PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN
A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 1, MARCH, 1978
RICHARD M. KLEIN, Editor, Department of Botany, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. 05401
Editorial Board
Jerry D. Davis - University of Wisconsin, La Crosse
Anitra Thorhaug - Florida International University, Key Biscayne
Richard P. Wunderlin - University of South Florida, Tampa
Change of Address. Notify the Treasurer of the Botanical Society of America, Inc., Dr. Barbara D. Webster, Department of Agronomy & Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.
Subscriptions for libraries and for persons not members of the Society can be obtained for $10.00 per year. Orders plus checks payable to "Botanical Society of America, Inc." should be sent directly to the Treasurer of the Society.
Manuscripts for the Plant Science Bulletin should be submitted to the editor. The Bulletin welcomes announcements, notes, notices and items of general interest to members of the Botanical Society and to the botanical community at large. No charge for inclusion of notices is made. Material submitted must be typed, double-spaced and in duplicate. Copy should follow the style of recent issues of the Bulletin.
Microfilms of the Plant Science Bulletin are available from University Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.
The Plant Science Bulletin is published quarterly at the University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05401. Second class postage paid at Burlington, VT.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Use and Misuse of the Term Cultivar
An Appeal for the Annotation of Type Specimens
Meetings, Conferences, Courses
Activities of the Sections
Botanical Potpourri
Help!
Professional Opportunities
Personalia
Deaths
Nominations for the Jeanette Siron Pelton Award
BSA Delegation to the People's Republic of China
A logo for Our Society?
Book Reviews
PAGE TWO
Use and Misuse of the Term Cultivar
James S. Pringle
Royal Botanical Gardens, Box 399
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3H8
However much they may be field-oriented, few botanists today remain unconcerned with cultivated plants. Floristic studies encounter more and more introduced species that have become naturalized. Evolutionary botanists as well as crop scientists are giving increased attention to the origins of crop plants and to relationships between wild and cultivated taxa. Cultivated material may be all that is readily available to represent some species in taxonomic or evolutionary studies. And, of course, plants submitted for identification cannot be restricted to those of the spontaneous flora.
With cultivated plants, the greater significance of intra-specific variation and the greater prominence of inter-specific hybrid complexes require additional taxonomic terms. The term cultivar, established for a taxonomic category in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants in 1953 and now widely used by horticulturists, has proved extremely useful for distinguishing significant variants maintained in cultivation from taxa in other categories. Its usefulness has not been enhanced, however, by the disparity of applications of this term in recent botanical publications. Therefore, these comments have been prepared as a guide to the use of this term for botanists not accustomed to dealing with horticultural selections.
In most floristic and ecologic studies, all individuals in a natural population of Eastern flowering dogwood, for example, may simply be called Cornus florida L. More precision is added by the designation C. florida var. florida, which distinguishes trees native north of Mexico from the Mexican var. urbiniana (Rose) Wang. To this may be added f. florida, by which name trees having the prevalent four white bracts per inflorescence and red fruits may be distinguished from occasional individuals with more than four bracts, pinkish bracts, or yellow fruits. Beyond the limits of clonal reproduction from adventitious shoots, however, every individual in a natural population of C. florida is genetically unique. A population may contain some plants that produce inflorescences in abundance nearly every year, others only in alternate years; some distinguished by relatively large or wide bracts; or some showing less bract damage after severe winters than others in similar sites. It is with such differences among individuals that horticultural selection is concerned. Superior individuals may be selected for propagation; the plants derived from a selected individual may be named, and then constitute a cultivar. Cornus florida 'New Hampshire', for example, is a cultivar derived from an individual tree observed to be consistently superior at northern latitudes.
