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Plant Science Bulletin archiveIssue: 1973 v18 No 1 Spring
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PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN |
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ROBERT W. LONG, Editor |
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EDITORIAL BOARD |
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March 1973 Volume Nineteen Number One |
Changes of Address: Notify the Treasurer of the Botanical Society of America, Inc., Dr. C. Ritchie Bell, Department of Botany, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 26514.
Subscriptions for libraries and persons not members of the Botanical Society of America are obtainable at the rate of $4.00 a year. Send orders with checks payable to "Botanical Society of America, Inc." to the Treasurer.
Material submitted for publication should be type-written double-spaced, and sent in duplicate to the Editor. Copy should follow the style of recent issues of the Bulletin.
Microfilms of Plant Science Bulletin are available from University Microfilms, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106.
The Plant Science Bulletin is published quarterly at the University of South Florida, 4202 Fowler Ave., Tampa, Fla. 33620. Second class postage paid at Tampa, Florida.
Hahn, T. C. 1971. Audio-tutorial instruction: A case study. BioScience, 21(15):814-819.
Postlethwait, S. N. 1967. Teaching tools and techniques: An audio-tutorial approach to teaching. Pacific Speech, 1(4):57-62. Postlethwait, S. N., J. Novak, and H. Murray. 1964. An integrated experience approach to learning, with emphasis on independent study. Burgess Publishing Co., Minneapolis.
Vuke, G. 1964. Book review (Plant Science — A Workbook with an Audio Program Approach, by S. N. Postlethwait). Amer. Biol. Teacher, 26(7):528.
Reflections after the Symposium
on Systematic Biological
Collections, July 6-8, 1972
F. R. Fos berg
Falls Church, Va.
The basic task of the science of systematic biology is, of course, to construct a system or classification of organisms that will arrange them according to as nearly natural or evolutionary relationships as possible and that will accommodate all species that exist or have existed on the earth. Such a classification will provide a framework on which can be arranged all information that is or becomes available about any and all of these organisms. This is, or course, a continuing responsibility and is the scientific raison-d'etre of systematic biology. It is the aim of most of the research activities of the workers in the field, and, in a rational intellectual culture, would provide ample justification for the expenditure of whatever financial resources were needed to do it at a modest but steady rate.
However, our culture is neither basically rational nor intellectual, but, rather, is motivated by economic factors or by drives generally translatable into economic terms. This means that to get even minimal continuing support, the results coming from systematic botany must be translatable into economic values because direct, understandable benefits must accrue to the people, who ultimately provide the money. To put is crudely, the manin-the-street, the average voter and tax-payer, couldn't care less about the scientific aims of systematic botany, in fact, would not know the meaning of the term if he heard it. Therefore, it is very improbable that his representatives who control government expenditures would likely provide much support for it, regardless of our persuasion.
However, information about plants and animals is a salable commodity. Society needs more and more of it, and will continue to. Everyone — from agriculturists to drug manufacturers, military men, timbermen, medical men, ecologists, amateur gardeners, wildlife managers, county planners, and many others — needs biological in-formation of diverse sorts at one time or another. Such in-formation is produced by biologists of all sorts, and any one of them can supply the products of his own specialty. However, the biological classification, product of systematic biology, provides a ready access to all such knowledge that can be associated with a taxon or systematic group.
This classification is the basic system of access to and retrieval of information whether the mechanism of storage and retrieval is a cross file or index, a book, a computer, or a human mind. Without it, biologically organized information would be an impossibility. It is as yet, an imperfect creation. It must provide a natural arrangement of up to 5,000,000 to 10,000,000 species, living and fossil, many of them not even known yet.
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Significant improvements in this classification are, and can be, made only by trained systematic biologists (whether or not this is their only or principal job), and there are remarkably few of these, in relation to the size and difficulty of the task. Their work varies in quality with their innate ability, experience, and training, with the time available for their tasks, and with the number and condition of the specimens available to them. The process of building the classification is one of continuous revision and improvement.
The basic operation in using this classification to gain access to the stored information is identification. Whether this is done by using books with keys, a biologist who knows the organism, a collection for comparison, or a computer, this is the operation that must precede any information retrieval if the information is about a plant or animal. Identification is only possible if the organism is known and has a place in the classification. It is only likely to be correct if the particular segment of the classification is adequate and up-to-date.
It is, of course, obvious that the matter of priorities could be simply disposed of by giving the highest priority to perfecting the biological classification and second priority to providing an identification service to utilize this classification for the public good. This sort of ordering of priorities does not help much. The plan pr strategy for accomplishing this will have many components and it is among these that priorities must be established. Such priorities, of course, should be deter-mined by their relation to the accomplishment of the main task of perfecting the classification and to the public service functions and duties of the enterprise.
I do not think one can make a clear separation between the functions of the collections and those of the systematists or users of the collections in this context, certainly not in the establishment of priorities. Nor is a clean-cut linear order of priorities, where one task would be finished before another begins, feasible or even desirable. Theoretically, of course, information must be assembled before it can be organized into a classification. The classification, in theory, must be constructed before mechanisms are perfected for identification of individual organisms (specimens). These tasks, again in theory, must be completed before the process of organizing biological information according to the classification.
However, the gigantic task of discovering, studying and classifying the possible 10,000,000 species of organisms has already been going on from the dawn of civilization, and in a formal, written-down fashion for over 2,000 years. A large proportion of the biological species have been discovered and at least part of the in-formation on each has been recorded and incorporated into the classification. The rough outlines of the classification have already taken shape, more clearly in some parts than in others. Identifications are made, more or less adequately, of most known organisms. The classification is most adequate and the associated in-formation most nearly complete in the temperate and polar regions, where the most biological work has been done and the fewest species of organisms occur. The adequacy here is only relative. In the tropics the work is hardly well started in many areas. In no area, anywhere, can even a biological inventory, let alone a thorough organization of the needed information be said to be completed.
Only in recent years has the realization come home to most of us that destruction of natural biotic communities is progressing so fast that much valuable biological in-formation and even many species are being lost irrevocably. Already many species are only known, and will only be known from museum specimens, photographs, and secondary recorded information. Now we begin to realize that the rate of this process of biological impoverishment is exponentially increasing. It is clear that a great many tropical organisms will disappear before they are ever studied, some even before any specimens are collected and preserved. This has become a matter of widespread concern, but only the biologists, and especially the systematists, are well enough informed to express valid opinions on it.
These facts tend to alter our possible scale of priorities and to upset any idea of a logical order of development of biological knowledge and classification. An urgency is placed upon getting and preserving all biological information, especially primary information in the form of actual material and photos that is in any danger of being lost. We owe this, not only to our descendents, but even to ourselves — the degradation is going on so rapidly.
A far greater value is thus also acquired by our ac-cumulated museum collections. They become our only reliable records of many biological facts that are no longer easily available, indeed, in many cases not available at all any more. Far more urgent, also, has become the provision of adequate facilities for preparation and care of material being collected now or in the future. It is no longer easy to "go out and collect some more", even no longer possible in many cases. Of course, the indispensable nomenclatural type specimens, a primary and unavoidable responsibility of systematic collections, by definition cannot be replaced.
The task of the systematist and biogeographer has also been augmented by the urgent necessity to establish the status of rare and endangered species — not only those of showy birds and game animals, but of plants, snails, salamanders, insects, and all other groups, especially terrestrial ones. Intelligent efforts to preserve and protect them cannot be made unless we know what they are, where, and under what circumstances they live, and from what sources the threats to their existence come. Only the systematists and the local naturalists have the background to determine these things.
There is no question but that a number of the activities of systematists and systematic collections must be carried on simultaneously, in order that the main tasks be accomplished or that the materials for their future accomplishment be saved.
Of number one priority, then, are the tasks of col-_ lecting and observing organisms in threatened habitats; of caring adequately for the material collected and pre-served, i. e., the provision for adequate support of our systematic collections; of recording the variation and reproductive and population behavior of species, especially those in as yet not seriously disturbed habitats; and of providing identification guides for the different groups by regions, in order to give the interested public some measure of access to our accumulated information. Concomittent with these, and of equal importance, is the training of young systematists and passing on to them as much as possible of the benefits of our .experience.
The function of systematics in providing an organizational framework for and access to the enormous and unwieldy mass of biological information must be stressed in the proposed national plan for systematic biology. If it is presented in clear terms related to the needs of the users, lay as well as scientific, of biological information — support for systematic biology will be
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more readily secured. If the central and indispensable role of collections as the essential base of primary in-formation on which systematics feeds is made clear, both to our scientific colleagues and to those who control fiscal decisions, public and private, the systematic collections would receive as adequate support as do other essential public services.
