competition for two Newcombe Fellowships to be awarded for the 1973-74 academic year. These fellowships, restricted to students who plan to pursue graduate study in plant physiology, physiological ecology, or cell biology, will provide a stipend of 8:3,600, and all tuition will be waived.

Interested persons should apply by February 1, 1973 to Dr. Charles B. Beck, Chairman, Department of Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.

Botanical Potpourri

THE 197:3 INTERNATIONAL GEOBOTANY CONI'ERENCE will be held at the University>f Tennessee;-Knoxville, 2-3 March 1973. The conferenc'e theme concerns the interaction of Southern Appalachian vegetation and landscapes and related phenomena. A full day each of field conferences and invited and contributed papers is planned. Certain contributed short papers may still be accepted, based on their pertinence to the four following major topics: I. Problems in reconstruction of Southern Appalachian vegetational history from the fossil record. H. Problems in Southern Appalachian landscape morphology and genesis. HI. Characteristics, distribution, and genesis of soils of the Appalachians south of the glacial border. IV. Problems of defining Southern Appalachian vegetation and in quantifying the interactions controlling its distribution.

For further information write: Dr. Cliff Amundsen. Graduate Program in Ecology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee :37916.

THE IX CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR QUATERNARY RESEARCH (INQUA) will meet in New Zealand in 1974. Many botanists will be interested in participating in this meeting. The congress is interdisciplinary in scope with symposia, contributed paper sessions and field excursions to various parts of New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea. Travel grants will he available to a number of individuals. Anyone interested in applying for support, you should request an application form in writing, addressed to: INQIJA Travel Support Program, coo Division of Earth Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. Applications for travel grants should be received in the Academy office indicated by June 1, 197:3. Grants will be awarded on or about September 1, 197;3.

The purpose of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) is to bring together on a world-wide basis scientists in all disciplines concerned with the history of man's environment, and with the processes by which environment and man's relation to environment have evolved. Included among these disciplines are: archaeology, botany, climatology, ecology, geochemistry. geography, geomorphology, geophysics, hydrology, paleontology, limnology, oceanography, palynology, physical anthropology, soil science, tectonophysics, and zoology.

THE TECH AQUA DEVELOPMENT CONSORTIUM has announced the program of biology course to be offered this coming summer at the Tech Aqua Biological Station on Center Hill Reservoir near Smithville, Tennessee. Each course is offered at the advanced undergraduate - graduate level. They are as follow: First Term: -Jne 10 - ,July 1:3 Local flora; freshwater Algae; Freshwater Invertebrates: and Ornithology. Second Term: -July 18 - August 21 Ecosystem Analysis; Herpetology; Limnology: and Ichthyology.

Details and applications for admission may be obtained from the Director: Dr. Robert Marlin; Department of Biology; Tennessee Technological University; Cookeville, Tennessee, :38501.

PLANT SCIENCE LETTERS, an international journal of experimental plant biology, will start publication in 1973.

The new journal is intended for the rapid publication of research findings in all areas directed to, and dealing with, experimental plant biology. Short, concise papers, not exceeding six printed pages will be accepted for publication. There will be no page charges.

This new journal aims to cover the following topics: molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysics, mechanisms related to development and differentiation,

43

morphogenesis, cell organelles, tissue and cell cultures, cellular and molecular genetics.

Free sample copies are available upon request from Elsevier, Journal Division, P. O. Box 211, AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands.

THE SIXTH JESSE M. GREENMAN AWARD will be presented at the 1973 annual banquet of the Botanical Society of America. This Award of $100 is presented each year by the Alumni Association of the Missouri Botanical Garden in recognition of the best paper in plant systematics based on a doctoral dissertation published during the previous year. Papers published during 1972 are now being considered. Reprints of such papers should be sent to Peter H. Rarer, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden, 2:315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri (33110, before May 1, 1973.

William T. Gillis. Arnold Arboretum, is the recipient of the 1972 Award. The winning publication is his exhaustive, broadly based study of two sections of Toxicodendron, "The systematics and ecology of poison-ivy and the poison-oaks (Toxicodendron, Anacardiaceae" (Rhodora 73: 72-159; 161-273, 370-443; 465-540).

THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION OF BOTANICAL ART & ILLUSTRATION, presented by the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, opened Monday, November 13, in the Hunt Library Penthouse, Carnegie-Mellon University. The exhibit is free and open to the public, and will be on view weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through March 30. The show, held every four years, is devoted to contemporary botanical paintings and prints, and features works of art acquired by Hunt Institute since the preceding exhibit. This year's show, which includes 377 works by 181 artists representing 29 countries, is the largest collection of botanical art ever exhibited at the Institute. It includes both drawings by specialized botanical illustrators as well as works by such outstanding figures in the art world as Leonard Baskin and Lowell Nesbitt.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ECOLOGY is scheduled for 8-14 Sept., 1974, irn The Hague. The Congress will provide an opportunity for a final intersectional synthesis session for the International Biological Program. The Congress will also mark the termination of IBP and formally recognize the significance of this program to the advancement of the science of ecology.

"Structure, Function and Management of Ecosystems," will be the general topic, with five sub-topics to be established by an International Steering Committee. Emphasis will be on the unifying concepts of the science. The Steering Committee consists of: W. H. van Dobben, general ecology (Netherlands), Chairman; Arthur D. Hasler, limnology (United States), President of the Congress; W. Frank Blair, terrestrial ecology (USA); A. E. Boyo, human biology (Nigeria); Claude Delamare-Debouteville, soil ecology (France); V. Delucchi, entomology (Switzerland); M. J. Dunbar, marine-biology and primary production (Canada); T. Kira, population biology (Japan); Eric LeCren, limnology (Britian); C. V. Nikolsky, fish ecology (USSR); D. Neumann, terrestrial physiology (German Federal Republic); Moshe Shilo, microbiology (Israel); R. O. Slaytyer, plant physiology (Australia): G. J. Vervelde, agronomy (Netherlands) and G. T. de Wit, terrestrial ecology and systems analysis (Netherlands).

THE 197:3 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CANADIAN BOTANICAL ASSOCIATION will be held at the University of Western Ontario, London, June 3-7. The program will include a symposium concerning "MAN'S IMPACT ON THE CANADIAN FLORA."

Other highlights of the programme will be field trips to places of botanical interest in Southeastern Ontario. For further information please contact P. 13. Carers — Chairman, Local Arrangements Committee.

Personalia

Dr. Henry T. Skinner, Director of the National Arboretum in Washington, D. C. was named winner of the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal for 1972. The announcement was made by the American Horticultural Society president, David G. Leach, at the organization's 27th annual Congress. The award is the highest honor that is given the field of American horticulture. The award went to Skinner for his role in building the arboretum into a place of national and international prominence in the plant world.

Jame., A. McArthur has recently joined the Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami. Dr. McArthur was a research associate in the Botany Department at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. His Doctorate was taken at Stanford, and post-doctoral work at U.C.S.D. in La Jolla, California.

William P. Jacobs, Professor of Biology, was recently named as the first incumbent of the William Lightfoot Schultz Chair of Biology by the President of Princeton University. Professor Jacobs was cited as a faculty member who carries on in the best tradition the role of the Princeton teacher-scholar.

Dr. Raymond W. Holton, Professor and Head of the Department of Botany of the University of Tennessee, has been awarded a Fulbright Senior Lectureship and will be on leave at the University of Durham, England for the 1972-73 academic year. During his absence, Dr. Larry W. Janes will serve as Acting Head during the fall quarter and Dr. Ronald H. Petersen for the remainder of the academic year.

JOHN HUTCHINSON 1884-1972

With the death of Dr. John Hutchinson at the age of 88 there passes one of the great figures of British systematic botany. From humble beginnings he rose through the ranks of the manual gardening staff at Kew, which he entered in 1904, to a position of international eminence in botany, becoming Keeper of the Museums at Kew and a Fellow of the Royal Society. His fame in taxonomic botany rests mainly on his outstanding contributions to the study of the classification and evolution of flowering plant families, but also on his works in other fields of botany, written in an enviably easy style and based on a wealth of experience equalled by no other living botanist.