A cultivar may be defined as comprising plants derived generally from a single selection, propagated in such a way as to maintain an acceptable degree of uniformity in relation to the purposes for which the plants are cultivated, and maintaining their distinctness from related cultivars. With most woody plants and herbaceous perennials, and with annual crops such as potatoes, vegetative propagation is employed, producing genetically identical individuals. With other annual plants, variation may be minimized through as much inbreeding as the respective species' susceptibility to inbreeding depression permits, or in some cases through the repeated production of F 1 progenie between inbred lines. Syringa vulgaris 'Saint Joan' (a lilac) Pyrus malus 'Lodi' (an apple), and Saintpaulia ionantha 'Pink Panther' (an African violet) are all examples of clonal cultivars; Tagetes patula 'Naughty Marietta' (a marigold) and Cucurbita moschata 'Waltham Butternut' (a squash) are seed-propagated cultivars; and Citrullus vulgaris 'Triple Sweet' (a triploid, seedless watermelon) and Lycopersicum esculentum 'Spring Giant' (a tomato, not seedless but exhibiting heterosis) are F 1 hybrid cultivars.
From these examples, it is obvious that the term cultivar is not correctly used to denote a species that is not indigenous to a certain region, nor one that as a result of breeding and selection exhibits greater variability in cultivation than in the wild. Syringa vulgaris L. (common lilac), for example, is a species not indigenous to, although naturalized in, North America. This species comprises numerous cultivars as well as unnamed seedlings. The species as a whole, therefore, cannot correctly be called a cultivar in any context.
Cultivar is sometimes confused with cultigen, and applied incorrectly to any taxon that originated in cultivation. Syringa x prestoniae McKelvey (= S. reflexa Schneid, x S. villosa Vahl) did not exist until the parent species, native to different regions of China, were hybridized by horticulturists in Canada. This hybrid taxon, therefore, is a cultigen. The binomial Syringa x prestoniae, however, is applicable to all plants derived from hybridization between S. reflexa and S. villosa. Syringa x prestoniae 'Isabella' and 'Coral', in contrast, are cultivars, vegetatively propagated from selected individuals of S. x prestoniae. Cultigen, it may be noted, pertains to the origin and not to the taxonomic status of the hybrid S. x prestoniae; in its not designating a taxonomic category, this term is comparable, for example, to ecotype.
One sometimes reads that the "Botanical Code" applies only to wild plants and the "Cultivated Code" to cultivated plants. Red pine, however, obviously retains the name Pinus resinosa L. whether occurring in a natural ecosystem planted for timber, or used in landscaping, and its name in all cases is subject to the provisions of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. The special function of the "Cultivated Code" enters not when plants are brought into cultivation, but when one becomes concerned with selected individuals and with propagation for uniformity.
Misconceptions have sometimes arisen about the relationship of the category of cultivar to that of form. The distinction between these categories can be illustrated by an example from Ilex opaca Ait. (American holly). Throughout the range of this species, occasional individuals bear yellowish-orange, rather than red, fruits; these, collectively, are known as I opaca f. xanthocarpa Rehd. The epithet xanthocarpa, therefore, is associated with plants of different origins, and is not correlated with other traits such as hardiness or fruit size that are considered in the selection of holly cultivars. It remains applicable, at the rank of form, to any yellow-fruited I. opaca, wild or cultivated. The cultivar name 'Canary', in contrast, is applied only to plants vegetatively propagated from one yellow-fruited selection.
From the foregoing examples, it is evident that a cultivar may or may not be a clone. Also, a cultivar may be selected from the progeny of a breeding program or directly from the wild. It may or may not, therefore, be a hybrid, in any sense of the term.
Cultivar names are printed in the format used here; that is, they are capitalized and not italicized. Usually, they are enclosed in single quotation marks, but the abbreviation cv. may be used instead of or along with this punctuation.
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When a cultivar has been selected from within one species, its cultivar name follows that of the species, e.g., Syringa vulgaris 'Saint Joan' or S. vulgaris cv. Saint Joan. Because many cultivars are of polyspecific hybrid or uncertain origin, a cultivar name may directly follow that of the genus, as in Syringa 'Miss Canada' (this cultivar having been derived from crosses involving three species). When appropriate, the relationships of such a cultivar may be more precisely indicated by inserting the name of a supplementary category in parentheses, as in Syringa (series Villosae) 'Miss Canada'. Punctuation not part of the cultivar name is placed outside the single quotation marks.