OPINION/COMMENTARY
The Teaching of Higher Plant
Morphology in the United States
Following the influence of Coulter and Chamberlain at the turn of the century, the teaching of plant morphology iii the United States has become almost synonymous with the study of plant life histories in a semi-taxonomic survey of the plant kingdom. As a result, the reproductive aspects of plant structure tend to receive the lion's share of attention whereas features of general organization and organography are usually relegated to a brief but often inaccurate description of the plant's "habit'.' While this outlook may be justified in treatments of algae and fungi where vegetative morphology is simpler and reproductive structures more complex, it seems less defensible iii the study of higher plants where the reverse is true. Furthermore, when taught only within the taxonomic fl amework presently in vogue, morphology emerges simply as a handmaiden of systematics rather than a basic science in its own right.
It should be appreciated that our country's conception of plant morphology is largely an Anglo-American view that is not necessarily shared by other botanists in the world. It is particularly in the Austro-Germanic countries of Europe, where morphological thought has reached its most sophisticated development, that a different conception exists. There, "comparative morphology" is synonymous with the study of the gross morphological relationships of plant organs("organography"),whereas "plant anatomy" is usually equated with the study of tissue organization and cell types. Hence we really do not teach comparative morphology in this sense in the U. S. but instead emphasize the histological and cytological features almost to the exclusion of the more general principles of plant form.
In Germany, in particular, comparative morphology has developed as a rigorously analytical science in which the structure of higher plants is studied in terms of the patterns of symmetry, modes of branching and differences in development responsible for the diversity of form. Moreover, this morphological diversity is often considered in relation to the habitats in which the various species grow in an effort to understand the adaptive significance of each structural variant. With this approach it is the organographic categories (such as shoot, leaf and root, for example) which form the framework of the subject matter rather than the taxonomic system; systematic comparisons are thus made within this morphological context where they are relevant. In the 20th century Karl Von Goebel and Wilhelm Troll have been the most vigorous advocates of this point of view. Through their own re-searches and those of their disciples, they have provided a rich literature which is still, however, a relatively untapped resource for our morphological teaching.
For some time I have felt that since morphology has its own principles and phenomenology, there was no reason that it could not be taught along the same lines as courses in physiology and anatomy, neither of which relies strictly on a systematic treatment for presentation. It seemed that the principles of plant organization could fitst be elucidated and then applied secondarily (either in the same course or in a separate second course) to an evolutionary treatment of the major plant groups. For this reason I attempted to incorporate the organographic approach into my own teaching and developed an upper division course entitled "The principles of plant morphology." The course begins with a consideration of the origin of organization in embryogenesis and then proceeds through the following subjects: morphology of germination; shoot growth and symmetry; branching; morphological specializations of the shoot, including storage shoots, shoots of succulents and vines; and then onto a discussion of the comparative morphology of leaves and roots and their specialization. It then considers the adaptation of the whole body for divergent life strategies including that of aquatic plants, epiphytes and parasites, and concludes with a treatment of the relation of reproductive morphology to the entire plant body. In each special topic comparisons are made not only within the range of vascular plant structure but examples are also drawn from the bryophytes, algae and fungi where they are germane.
The response of students to this approach has been quite enthusiastic. They have come to feel that a course of this nature has the following advantages: (1) through the examination of a number of variants of the same organizational theme, they have a more profound understanding of the fundamentals of plant organization with a minimum of memorization; (?) the emphasis on morphological principles permits them to carry from the classroom a viewpoint that can be applied, without the use of complicated technical equipment, to the analysis of the structure of unknown or seemingly anomalous plant species; (3) having studied groups where relatively minor morphological changes have produced every structural intermediate (such as in Cactaceae),they emerge from the course with a more valid appreciation of plant evolution than they do in courses which expect them to simply memorize current phylogenetic dogma; (4) because they study some of the most interesting plant groups rather than the relatively dull but "typical" representatives of each taxonomic category, their interest in botany and plant morphology is enhanced; and (5) because the adaptational significance of the structural diversity is explored, the relationship of plant morphology to other disciplines, such as physiology and ecology, becomes more apparent; hence morphology seems less isolated than it does in the more traditional context.
Obviously the re-introduction of' organographic principles to morphological teaching should not be done at the expense of the usual reproductive survey. Both are essential to our teaching of structural botany. To simply substitute the orientation I advocate would he as much in error as the persent deletion of organography from our curriculum. I would only suggest that such a phylogenetic survey might best be preceded by a course oriented strictly toward morphological principles. (Presumably the students would have mastered the essentials of plant life histories and the defining characteristics of the major plant groups in their elementary biology or botany courses; therefore the same approach would not have to be reiterated in greater detail at the upper division level, as is currently the trend.) This would then provide equal
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Special Notice to All Members of the Botanical Society of America
At the special request of AIBS, there is reproduced below a "Manpower- Questionnaire" that is the basis for a survey of the state of economic health of biologists in general. All members of the Botanical Society, including student and regular members. are asked to complete the information sheet, tear off from PSB, and mail to AIBS. The questionnaire is self-addressed.—ed.
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representation of both approaches and at the same time compensate for the lack of depth of botanical teaching in our already overburdened general biology courses. In the final analysis I believe that the benefits derived from both the stimulation and renewal of research interest in plant morphology would more than repay the effort involved in making such a revision.
Donald R. Kaplan University of California, Berkeley and
Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami
The Amherst Meeting
The Botanical Society of America will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with the American Institute of Biological Sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Massachusetts, June 17-22, 1973. The Call for Papers was sent out to members last fall, and the final scheduling for the Society is now being worked out by Program Director Dr. Augustus DeMaggio. Forms for advanced registration and for housing accomodations will he published in forthcoming issues of Bioscience. Those planning to attend the Amherst Meeting are requested to obtain the official registration and housing applications from Bioscience, or they may be obtained by writing directly to AIBS Meetings Department, 3900 Wisconsin Avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C. 20016.
Ten participating societies, including the American Fern Society, Ecological Society of America, Mycological Society, Phycological Society, and the Torrey Botanical Club, will have programs during the meeting. The local representative for the Botanical Socciety is Dr. David Bierhorst, Department of Botany, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. 01002.
A pre-conference symposium entitled "Current Thought in Plant Ecology", sponsored by the Committee on Education of the Botanical Society, will be held on June 17, and details of this meeting are given elsewhere in PSB. A special post-conference symposium entitled "Physiological Adaptation to the Environment" will be sponsored by AIRS June 20-22.
To all the new members of BSA, we extend a special invitation to come to the annual meeting and participate in the program.
Welcome to 1,600 New Members!
Last fall a special membership drive was launched to attract all those botanists and botanical-types who should be members of the Botanical Society of America. The Membership Committee, composed of Drs. Kenton Chambers, Nels Lersten, Michael Schneider, and A. J. Sharp, chairman, did their job beyond all expectations—our Treasurer, Dr. Ritchie Bell, was non-plussed! (Usually he is very plussed!) As a result of their efforts we now have over 1,600 new members, and our total membership is approaching the 5,000 mark. Special thanks goes to the Membership Committee, and a special welcome to all our new members! If you are new to the Society, we want to invite you to participate in the annual meeting this year at the University of Massachusetts, June 17-22. Further announcements will be made in Bioscience.
Current Thought in Plant Ecology
The Committee on Education of the Botanical Society is once again planning to sponsor a pre-convention symposium for undergraduate instructors, in conjunction with the AIRS meetings. This year the topic will be Current Thought in Plant Ecology. David Gates, will be discussing energy exchange, Elroy Rice, will consider plant allelopathy, Richard Ford, will consider ethnobotany, and Timothy Allen will describe his application of systems analysis.
Sunday, June 17, 1973
Program
9-10:15 a.m. Biophysical Ecology - The Analytical Science. David M. Gates, Director, Biological Station, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104. 10:45-12 Noon. Allelopathy and Its Importance in Ecology. Elroy L. Rice. Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, 73069.
Lunch
1:15-2:30 p.m. Multivariate Analyses of the Structure and Dynamics of Algal Communities. Timothy F. Allen, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706.
2:45-4:00 p.m. Ethnobotany and Ecology: A Synthesis. Richard I. ford, Departments of Anthropology and Botany, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48104.