During his time at Kew he made major const•ibutions to the Flora of Tropical Africa. He wrote, in conjunction with Dr. J. M. Dalziel, a two-volume account of the Flora of West Tropical Africa, a work which by its

44

conciseness and careful planning has served as a model for a number of later Floras.

With the publication in 1926 of the first volume of his Families of Glowering Plants, followed by the second volume in 1934, he gave an impetus to the study of plant evolution and phylogeny which caused a ferment of interest in the 1930s and affected all students of phylogeny and systematic botany. His theories, although controversial, were so far reaching in their effects that even now no one can write on the general topic of plant phylogeny without to some extent being under the influence of "Hutch", even if unknow tingly.

The Genera of Flowering Plants, started in 1964, was a mammoth undertaking that would have daunted anyone less confident and enthusiastic than Hutchinson. It was no less than a descriptive account of all the genera of flowering plants and was undoubtedly inspired by that great classic, the Gernera Plantcrrum, by George Bentham and Sir Joseph Ilooker, published in the 19th century. It is worth noting that Hutchinson was one of the few survivors who knew Hooker personally and indeed the first edition of the Families of the .Flowering Plants bore a dedication to Bentham and Hooker, with a floral tribute from Hutchinson's own pen. Two volumes of The Genera of Flowering Plants have appeared and further material is in an advanced stage. As if this were not enough, in 1969 he published a further massive volume on the E'olution and Phvlogenv of Flowering Plants.

To many people all over the world he represented the embodiment of one of the great traditions of British systematic botany. His kindly, paternal presence seemed part of Kew and not a few visitors counted it as one of the important moments of their visit just to have seen John Hutchinson at work.

GEORGE WILLARD MARTIN 1886-1971

I remember George Martin as a friend to whom any colleague or student could bring a question or comment and be received with gentle, thoughtful good humor. He was generous with his time and sage advice to his numerous students, friends and fellow faculty members. An accomplished scholar and scientist of' integrity, Dr. Martin loved a good debate and defended his convictions tenaciously. He was a good listener and respected the views of others. He was quick to admit he had been mistaken, when valid evidence contrary to his views was revealed. He seemed to delight in counting some of his staunchest adversaries among his best friends.

George W. Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 27, 1886, the son of George Augustus and Sarah Ann (Harped) Martin. lie Married Mary Gillespie of New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1916. She preceeded him in death by almost one year.

After attending Boys High School in Brooklyn. George Martin worked for seven years in the financial district of New York City. He earned the Litt. B. degree from Rutgers University in 1912 and the M.S. degree in 1915. Later he attended the University of Chicago and studied botany and mycology, receiving the Ph.D. degree in 1922. Rutgers University awarded him an honorary L). Sc. degree in 196:3.

Dr. Martin contributed significantly to our society as a teacher and research scholar. He was an instuctor at Massachusetts Agriculture College, Amherst, from 1916 to 1917 when he volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. He served in an infantry regiment in France until 1919, and was promoted, in the field, to First Lieutenant. The strength of his character is demonstrated by the fact that he refused to apply for veteran's benefits stating that he firmly believed a man should serve his country (luring wartime without the expectation of a veteran's bonus. He taught English and Botany at Rutgers University from 1919-23 and moved with his family to Iowa in 1923, where he began a long and fruitful career in the Department of Botany at the University of Iowa at Iowa City. His skill as a teacher and research scholar is attested by his rapid rise through the academic ranks to Professor in 1929. During the years until his retirement in 1955 and following his retirement, he guided 47 graduate students through the efforts of M.S. and Ph.D. training. Most of these students occupy positions of high responsibility in industry or educational institutions in the U.S. and several other countries. They constitute a viable monument to his ability and unstinting effort as a men-tor. Martin was head of the Department of Botany from 1953 to 1956. After his retirement, he served one year on the faculty of the Department of Botany, University of Illinois, returning to the University of Iowa, where he continued his scholarly contributions almost. to the day of his death.