For a more extensive treatment of cultivar nomenclature, including discussions of complex situations and of other terms sometimes misapplied in horticultural taxonomy, see my paper "The concept of the cultivar," Gardens' Bulletin (Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, Ontario) 27:13-27 1973.
An Appeal for the Annotation of Type Specimens
Eileen K. Schofield
New York Botanical Garden
Bronx, N. Y. 10458
Type specimens are the most valuable elements of any herbarium. They are usually given extra care and protection by the use of special covers or by filing in units at the end of families. In some institutions, they are kept as a separate collection in their own cases to avoid the excessive handling and crowded conditions that might prevail in the general herbarium.
Such a separate type herbarium is maintained at the New York Botanical Garden. An ongoing curatorial program involves filing new specimens and types from returned loans, replacing old genus covers and dividing those that have become overcrowded. In the course of curating each family, a careful check is made to see that specimens are filed under the basionym and are placed in the proper geographical region. As many as possible of the types are verified by consulting the original published description and comparing it with the data on the specimens. Each verified type is annotated with a special label that notes the category of type (holotype, isotype, syntype), the correct basionym, the author, and a complete citation of the publication.
Each year a large number of types are loaned to institutions around the world. Of course, they are necessary to any revision or monograph of a genus or family and can also be important to floristic studies. The botanists working on these projects usually borrow all available specimens of their group and collect the pertinent literature. They are, therefore, best qualified to verify types, especially old specimens that lack complete collection data.
It is surprising how few researchers take the time to annotate types with the basionym. Most types will receive an annotation label with the new name, but will have no label to indicate that they are indeed types. Occasionally, the sheets will be marked as types, but very rarely will the place or original publication be included.
Perhaps it is time to make an appeal to all taxonomists who borrow type specimens to take a few minutes to annotate the sheets as verified types with a literature citation. The opinion of an expert on the group is certainly more valuable than that of someone doing a general curatorial survey of types. When the specimens are returned to the type herbarium, this information will serve both as a record of the current study and as a reference.
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES COURSES
This year the Botanical Society of America will hold its national meetings as a part of the Plant Sciences Conference in Blacksburg, Virginia from June 25 through June 29, 1978. BSA will be meeting jointly with the American Society of Plant Physiologists, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, Plant Growth Regulator Working Group, American Bryological and Lichenological Society, American Fern Society and the Pan American Section of the International Association of Wood Technologists. The program will include a joint opening Plenary Session (Monday p.m.) in addition to the regular paper and poster sessions and symposia offered by each society. This year a pre-program (list of session papers and posters by title and symposia topics) will be printed by ASPP and distributed through BSA to its members in late March. This pre-program will include all sessions of ASPT, ASPP, AFS and BSA. As is customary, BSA abstracts, which include those of ASPT and AFS, will be printed and mailed to BSA members prior to the meetings. ASPP abstracts also will be distributed to its membership in advance of the conference; PGRWG and ABLS will distribute their own programs to members upon arrival. Check the conference headquarters of these societies if you are interested in attending their sessions.
The meal and social functions of the conference will begin with a Chicken Barbeque on Sunday, 25 June. Society banquets, breakfasts, and luncheons have been planned and tickets for these functions may be purchased during registration on Sunday or from Society headquarters later in the week.
A number of societies will hold field trips for interested members prior to or during the meetings. Below are descriptions of the trips planned and their cost.
BSA Ecology Section Field Trip--Friday, 30 June 1978. Buffalo Mountain field trip-see ASPT-BSA Systematics Section Field Trip for description. Cost ($6.00/ person) includes transportation and box lunch. Meet at 8:00 A.M. Friday at the entrance to Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education. Field trip is limited to 40 participants. Register for trip by sending name, address and fee to Duncan M. Porter, Department of Biology, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 no later than 15 May 1978.