Editor's Notes
Some of our readers will note that PSB no longer carries the column entitled "Professional Opportunities". The Minutes of the Business Meeting, published in this issue, reflect the decision of the Council to publish notices of 'positions open' in the American Journal of Botany. This will make it possible for information of this kind to reach the membership more rapidly than through the pages of the quarterly PS13. Dr. Ian Sussex will edit the announcements to be published in A.JB, and anyone wishing to invite applications from botanists should correspond directly with Dr. Sussex, Dept. of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. 06511.
This issue of PSB contains a number of articles that have to do with educational matters as they affect botany. The Teaching Section, BSA, is one of our more active groups, and I am pleased to be able to publish some of the papers that were presented in their recent symposium. In the Opinion/Commentary column, Dr. Donald Kaplan argues cogently for a new direction in the teaching of plant morphology. Promoting good botanical teaching is still one of the important responsibilities of BSA. Whether one considers himself primarily a "researcher" or "teacher", we all should have an interest in the training of our successors.
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XII INTERNATIONAL
BOTANICAL CONGRESS
JUNE 23-30, 1975
The Closing Plenary Session of the XI International Botanical Congress held at Seattle, U.S.A., in 1969, accepted an invitation issued by the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. to convene the XII International Botanical Congress in the City of Leningrad in 1975. In 1971 the Organizing Committee was appointed: consisting of a chairman (A. L. Takhtajan); four vice-chairmen (A. A. Prokofier. .4, .4. Theodorot', N. V. Tsitsin, A. A. Yatsenko-Khmelenskv); a secretary-general (0, V. Zalensky); a scientific secretary (N. S.Snigiereskava); and a number of members at large. The XII International Botanical Congress is intended to facilitate interdisciplinary communication among botanists as well as an informal ex-change of ideas. A number of sections are planned, including special ones to accommodate mycologists (also lichenologists), phycologists, and bryologists.
The Congress will be divided between organized half-day symposia and half-day contributed paper sessions. In addition to the opening and closing plenary sessions, two evening lectures are being scheduled. All special interest groups wishing to apply for space and time during the Congress should do so by writing as soon as possible to the secretary-general, Dr. Oleg Zalenshv, Komarov Botanical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., 2, Prof. Popov Street, Leningrad 197022, U.S.S.R.
The sessions of the Nomenclature Section will take place, as usual, immediately before the opening of the Congress—in this instance June 20-23. Four days are set aside in order to enable the Section to convene for six to eight sessions of two to four hours each.
A meeting of the International Association of Botanic Gardens (President Acadmieian N. V. Tsitsin) will be held in Moscow at the Main Botanical Garden of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. on June 20.
A tentative schedule of scientific field trips has been planned for the immediate pre-Congress and post-Congress periods. The principle purpose of these trips is to acquaint visiting botanists with as many interesting and unique features of the flora and vegetation of various regions of the U.S.S.R. as possible. Some specialized trips for phycologists, Iichenologists, bryologists, and palaeobotanists are also planned.
The double postcards announcing the XII International Botanical Congress were mailed during the last months of 1972. Those who wish to receive further in-formation on the Congress should return their interest cards by April 1, 1973, so that they will be placed on the mailing list for the First Information Circular expected to be published June-July 1973.
A. Takhtajan Chairman, Organizing Committee
Botanical Potpourri
FIELD MEETING OF THE NORTH-EASTERN SECTION of the American Botanical Society will be held at University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, June 10th - 13th, 197:3. Those interested please contact Miss Mathilde P. Weinga.rtner, Staten Island Museum, 75 Stuyvesant Pl. Staten Island, New York, 10301.
THE FIRST LATIN AMERICAN BOTANICAL CONGRESS was held in Mexico City, from December :3 to December 9, 1972. About 500 delegates were present, including representatives from Mexico, and most of the Central American and South American countries. About 30 botanists from the United States also participated. In conjunction with these meetings, the Botanical Society of Mexico celebrated its 5th Congress, and delegates to the larger meeting were invited to a special formal session of the Society, at which time medals for botanical merit were awarded to three botanists who had made special contributions toward Mexican botany. Two of these were Mexicans: Jug. Efraim Hernandez X. and Dr. Jerzy Rzedowshi. The third was Ida K. Longman, of Philadelphia, honored for her compilation, "A Selected Guide to the Literature on the Flowering Plants of Mexico", published at the close of 19(34, by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
The work was begun at the suggestion of Dr. John M. Fogg, Jr. (now director of the Barnes Arboretum). Sup-port was provided over a number of years by the University of Pennsylvania (with Dr. Datid Goddard as head of the Department of Botany), by the Morris Arboretum of the University, by the American Philosophocal Society and by the National Science Foundation. In 1965, the Guide was selected by the Reference Service Division of the American Library Association, for the Oberly Memorial Award Citation, as the "best bibliography submitted in the field of agriculture or the related sciences", in 1963-1964.
Ms. Langman is at present doing bibliographic research for the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation of the Carnegie-Mellon University-, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The bibliography, published originally for $25, is now available from the Morris Arboretum, 9414 Meadowbrook Lane, Phila., Pa. 1.91113, at half price to inrfi-t~iduals.
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY will be meeting at the University of Colorado, Boulder, 4-12 August 1973. The Program Committee has called for Contributed Papers to be submitted to Dr. Paul D. Hurd, Jr. or Dr. Billie L. Turner, in care of the Department of Entomology, Smithosnian Institution, Washington, D. C. 20560.
Those interested in presenting a paper are urged to obtain the necessary forms by writing Dr. James L. Reveal, Secretary. I)epartmnent of' Botany, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742.
SLIDE SET SHOWING EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON PLANTS AVAILABLE. A series of 105 35mm color slides illustrating the effects of' air pollution on plant life is now available from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The slides were prepared to meet an in-creased need for accurate diagnosis or identification or air pollutants on different kinds of plants. The series illustrates damage done to vegetables and fruits, field crops, and ornamental plants and trees. Some examples compare plants grown in filtered air to those grown in normal air. Others show close-ups of leaves and fruit suffering oxidant or other injury.
The set of 105 frames titled "The Effects of Air Pollution on Plant Life, A-48," is broken into three sub-sets which can be purchased individually for $13.00. They can be ordered from Photography Division, Office of In-formation, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. 0.20250.
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THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA announces eight graduate courses in biology to be offered at the Mountain Lake Biological Station this summer. They are as follows: First Term: June 14 - July 17: Plant Taxonomy, Mr. Lytton Musselman, University of North Carolina; Plant Ecology: Mr. Gary Miller, Eisenhower College; Ornithology: Mr. David W Johnston, University of Florida; Experimental Morphogenesis: Mr. James N. Dent, University of Virginia.
Second Term: July 19 - August 21: Plant Biosystematics: Mr. C. Ritchie Bell, University of North Carolina; Entomology: Mr. George Byers, University of Kansas; Principles of Parasitism: Mr. G. B. Solomon, University of Pennsylvania; Comparative Endocrinology: Mr. B. E. Frye, University of Michigan.
Fellowships of $150 for one student in each term have been made available by the North Carolina Botanical Garden. This fellowship may not be held con-currently with any other stipend from the Station. The recipients of these awards are chosen by the Research and Awards Committee of the Department of Biology. Application for awards should be sent to the Director, Mountain Lake Biological Station, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22903.
THE NINETEENTH INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL CONGRESS will convene September 11-18, 1974, at the Warsaw Polytechnical University, Poland.
Preliminary meetings, including meetings of the Executive Committee, the Council, and the Sections and Committees of the International Society for Horticultural Science /ISHS/, will take place on September 8, 9, and 10. Registration will be on September 10.
Those wishing further information should write to: XIX International Horticultural Congress, Warszawa, Pkin p. 202 Poland.
NOMINATIONS ARE REQUESTED for the recipient of the Darbaker Prize awarded annually by the Botanical Society of America. Requirements are outstanding publications in phycology especially over the last two years. Nominations should accompany a set of reprints and be submitted to Bruce C. Parker, Darbaker Prize Committee, Department of Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
A COURSE ON METHODS AND APPLICATIONS OF PLANT CELL AND TISSUE CULTURE will be offered by the Tissue Culture Association from August 6-17, 1973, at the W. Alton Jones Cell Science Centre under the direction of Dr. India K. Vasil (University of Florida). Some of the leading workers in plant tissue culture from Canada and the United States will participate in the teaching of the course. As in the past, participants from outside the United States will be welcome. For further details and application forms write to: Director, W. Alton Jones Cell Science Centre, P. O. Box 631, Lake Placid, New York 12949.