His avid interest. in literature and music as well as botany was always evident to Dr. Martin's close friends and students in conversation and correspondence with him. For several years he was invited by the English Department to teach an advanced seminar course titled, "Nature and the Nature of Man," dealing with classic writings. His outstanding facility with the English language led Dr. Martin frequently into editorial positions for scientific journals. Ile was editor-in-chief of' Mycologia for seven years and editor of the University of Iowa Studies in Natural History from 1934 until his death on September 11, 1971.

George W. Martin became internationally respected for his expert knowledge of fungi, especially Slime Molds (Myxomycetes) and Jelly Fungi (Trentellaceae). He was author of two world monographs on Slime Molds; the first in 1934 with 'I'. H. MacBride became a classic work: the second, in 1969 with C..1. Alexopoulos of the University of Texas, is the current authority on this subject. He has published numerous papers on plant pathology, marine ecology, general mycology and the special taxonomy of' Myxomycetes and Tremellaceous fungi.* ' In recognition of the excellence of his contributions to Cryptogamic Botany, Dr. Martin was given the Henry Allan Gleason Award, by the New York Botanical Garden in August 1970.

His students, colleagues and many friends will cherish the memory of George Martin's keen mind, sharp wit, and friendly counsel. He was a ratan of clearly conceived ideas and carefully considered convictions which he supported honestly and forthrightly with a facile pen and clear, convincing speech. For a half' a century students and colleagues have been inspired by Dr. Mar-tin's acumen as a scientist, skill in letters, and boundless enthusiasm for the organisms with which he spent more than half a lifetime in study. In the truest sense he was a gentleman and a scholar.

Robert L. Hulhcu'v
Department of Botany
I itirer.sity of Iowa

'Lentz. I'. L. and C. R. Benjamin. 1971. George Willard Martin. Mycopathologia et Mytoln{(ia Applicata )5::1-):VII-YV.

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Book Reviews

STREETS, R. B. The Diagnosis of Plant Diseases. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. 1971. $4.95.

The Diagnosis of Plant Diseases as the description on the cover indicates is "A field and laboratory manual emphasizing the most practical methods for identification" of plant diseases. It is, however, much more than that. Within the manual lies a fund of information organized in a straightforward manner documenting in-formation that will be useful to those curious about the problems of their favorite plants or crops.

The introductory chapter is packed with common sense and focuses on the background of experience which Dr. Streets has acquired during .14 years of dealing with people having plant problems: from those retirees with their misplaced "lilies-of-the-valley" in the Arizona desert to the big crop production specialists who will "sue you" on your first incorrect diagnosis.

The second chapter establishes many of the principles upon which successful extension plant pathology is based. From the treatment of the "hopeless cases", advice on not "taking sides" to the proper "bedside manner,. for the extension man, the chapter is filled with information couched in useful terms and touched with the right amount of humor to make his serious points palatable. The concepts and establishment of a plant disease diagnostic clinic are detailed in the manual: included is practical information on disease identification forms, equipment for diagnosis, and selected chemical formulations for accomplishing particular steps in specimen preservation and identification.

The collection and recording of samples is the subject of chapter three. Sampling, field collections, record taking, and steps in diagnosis are all topics which would be valuable in an advanced course in plant disease diagnosis. A particularly useful section of this chapter describes making photographic records of specimens. Lighting, magnification, and the choices of black and white, color, or infrared films are discussed from the point of view of taking meaningful records.

Special methods for the preparation of difficult-tohandle specimens are covered in chapter four which is filled with tips for inducing sporulation of fungi on various plant parts and techniques for examining tissues. Many symptoms shown by these techniques are well illustrated by photographs.

Chapters five through ten constitute somewhat over half the manual and contain the essential keys needed for the diagnosis or nonparasitic diseases including nutrient deficiencies and excesses, and various unfavorable environments; bacterial diseases, nematodes, virus and mycoplasma diseases; imperfect fungi; in■-xomycetes and phycomycetes; ascomycetes, and hasidiomycetes. Accompanying photographs and line drawings simplify the task of keying down diseases and causal agents. Although not comprehensive, the manual covers the majority of problems found on most crop and ornamental species.