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AFS-BSA Pteridological Section Field Trips--Friday (all day), 23 June; Saturday (all day), 24 June; Sunday (morning), 25 June. Friday will be devoted to limestone ferns, including Ophioglossum engelmanii, the limestone spleenworts, and cliffbrakes. Saturday will be spent on the higher mountains where Dryopteris campyloptera and its rare hybrids, Dryopteris goldiana and the little grape ferns, the hybrid running pine (Lycopodium x habereri), and the largest eastern American adder's-tongue, a still undescribed variety will be seen. Sunday, the foray will visit the only known locality for Rugg's royal fern, Osmunda x ruggii. The field trips will be led by Florence and Warren Wagner. Total cost for all field trips ($15.00/person) includes transportation and box lunches; trips limited to 65 participants. Trips will begin at 8 :00 A.M. each morning at the entrance to Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education. Participants arriving Thursday must arrange for motel or CEC accommodations. Dormitory rooms will be available on Friday. Register for trips by sending name, address and fee to Duncan M. Porter, Department of Biology, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 no later than 15 May 1978.
ASPT Field TRIP--Saturday, 24 June 1978. Buffalo Mountain is in Floyd County, Virginia, about 40 miles to the southwest of Blacksburg. It is in the geological Blue Ridge Province, which extends along the eastern edge of the Appalachian system from Pennsylvania to Georgia. Buffalo Mountain is a monadnock, isolated from the main Blue Ridge, which lies several miles to the east. It reaches a height of 3970 feet, about 100 feet higher than the surrounding mountaintops. The nearest mountains of the same height occur about 40 miles away to the north and to the southeast. Consequently, Buffalo Mountain's summit houses a number of disjuncts, some of which are quite rare in Virginia. In addition, the summit is capped by a natural grassy bald, which in turn is surrounded on the south side by an oak-hickory forest. Both of these vegetation types also are rare in Virginia.
Participants will meet at 8:00 A.M. at the entrance to Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education. We will drive to the foot of Buffalo Mountain via the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will then hike to the summit of the mountain through rich deciduous forest. The hike is approximately a four mile round trip, and begins from an elevation of about 3000 feet. We will have lunch at the summit (a box lunch will be provided), explore the summit area, and return down the mountain in the afternoon, returning to Blacksburg at approximately 5 :00 P.M. Participants should bring hiking boots and a small pack in which to carry their lunch. Photography is encouraged, collecting is not. Cost of this field trip is $6.00 per person.
The number of participants is limited to 40. Register for the trip by sending your name, address and fee to Duncan M. Porter, Field Trip Chairman, Department of Biology, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 no later than 15 May 1978. Dormitory rooms will be available on Friday.
BSA Paleobotany Section Field Trip--Sunday, 25 June 1978. Outcrops of the Price Formation. The Price Formation is a complex of deltaic shoreline deposits that at times included a coal swamp forest. The deposits are Lower Mississippian (Kinderhookian) and seem to correlate with the Lower Mississippian portion of the Pocono Fm. of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, the Cuyahoga Fm. of Ohio, and the New Providence Fm. of Kentucky. The flora of this time is distinctive and archaic, with two characteristic genera being Lepidodendropsis and Triphyllopteris. Four localities will be sampled:
1) Coal Bank Hollow on rt. 460 north of Blacksburg--Lepidodendropsis and Protostigmaria.
2) Brush Mt. along rt. 655 northwest of Blacksburg--Lepidodendropsis.
3) Cloyds Mt. along rt. 100 north of Dublin--Chlidanophyton.
4) Little Walker Mt. on rt. 738 northwest of Pulaski--Triphyllopteris, Lagenospermum, and Gnetopsis.
Participants will depart from the entrance to Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education at 8:00 A.M. One to two hours will be spent at each of the four localities. A box lunch and beverages will be provided. Appropriate clothing and foot gear should be worn and participants should plan to provide their own small tools, boxes and paper. Larger tools, and a limited number of extra boxes and paper, will be on hand for the enthusiasts. Cost for the field trip is $7.00 per person, which includes the cost of a guidebook. The latter are available separately too.
Travel will be by bus. Persons wishing to provide their own transportation and food may do so, in which case they may purchase the guidebook at the start of the trip. All participants must register for the field trip by sending their name, address and fee (if traveling by bus) to Stephen E. Scheckler, Department of Biology, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, no later than 15 May 1978. Dormitory rooms will be available from the 23 of June.