THE TEACHING SECTION OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA will not have invited papers at the up-coming A.I.B.S. meeting, but will have a special symposium designed with the express purpose of giving those who attend the stimulus and direction to add new zest to their teaching. The topic TEACHING WITH ALGAE has been chosen with the idea that algae offer so much opportunity for inquiry-oriented teaching. The complete symposium program will be published in the AIBS program.
A SYMPOSIUM, THE BASES OF ANGIOSPERM PHYLOGENY, will be presented at the AIBS meetings, June 17-22. Organized by Dr. James W. Walker, this symposium will be a discussion of the characters and fields that are the bases of Angiosperm phylogeny at the higher taxonomic levels, related to the Takhtajan-Cronquist system of classification. Participants will include Arthur Cronquist, Richard Eyde, Leo Hickey, Jack Wolfe, William Dickison, Barbara Falser, H. D. Behnke, James Doyle, Peter Raven, David Fairbrothers, T. J. Mabry, Ronald Scogin, B. L. Turner, Virginia Page, and G. L. Stebbins.
THE CLAUDE E. O'NEAL MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP has been established at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio to honor the contribution made by the late Professor O'Neal to the teaching of botany. Former students and friends are invited to con-tribute to the Endowment Fund c/o Robert A. Stones, Vice President for University Relations, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio 43015. The committee responsible for the Lectureship is Dr. Aaron J. Sharp, Dr. C. Gardner Shaw, and Dr. Robert W. Long.
BASIC MECHANISMS IN PLANT MORPHOGENESIS, BROOKHAVEN SYMPOSIUM IN BIOLOGY NO. 25, will be held June 4-6, 1973. The topics will be divided into requential sessions: (1) Morphogenesis in lower forms; (2) Factors affecting Morphogensis; (3) Cellular factors affecting Morphogenesis; (4) The Genetics of Morphogensis I; The Genetics of Morphogenesis, II. Special lectures will be presented by Dr. Ian Sussex and Dr. G. L. Stebbins. Those desiring further information should write to: Dr. Peter S. Carlson, Biology Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973.
Personalia
Dr. Philip H. Abelson, President of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; announced today the appointment of Dr. Winslow R. Briggs as Director of the Institution's Department of Plant Biology in Stanford, California. The appointment is effective July 1, 1973. Dr. Briggs will succeed Dr. C. Stacy French, who will retire after serving as Director since 1947.
Dr. Briggs was a member of the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University from 1955 until 1967, when he joined the faculty at Harvard.
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BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, INC.
OFFICERS FOR 1973
PRESIDENT: *Arthur Cronquist
New York Botanical Garden Bronx, New York 10458
VICE-PRESIDENT: "Theodore Delevoryas Department of Botany University of Texas Austin, Texas 78712
SECRETARY: *Barbara F. Palser (1970-1974)
Department of Botany Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903
TREASURER: *C. Ritchie Bell (1973-1977)
Botany Department
Coker Hall
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill,
North Carolina 27514
PROGRAM DIRECTOR: *Augustus E. DeMaggio (1973-1975)
Department of Biological Sciences
Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Ernest A. Ball (1971-1973)
Dept. of Developmental and Cell Biology
University of California Irvine, California 92664
David W. Bierhorst (1972-1974)
Department of Botany University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
John G. Torrey (1973-1975) Harvard Forest
Harvard University Petersham, Massachusetts 01366
EDITOR, *Norman H. Boke (1970-1974)
AMERICAN Department of Botany and
JOURNAL OF BOTANY and Microbiology 770 Van Vleet Oval University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma 73069
EDITOR, PLANT *Robert W. Long
SCIENCE BULLETIN: (1971-1975)
Department of Biology University of South Florida Tampa, Florida :33620
BUSINESS MANAGER, *Richard A. Popham
AMERICAN Department of Botany
JOURNAL OF BOTANY: Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210
Sectional Officers and Council Members
For 1973
PAST PRESIDENT, 1972: *Charles Heimsch Department of Botany Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
PAST PRESIDENT, 1971: *Richard C. Starr Department of Botany Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana 47401
PAST PRESIDENT, 1970: *Lincoln Constance Department of Botany University of California Berkeley, California 94720
DEVELOPMENTAL SECTION:
Chairman (197,3-1975): *Richard M. Klein Department of Botany University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont 05401
Vice-Chairman (197:3-1975): Donald E. Fosket Dept. of Developmental and Cell Biology
University of California Irvine, California 92664
Secretary (197:3-1975): Jane Taylor
Biology Department University of Michigan Flint, Michigan 48503
Representative to AJB Knut J. Norstog
Editorial Board (1971-1973): Department of Biological Sciences
Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois 60115
PHYSIOLOGICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1971-1973): *Graeme P. Berlyn School of Forestry Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut 06511
Representative to AJB Arthur W. Galston
Editorial Board (indefinite): Department of Biology Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut 06520
PHYTOCHEMICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1973): *Jerry McClure Department of Botany Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
Vice-Chairman (1973): Yaakov Shechter Department of Biology Lehman College
Bronx, New York 10468
Secretary (1973-1974): David E. Giannasi
New York Botanical Garden Bronx, New York 10458
Representative to AJB Tod F. Stuessy
Editorial Board (1971-197:3): Academic Faculty of Botany Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210
1:3
GENERAL SECTION:
Chairman (1973): E. Mark Engleman Departmento de Botanica ENA
Chapingo, Edo de Mexico Mexico
Vice-Chairman (1973): Natalie W. Uhl Bailey Hortorium
467 Mann Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14850
Secretary-Treasurer *Donald R. Kaplan
(1973): Department of Botany University of California Berkeley, California 94720
Representative to AJB William F. Millington
Editorial Board (1972-1974): Department of Biology Marquette University Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233
HISTORICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): Jerry W. Stannard Department of History University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas 66044
Vice-Chairman (1972-1973): Harriet B. Creighton Department of Biology Wellesley College
Wellesley, Massachusetts 02181
Secretary (1971-1973): *Ronald L. Stuckey Department of Botany 1735 Neil Avenue
Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210
Representative to AJB Emanuel D. Rudolph
Editorial Board (1973-1975): Department of Botany 1735 Neil Avenue
Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 43210
MICROBIOLOGICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1973): Jerome M. Aronson Department of Botany and Microbiology
Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona 85281
Vice-Chairman (1973): James S. Lovett Department of Biological Sciences
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Secretary (1972-1974): Charles E. Bracker Dept. of Botany and
Plant Pathology
Purdue University
Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Representative to the Council *Ian K. Ross
(1973-1975): Department of Biological Sciences
University of California Santa Barbara, California 93106
Representative to AJB Peter R. Day
Editorial Board (1973-1975): Department of Genetics Connecticut Agricultural Exp. Station
New Haven, Connecticut 06504
PALEOBOTANICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): Ben M. Stidd Department of Biology Western Illinois University Macomb, Illinois 61455
Secretary-Treasurer *Thomas N. Taylor
(1972-1974): Department of Botany Ohio University Athens, Ohio 45701
Representative to AJB J. William Schopf
Editorial Board (1972-1973): Department of Geology University of California
Los Angeles, California 90024
PHYCOLOGICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): *Michael J. Wynne Department of Botany University of Texas Austin, Texas 78712
Secretary (1972-1974): Paul J. Biebel
Department of Biology Dickinson College
Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17103
Representative to AJB George F. Papenfuss
Editorial Board (1970-1973): Department of Botany University of California Berkeley, California 94720
PTERIDOLOGICAL SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): David W. Bierhorst Department of Botany University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
Secretary-Treasurer *Edward J. Klekowski
(1972-1974): Department of Botany University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01002
Representative to AJB Rolla Tryon
Editorial Board (1971-1973): Gray Herbarium
22 Divinity Avenue Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
SYSTEMATIC SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): *Carroll E. Wood, Jr. Arnold Arboretum
Harvard University
22 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Secretary (1972-1974): Duncan M. Porter Department of Botany Smithsonian Institution Washington, D. C. 20560
Representative to AJB Patricia K. Holmgren Editorial Board (1973-1975): New York Botanical Garden Bronx, New York 10458
14
TEACHING SECTION:
Chairman (1973): Sanford S. Tepfer Department of Biology University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403
Vice-Chairman (1973): Donald Dean
Department of Biology Baldwin-Wallace College Berea, Ohio 44017
Secretary (1971-1973): *Elwood B. Ehrle
School of Arts and Sciences Mankato State College Mankato, Minnesota 56001
Representative to AJB Robert W. Hoshaw
Editorial Board (1969-1973): Botanical Laboratories Agricultural Sciences Building
University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721
NORTHEASTERN SECTION:
Chairman (1973): LeRoy K. Henry Carnegie Museum Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Secretary-Treasurer *Matilde P. Weingartner
(1973-1975): Staten Island Museum 75 Stuyvesant Place
Staten Island, New York 10301
PACIFIC SECTION:
Chairman (1972-1973): W. M. Laetsch Department of Botany University of California Berkeley, Californa 94720
Vice-Chairman (1972-1973): George C. Carroll Department of Biology University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403
Secretary-Treasurer *Joseph Arditti
(1971-1973): Dept. of Developmental and Cell Biology
University of California Irvine, California 92664
AAAS Council Leo E. Jones
Representative Botany Department Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon 97331
SOUTHEASTERN SECTION:
Chairman (1971-1973): Ray Noggle
Department of Botany North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
Secretary-Treasurer *Dana Griffin III
(1971-1974): Department of Botany University of Florida Gainesville, Florida 32601
Chairman of Activities John A. Boole, Jr.