Concluding the manual is an index to references "chosen for their usefulness in diagnosis of plant diseases", This list of 44 citations is well documented and should form the backbone of any extension plant pathologist's library.

As is clear from the opening preface to the end of the manual, Dr. Streets has provided precisely the sort of in-formation which is needed to help redirect the course of plant pathology which today is leaning so heavily toward basic research that it is in danger of losing public support. Already in its 2nd edition and third printing. the manual has been widely used by plant pathologists throughout the world. It is my impression that many volumes of The Diagnosis of Plant Diseases will become dog-eared and be replaced, for on every page can be found the kind of in-formation which will repay the reader many times the modest cost of the manual.

Paul H. Williams (,eieetsil v of 14'isconsin

CRAFTS, A. S. AND C. E. CR151'. Phloem Transport in Plants. W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 1971. xxii + 481 pages, ti-I illustrations, 54 tables. $12.00.

It is now more than a hunched years since Ifartig first discovered sieve tubes and associated solute transport with sieve elements. Although the subject of'translocation has since been tackled by many prominent botanists, the mechanism of transport of material in phloem still remains an unsolved problem. Opposing views on sieve element structure and mechanism of transport have been in existence for more than three decades. The use of' radioactive isotopes and the electron microscope have of-ten confused rather than clarified the issues. Amidst such confusion and controversy it is heartening to see two experienced workers attempting to put it all together.

The hook is divided into three main parts that deal with structure-function relations, experimental results, and tuanslocation mechanisms respectively. The structure of sieve elements is adequately reviewed by the authors. Considerable attention is paid to the question of slime in sieve elements. The authors suggest that the slime and filamentous P-protein (or plasmatic filaments) are separate entities. Slime is considered as the disintegrated product of organelles in the sieve element that. is eventually moved out of the clement with assimilate stream. The plasmatic filaments on the other hand, persist in the sieve element as a reticulum throughout its functioning life. To a large extent this concept. depends on how one defines slime. Furthermore, the proposal that slime and plasmatic filaments are separate entities may net get much support from structural botanists.

Some of the terminology used its the hook might be confusing to readers. For example, the terms sieve cells. siec'e-tube elements and .siege tubes have been used interchangeably. Most of the electronlnicrographs chosen to illustrate this part of the book are appropriate. However, it is not clear why the authors, who have emphasized the importance of using proper fixatives and fixation methods, have selected some electronmicrographs of material fixed in an unsatisfactory fixative such as potassium permanganate to illustrate some aspects of sieve element structure. The subjects of sieve tube plugging. pathways of translocation, and phloem exudation have been very well covered.

The second part of the hook supplies a wealth of in-formation on experimental results concerning assimilate movement, transport of plant hormones and movement of exogenous substances. A vei' useful table that lists the substances found to be phloem-mobile in plants has been included. Several techniques including the use of aphid stvlet exudate and labeled material have been well discussed. Recent work done with isolated phloem strands has unfortunately not received much attention.

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Movement of exogenous substances in phloem such as viruses, tracers, dyes, pesticides and herbicides has been skillfully summarized and discussed.

The last and in my opinion the most interesting part of the book, analyzes proposed mechanisms of phloem transport. The authors have reviewed all major theories on the mechanism of phloem transport and have argued convincingly in support of the pressure flow or mass flow hypothesis. However, their arguments are based mainly on the structural and physiological data obtained from angiosperm sieve tubes. Since comparable structural and physiological data on the phloem is lacking in gymnosperms and vascular cryptogams, only future research can tell whether the mass flow hypothesis can also be applied to phloem translocation in these groups.

A few mistakes in citing authors and some spelling mistakes in the book indicate a lack of meticulous editing.

But these defects are trivial indeed when compared to the tremendous contribution the book has made to the study of translocation. The arrangement of the book, the wealth of references (734 if my counting is correct), the scope of the subjects covered and the zest with which the book has been written makes it the only one of its kind on the subject of phloem translocation.