Because of the numerous historical and scenic attractions in Virginia and nearby Washington, D.C., many activities for the families of meeting participants have been planned. There will be get-acquainted coffees, a luncheon-fashion show, a visit to Smithfield Plantation located on campus, demonstrations by local crafts people, and tours of campus museums and public service facilities. Child care will be available for young children and recreational facilities (swimming and tennis free of charge, bowling, golf, etc. for nominal charges) for older children and spouses. Additional tours will be arranged by local faculty wives according to the interests of families. For more information about traveling within Virginia, prospective participants should contact the Virginia Travel Services, 6 North Sixth Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
BSA members in need of meeting announcements, advance registration or advance housing information should contact Patricia Holmgren, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y. 10458 or Judith Croxdale, Biology Department, VPI & SU, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061. Fees and application for advance registration should be sent t Barbara Webster, Department of Agronomy and Range Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Advance housing forms should be mailed to the Adult Registrar, Donaldson Brown Center for Continuing Education, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061.
THE FIFTH SYMPOSIUM ON LIVING AND FOSSIL DIATOMS will be held 4-8 September 1978 at the Societe Royale de Zoologie D'Anvers in Antwerp, Belgium. Contact Dr. John A. Barron, U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CHEMI- & BIO-ENERGIZED PROCESSES will be held 8-10 August 1978 at Guaruja, Estado de Sao Paulo, Brasil under the auspices of the Universidade De Sao Paulo and the Universidad De Puerto Rico. Contact Dr. Waldemar Adam, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chemistry Department, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR 00931.
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THE ANNUAL TISSUE CULTURE ASSOCIATION MEETING will be held 5-8 June 1978 at the Denver Hilton Hotel, Denver, CO. Contact Dr. Robert S. Lasher, Department of Anatomy, University of Colorado, 4200 E. 9th Ave., Denver, CO 80262.
AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TROPICAL BOTANY (Taxonomy and Plant Geography) will be held 10-12 August 1978 in Aarhus. Contact Botanical Institute, University of Aarhus, 68, Nordlandvej, DK-8240 Risskov, Danemark.
AN INTERNATIONAL RHODODENDRON CONFERENCE will be held 15-17 May 1978 at the New York Botanical Garden. Contact Carleton B. Lees, New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458.
AN ARID LANDS CONFERENCE ON PLANT RESOURCES will be held at Texas Tech University on 8-15 October 1978. The conference is being organized by AAAS, the consortium of Arid Land Institutions, the International Shrub Coordinating Committee and Texas Tech. Contact J. R. Goodin, Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409.
TWO MARINE BOTANY COURSES will be offered during the summer of 1978 at the Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island. Marine algology will be offered from 19 June to 22 July and advanced algology from 24 July to 27 August. Both courses offer graduate credit at the University of Washington. Contact The Director, Friday Harbor Laboratories, Friday Harbor, W A 98250.
THE NORTHEASTERN SECTIONAL MEETING OF THE BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA will be held 11-14 June 1978 and will include a trip into Niagara Gorge and to the Bergen Swamp Preserve. Contact Dr. C. W. Gehris, Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York, Brockport, NY 14420.
THE 10th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MUSHROOM CULTURE will be held 31 May-9 June 1978 in Paris. Contact Secretariat 10e Congres Chamignons Comestibles, INRA Bordeaux 33140. Pont de la Maye, France.
THE 20th INTERNATIONAL HORTICULTURAL CONGRESS will be held 15-23 August 1978 in Sydney. Contact Secretary of the Congress, GPO Box 475, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia.
INTRODUCTION TO MARINE SCIENCE, a broadly-oriented 4-week course for undergraduates will be offered by the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine. In addition, there will be specialized courses in field phycology, underwater research and introductory marine science for teachers. Contact Shoals Marine Laboratory, 202 Plant Science Building, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
THE ORGANIZATION FOR TROPICAL STUDIES will offer graduate courses in tropical science in Central America. A 6-week course in tropical marine ecology will be conducted in June-July 1978 at several unique coastal sites in Costa Rica. Contact Organization for Tropical Studies, P.O. Box DM, Duke Station, Durham, NC 27706.