Committee (1973): Division of Science and Mathematics
Georgia Southern College Statesboro, Georgia 30458
*Persons so marked are members of the Council. BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, INC.
COMMITTEES - 1.973
The inidividuals listed as chairmen serve in that office for 1973. In parentheses following each name is the date of expiration of that individual's appointment to the committee.
Chairman's Addre,,, Committee on Corresponding Members
Charles Heimsch (1975), Department of Botany
Chairman Miami University
Richard C. Starr (1974) Oxford, Ohio 45056 Lincoln Constance (1973)
Merit Awards Committee
Albert C. Smith (1973) Department of Botany
Chairman University of Massachusetts
W. Dwight Billings (1973) Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 G. F. Papenfuss (1974)
Henry N. Andrews, Jr. (1975)
Arthur Galston (1975)
Ex officio: President
Darbaher Prize Committee
Bruce C. Parker (1973) Department of Biology
Chairman 3025 Derring Hall
Norma J. Lang (1974) Virginia Polytechnic Institute
Michael Neushul (1975) Blacksburg, Virginia 24060
New York Botanical Garden Award Committee
William F. Millington Department of Biology
(197:3), Chairman Marquette University
Everett S. Beneke (1973) Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 John W. Hall (1973)
Eldon H. Newcomb (1973)
Jeanette Siron Pelton Award Committee
Edward C. Cantino (1973), Dept. of Botany &
Chairman Plant Pathology
Claud L. Brown (1974 Michigan State University
James A. Lockhart (1974) East Lansing, Michigan 4882:3 D. G. de Torok (1973)
Election Committee
Kenton L. Chambers (1973), Botany Department
Chairman Oregon State University
Lawrence Bogorad (1974) Corvallis, Oregon 97331 Patricia L. Walne (1975)
Knut J. Norstog (1976)
Ex officio: Secretary
Education Committee
Peter Kaufman (1973), Department of Botany
Chairman University of Michigan Nicholas C. Maravolo (197:3) Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 J. Donald LaCroix (1974)
Paul C. MacMillan (1974)
Fred R. Rickson (1975)
Willard W. Payne (1975)
Ex officio: President, Secretary, Secretary of Teaching Section, Editor of Plant Science Bulletin, Representative to AAAS Cooperative Committee on the Teaching of Science and Mathematics, Past Chairman of Committee
Conservation Committee
Elsie Quarterman Box 1616 Station B
(1973), Chairman Vanderbilt University
William A. Niering (1973) Nashville, Tennessee 37203 Catherine Keever (1973)
Edward E. Clebsch (1974)
Carl D. Monk (1974)
Roger E. Wilson (1974)
15
Committee on Research Funding
William A. Jensen, Department of Botany
Chairman University of California
Loran C. Anderson Berkeley, California 94720 Melvin S. Fuller
Ian M. Sussex
Francis R. Trainor
REPRESENTATIVES TO
VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS OR COMMITTEES
AAAS
W. Gordon Whaley (1974) A. Orville Dahl (1975)
AIRS 'Ioverning Board Roy L. Taylor (1974
AAAS Cooperative Committee on the Teaching of Science and Mathematics Robert W. Hoshaw (1973)
Division of Biology and Agriculture, National Research Council William L. Stern (1975)
Minutes of the Business Meeting
Botanical Society of America
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
August 30, 1972
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The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Warren H. Wagner, Jr. at 1:02 P.M. in Room 45 of Nicholson Hall. The 41 members present at the beginning of the meeting, later increased to about 60, constituted a quorum.
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The minutes of the Business Meeting of 1971, as published in the Plant Science Bulletin, were approved.
. In the absence of the Chairman of the Elections Committee, Dr. Walter Tulecke, the Secretary presented the names of the newly elected officers for 1973.
President: Arthur Cronquist, New York Botanical Garden Vice-President: Theodore Delevoryas, University of Texas Treasurer: C. Richie Bell, University of North Carolina Program Director: Augustus E. DeMaggio, Dartmouth
College
Member of the Editorial Board, American Journal of Botany: John G. Torrey, Harvard University
The Secretary continues in office for 1973.
4. The following amendment of the By-Laws, approved by the Council in June, 1971 and submitted in writing to the membership, was brought up for action.
"Article IV, 3. Procedures for the election of the Editor-in-Chief and appointment of the Business Manager of the American Journal of Botany are provided for in Article VII.
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Selection of the Editor of the Plant Science Bulletin shall be the responsibility of the Executive Committee of the Council: Approximately one year before the completion of the incumbent Editor's five-year term or at any other time when a vacancy of this office is imminent or actual, the President shall appoint a committee, ordinarily consisting of the incumbent Editor as Chairman and three other members; at least one, but not more than two, of these three other members shall he current members of the Editorial Board of the Plant Science Bulletin. Confirmation of the candidate selected by this committee by the Executive Committee of the Council shall be required.
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A Plant Science Bulletin. Editorial Board of five members shall he appointed by the President upon recommendation of the incumbent Editor. The period of service shall be five years with staggered terms. In the event of resignation prior to the end of a board member's full term, the President, in consultation with the Editor, shall appoint a replacement for the time remaining in the term involved. No one shall be appointed for two consecutive full terms."
Approval of the amendment was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously.
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The Secretary reported on three Society publications which have appeared since the last Business Meeting. "The Guide to Graduate Study in Botany" appeared in early fall 1971. It gives information about departments in the U. S. and Canada offering a Ph.D. in some aspect of plant science. It is available from the Secretary's office for $3. The career booklet, "Botany as a Profession", was updated during the winter by a subcommittee of the Education Committee. Approximately 3,000 copies have already been mailed out in response to requests. The "Yearbook" for 1971-1972 appeared late in 1971. It returned to the format requested by the membership last year. For the next issue of the "Yearbook", which will be published next year, the Council has authorized some changes. By-Laws of the Society and Sections will be printed separately and will not be repeated in each "Year-book". Reports and minutes will be published in the Plant Science Bulletin and eliminated from the "Yearbook". The present format of the membership list and geographical index will be retained, but will be printed by a cheaper and more rapid method.
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Dr. Richard Starr, Chairman of the Committee on Corresponding Members, presented the committee's recommendations, already approved by the Council. Arturo Erardo Burkart, Director of the Instituto de Botanica Darwinion in Argentina; Gunnar Erdtman, Palynologiska Laboratoriet of Stockholm University, Sweden; Albert George Long, Deputy Curator of Hancock Museum, University of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England; and William Raymond Philipson, Professor of Botany at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand were proposed for membership and unanimously elected. This raises the total number of living corresponding members to 50, the limit set by the By-Laws.
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Dr. Theodore Delevoryas, Treasurer, reported on membership figures, which have shown a steady decrease during the past three years. He also presented three financial reports: the final report for 1971, which will be published in the Plant Science Bulletin, the projected report for 1972, and the proposed budget for 1973. At present the Society is in fairly healthy condition, particularly since the Journal has not needed funds from the Society.
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Since the Society and Journal are in no financial difficulties, it was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously that the dues for 1973 remain at the present level:
Regular - $10 Retired subscribing - $5
Family - $12 Life - $250 Student - $6
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A drive for increased membership will be mounted this fall. The committee responsible for this consists of Kenton Chambers, Nels Lersten, Michael Schneider, and A. J. Sharp as Chair-man. Dr. Sharp reported on various projects that have already been planned and indicated that the Council had additionally suggested that all new regular and student memberships for 1973 received by December 31, 1972 he admitted at half the stipulated dues level.