M. V. Parthasarathv Cornell University

EPSTEIN, EMANUEL. Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Per.spectiues. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 1972. 412 pp.

The author states that his book is written for a broad readership ranging from undergraduates to researchers in such varied fields as ecology, resource management and plant physiology. To a considerable degree this difficult goal is attained. The text is well written and should hold the attention of serious undergraduates. Yet it also goes deep enough into several subjects to expose unanswered questions and areas of active research. Numerous well-chosen references are cited throughout the text thus providing the more committed reader with the necessary information to pursue specialized topics in greater depth.

The reader will be significantly aided by at least a fair knowledge of plant anatomy since certain features of the plant body which are important to mineral nutrition are not always illustrated in detail (e.g.. the structure of the endodermis and particularly the location of the casparian strips). Space such as that occupied by the electronmicrograph of a salt gland of Limrntitmt t ulgare would serve a more useful purpose if filled with something more fundamental such as a photograph of the fine structure of a sieve plate. Although a little short on illustrations of plant structure, the text does include many relevant tables and graphs.

The book begins with a brief, well organized description of several classic experiments on plant nutrition. The bulk of the text and its most sophisticated portions deal with salt procurement by higher plants and particularly with the properties of plant cell membranes and the selective transport of salts by these entities. Here the author has drawn on his own vast experiences to provide readable accounts of numerous experiments and observations designed to elucidate the uptake mechanisms responsible for the selective accunntlation of solutes by plants. Less detailed accounts of xylem and phloem transport are provided. Also included with lesser emphasis are descriptions of biogeochemical cycling, soil-plant relationships, nutritional pathology- and the role of various mineral elements in plant metabolism. In the final chapter the author emphasizes the growing importance of the underdeveloped fields of comparative plant nutrition and nutritional genetics.

In any small volume dealing with a subject as broad as plant nutrition, many topics must be relegated to cursory treatment and no two individuals would place major emphasis on the same points. In this instance, several topics of considerable interest to certain elements of the proposed readership may be too lightly treated. For example, the short discussions accorded to the implications of mvcorrhizas and foliar leaching to plant nutrition seem unduly superficial when compared to the much more extensive treatments of several other subjects like nitrogen fixation and membrane permeability.

But these are not serious deficiencies in a publication of this design and purpose. This hook does bring together a diverse series of subjects and supporting references seldom encountered in a single volume and presents them in a coherent readable style. As intended, this book does provide useful information to a variety of biologists. It will be particularly useful as a secondary resource for students involved in introductory plant physiology, ecology, and resource management courses. It is well suited to serve as the central text for an introductory plant nutrition course.

Duda H. Benzing Oberlin College

GAHAN, P. B., Editor. Autoradiography for Biologists

Academic Press, Inc., London, 1972. 124 pp. $625. For the beginner in autoradiography this slim volume is an excellent introduction. The introduction is not to the literature, nor to extensive theoretical considerations, but to the laboratory. You will find here detailed instructions as to techniques. It is a cook-book and a good one. This volume is the only one of its kind, and should be a valuable and practical aid. The manual is divided into six chapters, by five different authors. Each contributor has had extensive research experience and has taught the methods described. The chapter on theory by S. R. Pelc is concise and lucid. P. B. Gahan presents details of macroautoradiography with suggestions as to handling plant materials as well as animal tissues. T. C. Appleton writes on autoradiography with stripping film and also on techniques for diffusible substances. Rita Bogoroch treats liquid emulsion autoradiography and G. C. Budd, high resolution autoradiography. The book is very well illustrated, appears to be remarkably free from errors, and has an index adequate for the size of the volume. References are not extensive, but enough follow each chapter to serve as an entry into the literature.

Since the book was written for the novice, it would be strengthened by a more ample discussion of the circumstances under which a particular technique should be used. Much procedural detail is present, but very little guidance as to the technique of preference for a particular problem. A good deal of sophistication is assumed on the one hand, on the other, none at all. Autoradiography is a field now well enough established that a standard techniques handbook with specific information as to commercial sources for various substances will not soon be out of date. This is a delightful little book and is heartily recommended as the place to start for anyone actually wanting to do some autoradiography.