A SHORT COURSE ON SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY AND X-RAY MICROANALYSIS will be offered 12-16 June, 1978 at Lehigh University, Bethleham, PA. The course costs $450 and includes fundamentals of SEM and electron microprobe, solid-state X-ray detector, quantitative X-ray analysis of biological materials, preparation of biological specimens and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Information and registration forms are available from Prof. J. I. Goldstein, Whitaker Laboratory #5, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA 18015.
THE AMERICAN FERN SOCIETY PRE-MEETING FIELD TRIP will be held 23-25 June 1978 in the vicinity of Mountain Lake, near Blacksburg, VA. Diverse habitats such as limestone cliffs, shale barrens, quartzite cliffs, swamps and rich woods will be visited and a variety, of fern and fern-allies will be seen. Of special interest will be a visit to the only known location for the remarkable hybrid between Osmunda regalis and O. claytoniana. Transportation must be provided by participants. The trip will be led by Drs. Florence Wagner and Herb Wagner. Contact the Drs. Wagner or Dr. R. M. Lloyd, Department of Botany, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701.
A SYMPOSIUM ON TRITIUM IN THE ENVIRONMENT will be held 16-20 October 1978 in San Francisco, CA under the sponsorship of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The symposium will review recent advances and report on practical aspects of tritium utilization. Contact John H. Kane, Office of Technical Information, Department of Energy, Washington, D.C. 20545.
ACTIVITIES OF THE SECTIONS
Report from the Developmental Section:
The following officers served the Section during the past year: Howard Bonnett, Chairperson; Peter Kaufman, Vice-Chairperson; Barbara Webster, Secretary-Treasurer; Jerome Miksche, Representative to the American Journal of Botany. Elected at the meeting as the new Chairperson for the Section was Judith Croxdale. Others continue in office. The nominating committee was comprised of Nancy Dengler (Chairperson), Lewis Feldman, and Harry Horner, Jr.
It was decided to continue the practice of arranging papers for the annual meeting program jointly with the Structural Section. For the 1978 meeting at VPI papers for Developmental and Structural Section presentations will be coordinated by Barbara Webster and Rudi Schmid. In connection with the 1977 meeting at MSU, approximately 100 papers were submitted to these two Sections.
During the coming year the By-laws of the Section will be reviewed and suggested changes will be circulated to Section members for comment. The committee for By-law review consists of Don Kaplan, Jerry Miksche and Diana Stein.
The Developmental Section sponsored an excellent symposium on Silicification in Plants at MSU. This was arranged and coordinated by Peter Kaufman, working with the Program Director of the Society, Shirley Tucker.
During the year correspondence was received from Bill Millington apropos problems in funding for research for botanists. His comments and inquiries were relayed to Mary Clutter, Director of the NSF program in Developmental Biology.
Report from the Historical Section:
This coming June the Botanical Society of America will hold its annual meeting on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. The Historical Section of the BSA will sponsor at the meeting a special lecture entitled, A 19th CENTURY YANKEE BOTANIST IN THE CAROLINAS, THE REVEREND MOSES ASHLEY CURTIS, D.D. AND HIS FRIENDS, by Edmund Berkeley, Emeritus Professor of Biology, Central Virginia Community College, Lynchburg. Professor Berkeley is the author of several major works on early botanists of the Virginia-Carolina region. The lecture is being planned for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 27.
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Last summer at our meeting in East Lansing, Professor Edward G. Voss of the University of Michigan presented our first special lecture, BOTANICAL BEACHCOMBERS AND EXPLORERS: PIONEERS OF THE 19th CENTURY IN THE UPPER GREAT LAKES. We were pleased with his excellent presentation to a large audience, and thank him for his efforts in making our first special lecture a great success.