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Dr. Lawrence Crockett, Business Manager of the American Journal of Botany had left Minnesota before the Business Meeting, but his final report for 1971 and proposed budget for 1973 were presented by Dr. Delevoryas. These show that the Journal finished the year 1971 almost $14,000 in the black and that, even with the increase in pages authorized by the Council, the Journal probably will not need but about one-third of the funds set aside for the Journal in the Society budget. Dr. Greenfield moved that Dr. Crockett's report be approved and that we extend our very hearty thanks to him for his long and devoted service to the Society. This was seconded and passed unanimously. In this regard a resolution passed by the Council was read by Dr. Boke: "Dr. Lawrence J. Crockett, who assumed the Business Managership of the American Journal of Botany in 1960, is resigning his position as of the end of this year. Dr. Crockett has kept the Journal on a sound financial basis in spite of many difficulties, and he has supervised the transfer of printing operations to Lawrence. Kansas with consummate skill. The Council therefore wishes to express its deep appreciation to him for extraordinary services rendered during his 12-year incumbency."
16
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Dr. Wagner announced that the new Business Manager, appointed to take Dr. Crockett's place, is Dr. Richard A. Popham.
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Dr. Norman Boke, Editor of the American Journal of Botany, presented some statistics about numbers of papers, times between receipt and appearance in print, etc. for the past year. The length of time elapsing has been increasing because of an in-crease in the backlog of manuscripts.
Dr. Wagner reported that the Council had authorized the printing of job openings, such as have appeared in Plant Science Bulletin this past year, on the back cover of the Journal for a one-year trial period. Dr. Ian Sussex will edit the page.
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Dr. Wagner reported that the Council had authorized Dr. Robert Long, Editor, to increase the number of pages in the Plant Science Bulletin if the amount of material on hand warrants it. Dr. Long had reported that he had a considerable backlog of reviews. Dr. Long had not been reviewing texts, but a number of people on the Council had felt that this would be a useful service. Dr. Adolph Hecht spoke against this, saying that there are so many texts that is would be difficult either to review them all or to make a selection of which to review. He felt that the Editor should be allowed to decide what types of books should or should not be reviewed.
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The Program Director, Dr. Samuel Postlethwait, reported briefly on this year's program, referring particularly to the all-Society symposium in honor of the 25th anniversary of AIBS. He also indicated that, because of the success of last year's meeting with the Canadians, we have been approached about joining with them again. At present we have planned to meet with AIBS at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, June 17-22, 1973 and again at Arizona State University in Tempe, dune 16-21, 1974. For the latter meetings the Mexican and Central American botanists will be contacted — and the Canadians urged to join us to make a meeting of all American botanists.
A suggestion made to the Council that all-Society symposia be continued has been passed on to the new Program Director for consideration. The suggestion was that such symposia be aimed at educating members of federal agencies, science writers, biology teachers, etc. as well as professional botanists to the importance of plant sciences in the world today.
A suggestion was made by Dr. Sydney Greenfield that the Society consider a special program for 1976, the 200th anniversary of our country, perhaps centered around something such as the contributions of botany to the growth of the U. S. during its 200 years.
Dr. Postlethwait moved the following resolution which passed unanimously: "The Botanical Society wishes to express its gratitude to the administrative officers of both the University of Minnesota and the American Institute of Biological Sciences and to their local representative, Dr. John W. Hall, for the excellent arrangements and facilities provided for the 1972 meetings."
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Dr. Richard Starr, who has served on the Council for the past several years, presented a resolution expressing the hearty thanks of the Society to Dr. Delevoryas who has worked hard as Treasurer for 5 years and to Dr. Postlethwait who has struggled with the meeting program for ;3 years. The resolution was enthusiastically endorsed.
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Dr. Adolph Hecht presented the following resolution: "To Charles Heimsch, President, Botanical Society of America. We regret that you were unable to attend our sessions in Minneapolis. We extend our best wishes for Mrs. Heimsch' speedy and full recovery. Warren H. Wagner, Jr., Vice-President, for the Council and membership of the Botanical Society in attendance at the annual business meeting." The resolution passed unanimously
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Dr. Nels Lersten asked if the Council had taken any action concerning abstracts of papers presented at the meetings. Dr. Wagner replied that Council discussion had led to the decision to continue the publication of abstracts, but to handle them differently — by photo-offset of the abstracts as submitted by the authors rather than by printing in the American Journal of Botany. This will decrease expense and probably allow us to have a somewhat later deadline for abstracts.
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Dr. William Jensen asked if and what the Society was doing about getting more support for research in the plant sciences. Dr. Wagner referred to the Plant Science Research Committee, in which the Botanical Society will be represented, and Dr. Bell commented briefly on plans of the AIBS Governing Board in this direction. Dr. Bell pointed out that since an organization the size of AIBS can carry considerably more weight and have much more effect than an organization the size of the Botanical Society, he felt that we should strongly support AIBS in its efforts to gain more recognition and support for biological research. Dr. Greenfield was not in favor of support of AIBS, but would like the Society to take the lead in coordinating all the plant science societies.
Dr. Jensen pointed out that there are two Lev-As. Something needs to be done for biology in general, and this is the spot for AIBS which he feels we should support strongly, but as we are also botanists and there are problems specific to the plant sciences, we need to attack the latter aspect ourselves. Since at present we really do not have specific facts, Dr. Jensen moved that the President appoint a Committee to get the facts about the status of funding of plant research and, armed with the facts, explore ways and means of improving the situation. The motion was seconded. During the discussion it was pointed out that the Committee, or members of it, could well act as liaison between the Society and both the Plant Science Research Committee and AIBS committees acting in this area of endeavor. The motion passed unanimously.
Dr. ,Jensen also moved that the Botanical Society express its support of AIBS in its efforts to obtain recognition of biology and increased funding of biological research by federal agencies. The motion passed.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 P.M.
Respectfully submitted, Barbara F. Palser, Secretary
Citations for Awards Presented at the Annual Banquet, 1972
Darbaker Prize (This award is made for meritorious work in the study of microscopical algae.)
To Michael Neushul of the University of California in Santa Barbara
"his breadth of research interest from the sub-microscopic level of thylakoid structure and function to the macroscopic level of growth characteristics of kelp is very unusual and his use of the double-fracture technique in freeze-etching and electron microscopy of red algal thylakoids has provided the most definitive information to date on an extensively debated topic."
Merit Award (This award is made to persons judged to have made outstanding contributions to botanical science.)
To Aaron J. Sharp of the University of Tennessee
"bryololgist, plant geographer; he has demonstrated the floristic relationships between North America and Asia from the Arctic to the Tropics. An outstanding and enthusiastic teacher, he has inspired and guided many who have become leading botanists."
To Frank Harlan Lewis of the University of California at Los Angeles
"eminent evolutionary biologist, teacher, and administrator; his studies of chromosome behavior in such genera as Clurhia, Mentzelia, Delphinium, and their relatives have provided the cytotaxonomic basis for his brilliant generalizations as to population dynamics, the processes of speciat.ion, and the nature of biological taxa."
To Charles B. Heiser, Jr. of Indiana University
"Scholarly student of the systematics and evolution of vascular plants; his original and significant contributions through extended studies of Compositae and
17
Solanaceae have utilized many techniques; his interest in the origins of cultivated plants and weeds has led to a new appreciation of such plants as materials for important evolutionary studies."
New York Botanical Garden Award (The N. Y. Botanical Garden presents an award to the author of a recent publication making an outstanding contribution to the fundamental aspects of botany.)
To Daniel I. Axelrod of the University of California at Davis
"for his numerous and outstanding and pioneering contributions to the paleogeography and early evolution of the angiosperms; his contributions and original ideas have stimulated world-wide research and added to fundamental botanical knowledge. Of a number of recent articles, his paper in the 1970 volume of Botanical Review entitled "Mesozoic paleogeography and early angiosperm history" is cited in particular."
Jeanette Siron Pelton Award (This award is awarded from time to time to young investigators in recognition of exceptionally imaginative contributions in the field of experimental plant morphology. It carries with it a premium of $1,000.)
To Paul B. Green of Stanford University
"for his investigations into problems of growth in the alga Nitella which have revealed the role of cytoplasmic elements in development and focused attention on the unique properties of the plant cell wall. Perhaps the most notable of his scientific achievements has been the application of physical principles to problems of plant morphogenesis.
Paleobotanical Award (This award is presented on an annual basis for the outstanding contributed paper within the Paleobotanical Section, Botanical Society of America. The recipient is determined by a committee designated by the current section chairman.)
This year's award is presented to William L. Crepet,
University of Texas, for his outstanding contribution
titled "Pollination in Cycadeoidea".