Bruce N. Smith Uduersity of Texas at Austin

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PIRONE, P. P. Tree Maintenance, 4th Ed. Oxford.

1972.

The publication of the revised 4th edition of Pirone's popular and very useful book on tree maintenance is a welcome event. Pirone's book, which first appeared in 1941, has been widely utilized because it is not only an excellent guide that is understood by the ordinary home gardener as well as by a professional arborist, but its extensive source-material makes it a good reference work for students of horticulture and botany.

The 4th edition follows closely the arrangement of the :3rd edition published 10 years ago. The contents are divided into two parts: (1) General Maintenance Practices — on soils, transplanting of trees, fertilizers, pruning, and caring; and (2) Specific Abnormalities — on diagnosing tree troubles, insect control, spraying, and tree diseases and control. The last mentioned section also contains two extended lists of diseases and insect pests, one of which deals with Iow-growing trees and the other with tall-growing trees. These lists have been considerably expanded from the previous edition as has been much of the text and illustrative material itt the other parts of the book. The geographical scope of the book has also been broadened from its original concern with the north-eastern and northcentral states to include problems in the southern, southwestern and western states.

Especially commendable are the changes which have been made toward the book's approach to the use of pesticides. Through the past ten years, the public has been aroused to the danger of the indiscriminate use of chemicals to control plant diseases with respect to our natural environment and directly to human health. Li this new edition, mention of many dangerous or harmful pesticides is eliminated while others are recommended with caution.

With our increasingly nature-conscious public becoming more and more aware of the importance of trees to our general welfare, Pirone's work, especially in its revised 4th edition, will remain a popular and useful book for all those dealing with trees, whether home gardeners, professional arborists, or botanists.

H. L. Li, Morris Arboretum thtirersit' of Penn,svlt•crttia

REINHOLD, L. and Y. LIWSCHITS. (eds.) Progress in Phylochcmistrv, Vol. 2: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York. 1970. 512 pp. $27.50.

Within the last eight years there have been a number of excellent books published in the field of phytochemist•y. This book is highly recommended not only for its contribution to the phytochemical literature but also to the general area of plant metabolism. One of the aims of this series is to provide information in such a manner to permit hot the experienced worker and novice to gain meaningful information. To accomplish this each article includes not only the most recent developments in the area being covered, but also sufficient background in-formation is included to enable a non-specialist to obtain a complete picture of the subject. To this aim the editors and authors have succeeded remarkably well. In addition the most recent and technical considerations have not been slighted.

This book is truly international and experts from many different countries have participated. This volume contains eight major articles which cover a wide range of phytochemical and metabolic areas. The topics which are discussed include: Chemistry and biochemistry of pollens; c'-dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis; structure and function of franction-I protein; relations between plants; insects and their isoprenoids; non-protein amino acids; prenyl phytoquinones and related compounds; biosynthesis, physiological effects and mode of action of ethylene; chemistry and biochemistry of limonoids and quassinoids.

Each of the articles is well written and easy to follow. The concept of including background material in a review article is a good one and has definitely enhanced the value of this book for persons interested in phytochemist'y and other areas of general plant metabolism.

Richard L. Mansell lint,. of So. Florida

KELLMAN, M. C. Secondary Plant Succession in Tropical Montane Mindanao. International Scholarly Book Services, Inc., Portland, Oregon. 1970. $3.00.

Secondary tropical vegetation, as pointed out by the author, has received very little study — with most of the work by Ecologists in the Tropics having concentrated upon the shrinking areas of primary forest. With this paucity of detail, it is not surprising that accounts of secondary tropical vegetation have been very general. It should be pointed out that such concentration in the tropics of study on primary vegetation is similar to what forest ecologists have long done with "climax" forests in North America.