Jesse M. Greenman Award (of the Missouri Botanical Garden Alumni Association for the best thesis in plant systematics during the previous year [1971-72].)
To William T. Gillis
"The systematics and ecology of poison-ivy and the poison-oaks (Toxicodendron, Anacardiaceae)."
Corresponding Members
Botanical Society of America 1972
Arturo Erardo Burkart, Director of the Instituto de Botanica DARWINION since 1936 and a professor at various times at both the University of La Plata and the University of Buenos Aires, is a senior member of Argentina's group of distinguished botanists. He has written extensively on the systematics and floristics of the Argentinian flora, establishing himself as the Latin American expert on legumes and as an important contributor to the literature of agriculture and the history of biology. As head of the DARWINION and editor of its journal Darwiniana he has strongly influenced the favorable development of plant science throughout South America.
Professor Gunnar Erdtman, Palynologiska Laboratoriet, Stockholm University, Sweden, for his pioneering contributions to palynology. His monumental work on pollen morphology has led to a comprehensive understanding of the structure, evolutionary trends, and taxonomic significance of pollen grains and spores. His many books and papers are indispensible both for students of pollen morphology and those who utilize pollen and spores as a research tool; his highly developed terminology for pollen ultrastructure is used throughout the world. In addition, many of his earlier works were responsible for the rapid development of pollen analysis as a paleoecological research method.
Albert George Long, Deputy Curator, Hancock Museum, University of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England for his patient, prolonged, continuous search through the Lower Carboniferous strata of Berwickshire for petrified specimens of early seed plants. The reward for his search has been an understanding of the structure of a wide range of primitive seeds thereby providing firm data for what had been only hypotheses of the origin of seeds. Long's success in bridging this gap between pteridophytes and seed plants must be place alongside Kidston and Lang's discovery of Rhynia and Florin's elucidation of the evolution of conifer cones in a list of the landmarks in the study of evolution in plants.
William Raymond Philipson, Professor of Botany, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, for his important contributions to interpretive morphology, floristics, developmental anatomy, and systematics. He is a recognized authority on the structure and classification of Pacific Araliaceae and on the primary and secondary vascular tissues of angiosperms in general. In addition, he is an occasional contributor to horticultural journals, and his activities as a field naturalist have resulted in five books for general readership.
Book Reviews
ROMAGNESI, HENRI, ed. Exotic Mushrooms. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 1971. 192 pp, 160 color plates. $12.95.
An exotic coffee table deserves to be topped by this illustrative mushroom book, not the kitchen or laboratory desk where it might fall into use although certainly not for long!
The editor introduces the book with brief sections of diverse quality. For example, in "Types of Mushrooms" he interestingly describes for a lay population these organisms in relation to other fungi and creatures. However, the segment, "The Mushrooms Role in the Life Cycle" leads the reader completely into "Wonderland!" In another portion of the text "Edible Mushrooms" the nutritional value of these fruiting bodies is presented and some of this discussion is curiously misleading, such as the following:
"even so, mushrooms often prove heavy and difficult to digest well, and doctors forbid them to patients suffering from liver complaints."
Perhaps the butter in which they are frequently bathed is the danger in such hepatic restrictions.
The book is mainly a compilation of realistic and colorful mushroom paintings parceled out in 160 color plates that are 81/2 inches by 11 inches. These illustrations have been executed by several European painters among whom are A. Lacaze and J. Chenantais
18
who contributed the majority of them. Included with the collection of mushroom renditions are 18 unsealed charts in which mostly spores and cystidia are depicted by black and white drawings. Since there is no mention in the text of the relationship that cystidia have to mushrooms, this would seem to present a baffling situation to the amateur.
Thus it seems that the production of this hook was not necessarily intended to aid in identification but to illucidate the diversity of some of the agarics. If this is not done satisfactorily by the coffee table approach, then one can amputate the pages and frame them, paint them, stitch them, or sculpt them. There are indeed exotic ways to use this tome!
Diane T. Wagner-Merner. Uniuer. of So. Fla.
RUNECKLES, V. C. AND J. E. WATKIN. (Editors) Vol.
1. Recent Advances in Phvlochemistrv. Appleton-
Century-Crofts, New York. 1972. 317 pp., $24.95. This volume contains a series of papers presented at the annual symposium of the Phytochemical Society of North America held at Banff, Alberta in 1969. The emphasis in each review is on the biochemical aspects of the topic, but some of the authors include a discussion of the biological significance of the compounds in metabolism and evolution of plants.
Each of the nine chapters is devoted to a specific topic. The first chapter by Towers and Subba Rao is a thorough review of the biosynthetic and degradative path-ways of the versatile compounds of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and dopa. Floss discusses the biosynthesis of fur a nocoumarins, compounds which include physiologically active compounds, such as aflotoxins. Hanson and Havir present the mechanism and molecular structure of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase. This enzyme catalyses the formation of cinnamic acid from phenylalanine and is important in shunting phenylallanine and tyrosine from protein synthesis to the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoid compounds. The enzymic reduction of cinnamic acid is discussed by Zenk and Gross. They emphasize the reduction of acids to aldehydes and alcohols which then may be incorporated into lignin. Steelink discusses the biological oxidation of lignin phenols.
The chapter most concerned with the biological aspects of the topic is Harborne's presentation of the evolution and function of flavonoids in plants. He discusses petal color, properties of taste, growth regulation and toxicity as well as the general distribution of the flavonoids throughout the plant kingdom. Van Sumere and his colleagues at Gent give an extensive review of the possible regulatory roles of naturally occurring coumarins and phenolics in relation to the germination of barley and lettuce seeds and the growth of yeast. The deposition of lignin under various environmental conditions is discussed by Siegel and his co-workers.
Maybry closes the volume with a short discussion of the major frontiers of phytochemistry and touches on such topics as natural products, ultrastructure, chemotaxonomy, phylogeny, and the genetics of secondary compounds. Perhaps future symposia of the society will center on some of these topics. This volume represents a concise review of significant areas of current interest in phytochemistry. The most serious criticism of the work is the length of time from the symposium to the publication of the papers.
Sarah Clevenger Indiana State Unit.
CADBURY, D. A., J. G. HAWKES, and R. C. READETT. A Computer-Mapped Flora - A Study of the County of Warwickshire. Academic Press, New
York, 1971. ix + 768 pages. $31.50.
The Preface declares that, "This is a County Flora with a difference." The difference is that the compute r was used to produce species distribution and habitat maps and to compile selected summary statistics. This is a first for a county flora, the authors claim.
Basically it is a thorough presentation of the flora of an English county of 1500 square miles. Excellent introductory chapters cover the county's physiography, geology and soils, land use history and discussion of previous floristic work. Another presents an interesting area sampling scheme for the county (stratified, random), which was able to reduce the work required to a manageable amount. Locality records were then input to a computer via punched paper tape, corrected and used as a basis to produce computer generated distribution maps, one per species. So far this procedure follows roughly that of Perring and Walters in their Atlas of the British Flora (1962). But the present authors do not just indicate presence or absence of a species in a given map unit through nine different plotting symbols they indicate the habitat of each species in the map unit. If the species is found in more than one habitat in the same map unit, several symbols are overprinted by the computer. In addition, two shades of these nine symbols are used, light for rare to occasionally occurring in the map unit, and dark for frequently to abundantly occurring within the sampling unit. Still more information is available from each map, since like the Atlas of the British Flora, trans-parent overlays are provided, yielding information on relief, waterways, surface geology, etc.
The authors are correct. This is a county flora with a difference. But we may ask whether this represents a taxonomic advance or computer-pollution. I think it is both! As the authors suggest, we are at the dawn of a new era in floristic work and the computer is responsible for it. Once basic distribution data are in the computer, qualitive advances are possible in biogeography. One out-standing example appearing in the current work is the recognition and description of different habitats. Others will be the correlation of distributions of species by pairs and by groups. But these and other unique results do not require the 400 plus pages of distribution maps in the present volume. Who does'? This is where the question of computer pollution comes in. Would it. have been better to have deposited the computer generated maps in a Systematics Center and produced a volume at one-third the price'? Persons interested in maps of particular taxa could request copies of those only. In analogous ways, with the computerization of Index Nominum Genericorum, a taxonomist can request a printout of only those genera in families of' his interest, and not have to purchase the entire set. Similarly, in the computerization of label data of the 65,000 specimens of the Greene Her-barium, I have put off any large formal publication of its contents because for the money needed to produce it, I can provide customized computer searches and printouts for hundreds of botanists.
To conclude, this volume on the Warwickshire flora is a thorough addition to floristic study, replete with qualitative advances of technique. At the same time it should motivate us to think.clearly about which directions future work should go.
Theodore 1 Crot'ello University of Notre Dame
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JANICK, JULES. Horticultural Science, 2nd Ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco, Calif. 1972. x + 586 pp. $12.00.
"Horticultural Science" is a textbook designed for the beginning horticulture student, although it may be used by all students who are interested in the plant sciences. The author is to be complimented upon his presentation of horticultural topics in such a manner that there is relevance between subject matter and practical application.
This text has been divided into 3 parts which are as follows: 1) The Biology of Horticulture; 2) The Technology of Horticulture; and :3) The Industry of Horticulture. Topics discussed include classification of horticultural plants, their structure, plant growth, plant development, controlling plant environment, directing plant growth, biological competition, mechanisms of propagation, plant improvement, marketing, horticultural geography, horticultural production systems, horticultural crops and the esthetics and impact of horticulture.
Although there is a tremendous mass of material involved, the student will receive an excellent introduction to the biological facts of plant production in horticulture. However, it would have been desirable to have a more comprehensive presentation concerning the different facets of marketing and utilization of the various horticultural products. The chapter on horticultural crops should be expanded to cover them in more detail, rather than leave the student with just a passing glance at a giant industry. For example, only a few paragraphs were devoted to the multi-million dollar industries of citrus and sweet corn. The chapter on marketing should further illustrate the rapidly changing technology in the various phases of horticulture.
If the selected references for all the chapters were ex-tended considerably, it would be of great help both to instructor and to student. As the text is presented, the student has not yet been introduced to such publications as the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, International Society for Plant Propagators, American Journal of Botany, and other pertinent research journals. An accompanying manual for laboratory experience and possible field observations would be extremely helpful to students and staff.
Regardless of the preceding comments, I recommend this as a basic text for an introductory course in horticulture.
R. K. Simons Unit.. of Illinois
ROBERTS, E. H. ed. Viability of Seeds. Syracuse Univ. Press. Syracuse, N. Y. 1972. 448 pp. $20.00.
Professor Roberts has compiled the work of a number of experts from widely separated disciplines into a well-organized treatise. "Viability of Seeds" reads like a book rather than a series of monographs but as the author him-self suggests, need not be read through in numerical order of chapters. The book is comprehensive enough to be used as a reference, yet suitable for a textbook.
There are 12 chapters plus 4 informative and helpful appendices in this book on various facets of seed viability which range from ancestry to zvmogens. Practical in-formation for those interested in seed storage can he found (e.g. effects of various factors during and prior to harvest, ideal storage conditions for various seeds, pitfalls involved in seed storage, viability nomographs, etc.) as well as the theoretical. This reviewer appreciated the wide ranging coverage of the various authors. For example, there is an interesting section on the effects of light on certain dormant seeds; a brief history, detective work involved studying this phenomenon, culminating in the discovery of phytochrome. There is a hint of teleology when phytochrome is called a "neat environment sensing device" which prohibits germination of the seed under a leaf canopy (far red) whereas the inhibition is released by sunlight (red). Each author has done a credible job evaluating knowledge in his particular field, generally with excellent bibliographies for reference.
Because the book was written by a number of authors, there are inevitable overlapping areas, but for this very reason it has many stimulating points of view. For instance, the problem of analyzing seed germinability has been viewed from many angles, depending upon the worker. Examples of different viewpoints include: analysis of germinability by observing prematurely aged seeds; histochemical analysis through use of various stains; use of biochemical parameters such as enzymes or intermediary metabolites; cytological analysis suggested by the negative correlation found between germinability and chromosomal aberrations; the statistical approach; and physiological methods of analysis, e.g. loss of membrane integrity with decreasing viability. Also, not everyone is concerned with enhancing longevity of seeds; weed control people would like to shorten it. Thus, although most of the authors ha,'e tried to be as catholic as possible in their presentations, multiple authorship presents an even wider panorama.
This reviewer feels that "Viability of Seeds"would be a valuable addition to the library of any worker who is interested in plants, but especially if he is concerned with plant seeds. The widely separated areas of interests en-compassed by seed viability have been skillfully woven into a well-knit book that is interesting for the amateur, yet scholarly enough for the experienced practitioner.
Lawrence Yatsu
USDA
New Orleans, La.
PANKOW, HELMUI', Algen Flora der Ost.see. I. Bentos (Blau-, Grun-, Braun-, and Rotalpen). Vet). Gustav Fischer Verlag. Jena. 1971. 419 pp.
This handbook of the algal flora of the Baltic Sea is a well written, and taxonomically up-to-date account. The text is written in modern, easy to read German. The algal descriptions and keys to genera and species are concise, clear and fairly easy to follow. The line drawings accompanying the various genera throughout the book are extensive and adequate. The photographs, placed at the back of the book are not as useful because of the poor quality of reproduction.
Dr. Pankow follows the European classification of the Cyanophyta and hence uses Geitler's major taxonomic characters for identification and taxonomic groups. However, Dr. Pankow does give Drouet and Daily's revision of the Chroococcaceae, at the end of this section, indicating by synomvms how the two classifications can be compared.
This handbook is especially impressive in the in-corporation of the modern revisions of various genera of green, brown, and red algae. Throughout the text Dr. Pankow included footnotes in which he discusses the taxonomic implications of various revisions. For example, he includes Kesseler's revision of Chaetomorpha and van den Hoek's revision of Cladophora. Thus, this work is not only relevant as a local flora with clear, useable keys and line drawings, but also as a source for more recent
20
revisions of various genera, at least for the European species.
For those of us concerned with local floras, such a text should prove useful as a guide to clear, simple keys and drawings as well as a source for recent taxonomic revisions not easily available.
Clinton Daises Unit'. of So. Fla.
HEUSSER, CALVIN J. Pollen and Spores of Chile. Univ. of Arizona Prss, Tucson, Ariz. 1971. 167 pp., 60 plates. $15.00.
Though initiated as early as Humbolt's botanical explorations and observations on the biogeography of northern South America (1799-1804) and extended by visits of Darwin (HMS Beagle, 18:32-5) to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Pacific coasts of Chile, adequate descriptions of the floristic and vegetational diversity and complexity of Chile awaited the work of Munoz and Oberdorfer. Heusser's recent treatise on the spores and pollen of the vascular plants of Chile provides another essential resource on which to base studies on the history of this extensive and ecologically diverse flora.
Knowledge of pollen and spore morphology is useful to plaits taxonomists, while the ability to identify modern and subfossil palynomorphs permits pollen analysis of lake and bog sediments and a reconstruction of the Pleistocene palcoenviromnents. These ends are well-served by Heusser's useful and complete volume describing the pollen and spores of Chile.
The vascular flora is extensive and the coverage of the book is virtually complete; descriptions and clear photomicrographs of 698 species are included in the manual. This covers 624 of the 920 genera in the Chilean flora and represents 178 of the 182 families of vascular plants. The nomenclature is according to Munoz.
PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN
LIFE SCIENCE BUILDING
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA, FLORIDA 33620
All material described and illustrated is from documented herbarium specimens, with in excess of 95% of the material from specimens collected in Chile. Exceptions include about 20 types collected in North America, Europe or Africa; many of these are other non-native species in genera which are included in the Chilean flora.
Another 9 or 10 species are from material from other South American coutries; in those cases the native Chilean species of the genus is usually illustrated. Considering the paucity of pollen and spores on many her-barium specimens, this is excellent coverage from native material. A few pollen types of introduced species are included (Pinus, Agaue, AM us, Ailanthus, Pop« lus).
There are separate keys for spores and pollen; each of the twenty-six major morphological types of pollen is treated in a separate key. This is the simplest approach to keying pollen and the structure and terminology of the keys, as well as the comparisons presented, are clear and generally unequivocal. Those who object to polychotomous keys will be frustrated, however, since the number of key alternatives, sometimes spread over successive pages, is unpredictable.
The illustrations of palynomorphs are entirely of original photomicrographs. In most cases there are two or three photographs of the same material; the clarity of the photographic detail of the surface sculpture as well as of the optical sections of exine structure is exceptionally fine. Since pollen is usually identified only to the generic level by pollen analysts, these excellent illustrations will make the book an essential reference for pollen analysts throughout South America and will be of worldwide interest.
This manual should be on the shelf of every
serious student of palynology and is an essential element
in collections of all libraries with full botanical coverage.
Ronald Kapp
Alma College
PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN LIFE SCIENCE BUILDING UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA, FLORIDA 33620
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