The area of study, known as Gumate, is located in Southeast Mindanao, Phillipines. Gumate lies in the up-per fringes of the lowland Dipterocarp rain forest, a type which before mans appearance in large numbers, had covered most well-drained sites below 1000 m in the Phillipines (the elevation of Gumate ranges from 900-1200 m). The study area had a history of rather recent disturbances, with stands of no more than 27 years of age being sampled. Only small undisturbed patches of the Dipterocarp forest persist in the study area today. A number of the stands studied had previously been fields, abandoned after agricultural activities, including those areas which had been cleared, burned, and used for abaca (manila hemp, Musa lextilis), upland rice, corn, coffee, and other food crops in the post-war period.

A research design at a level between the broad general survey of a large geographical area and an intensive examination of a single stand was selected (18 stands were analyzed). Quadrat sampling, using species-area curves as a basis, was carried out with the overstory, intermediate and ground layers. Autecological parameters were emphasized (physical parameters were heavily used in the study of stand microenvironments) and included per cent slope and slope aspect, productivity (in terms of fresh weight), soil moisture tension, textural and chemical analysis of soils (exchangeable cations, and carbon), soil pH, precipitation, air temperature, incident solar radiation, annual litter fall, nutrient budgets or vegetation, and basal area.

Although there were only 18 stands studied, the author felt that "The complexity of the functional relationships which existed in the secondary vegetation so restricted as that of Gumate, amply justifies the intensive level at which the study was carried out."

In the 18 stands which were studied, "A highly organized "sere" did not occur and stand characteristics could not be predicted solely from their age." The descrip-

48

tions of the 18 stands studied were broken down into four "life form" categories: those in which (1) small herbs predominated, (2) softwood trees predominated, (3) tree ferns predominated, (4) hardwood trees predominated, and (5) stands with mixed life form predominance.

The succession analysis was examined from two viewpoints: (a) floristic, and (b) structural. (a) Floristic. The flora of any stand tended to be composed of two distinct elements: (1) those species which established before or shortly after abandonment and which, through longevity or vegetative reporduction, had succeeded in maintaining themselves in the stand, and (2) those forest species which, subsequent to the start of re-vegetation, had succeeded in establishing in the altering microenvironment and maintaining themselves thereafter. (b) Structural. The explanation of the apparent multi-staged succession of structures was explained by the author in 2 distinct processes: (1) differing gorwth rates of an established population of species most of which, except for tree ferns, could not reproduce sexually in situ, and (2) a successive change of floras from one of regrowth species (the regrowth species being a widely dispersed and highly mobile population), to one of forest species, the hardwood trees (defined in terms of specific gravity) of the forest flora serving as the predominating life form of the terminal stage of succession.

This work could be of a valuable tool for those who work with tropical and sub-tropical vegetation studies, including workers who are involved with practical problems in the regions of' shrinking natural tropical vegetation. There are 11 plates (photographs of representative successional stages), 35 tables and 24 figures, and an appendix listing the total population of 346 species considered (186 designated as forest and 157 as regrowth). An in-depth literature cited section of 64 references emphasizing tropical ecology, was used.

Return Requested

PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

LIFE SCIENCE BUILDING

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA, FLORIDA 33620

Standard statistical tools were utilized extensively throughout the numerous quantitative phases of the study, and included species area curves, regression analysis, life form classification, use of probability values, correlation coefficients, analysis of variance, and interstand correlations.

The author concludes his study by stating that the results that have been achieved in this study support Decker's view (1959, Forest Service) that the critical question to be answered when explaining a successional sequence is autecological. He also concludes that many more than 18 sites would have been desirable to ensure firm conclusions about general trends in the secondary vegetation of the area.

Although the work deals with secondary plant succession, the author has gone far beyond what has traditionally been done in floristic-vegetational studies of plant succession. In doing this, he attempts to approach tropical secondary succession from the view of ecosystem analysis (by virtue of the complexity of environmental variables which were analyzed). However, this reviewer feels that there was not sufficient unification of the conclusions in terms of current ecosystem concepts. The work is of good quality, and is a valuable contribution to the study of tropical ecology, particularly as human modification continues to create more areas of secondary succession in the tropics.

The research was conducted in the Research School of Pacific Studies, Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Australian National University, Canberra.

Donald W. Davidson. University of Wisconsin - Superior

PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN LIFE SCIENCE BUILDING UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA, FLORIDA 33620