BOTANICAL POTPOURRI
Two classical texts have been reprinted by the Robert E. Krieger Publishing Co., 645 New York Ave., Huntington, N.Y. 11743. They are An Introduction to Plant Anatomy by A. J. Eames and L. H. MacDaniels originally published in 1925 and Morphology of Angiosperms by A. J. Eames originally published in 1961.
A new grants program for basic research in plant sciences and human nutrition was announced by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture on 10 November 1977. Dr. Joe L. Key has been appointed the new director of the Office of Competitive Grants. The new grant program is a top priority program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and calls for basic research on fundamental phenomena to gain new knowledge in areas that may hold promise of breakthroughs to improve the food base of the nation and the world. For further information, contact Dr. Key at (202) 447-2971 or The Office of Competitive Grants, Cooperative State Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250.
The Department of Botany, Smithsonian Institution has been asked to produce an updated, revised and corrected edition of the National List of Scientific Plant Names, originally issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1971. The Institution and the Soil Conservation Service, USDA, will publish an authoritative catalogue of correct scientific names of all vascular plant taxa (including subspecies and varieties) in North America, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Assistance with this effort will be appreciated. Please address all correspondence to the Chairman, Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Sinauer Associates, publishers of Dr. J. Pickett-Heaps, book, Green Algae: Structure, Reproduction and Evolution in Selected Genera, announces a price reduction from $45.00 to $25.00.
The Maria Mitchell Association of the Department of National Sciences, Nantucket, MA has published An Annotated List of the Herbarium Specimens of the Association.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is developing a directory of scientists with handicapping conditions to be distributed to public agencies, handicapped scientists and consumer organizations to facilitate communication among them. This project, sup- ported by the National Science Foundation, needs input from interested persons. Contact Martha Ross Redden, Project on the Handicapped in Science, Office of Opportunities in Science, AAAS, 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036.
In an effort to meet the increasing demand for biological expertise, the U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring a biological information center to computerize information on some 500 biological collections throughout the United States and to provide information on specific biologists who can perform various services including: collecting, preserving and identifying specimens, environmental surveys, evaluating reports, planning and preparing environmental impact statements and providing general information about plants or animals. Questions and information are to be routed through Rebecca Pyles or Dr. Stephen Edwards, Director of the Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence KA.
A recent decision by the United States Tax Court 36 T.C.M. 835 (1977) appears to uphold the rights of scholars to deduct the costs of publication of research from income as an ordinary business expense. One legal opinion summarizes the implications of this decision as follows: "Based on the Tax Court's holding, it appears that the principal criteria for securing the deduction of publication costs for a scientific article or monograph are that the author is expected to publish as part of job responsibilities, that cost-free publication of a scientific article is not obtainable and that publication is necessary for job advancement. If these criteria can be substantiated in the event of an audit by IRS, such deductions are allowed under section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954."
The Institute for the Investigation of Biotic Resources of Mexico was created in June 1975 in Jalapa, VeraCruz, Mexico by the Federal Government of Mexico. One objective of the Institute is the encouragement of floristic investigations in Mexico which can contribute knowledge needed to execute a Flora of Mexico. The Institute supports an herbarium with 20,000 specimens and exchanges specimens throughout the world. It wishes to increase this aspect of the program with other herbaria sharing its interest in tropical flora. The collections are mainly from the states of VeraCruz, Chiapas, Tabasco and Durango. Further information can be obtained from Dr. Artura Gomez-Pompa, Director General INIREB, Apartado Postal 63, Xalapa, VeraCruz, Mexico.
In conjunction with the Symposium on Tropical Botany at Aarhus, Scandinavian Airlines announces a 10-day tour following the footsteps of Linnaeus in Lapland. Further information can be obtained from A. John Harrison, Manager of the Special Market Sales, SAS 138-02 Queens Blvd, Jamaica, NY 11453.
The American Biology Teacher announces the forthcoming publication of a two part special careers issue. Part I will be published in March 1978 and Part II in April 1978. Both parts may be received by remitting $3.50 to the National Association of Biology Teachers, 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Reston, VA 22090.
Forthcoming articles in BioScience of interest to botanists include: The Plant protoplast: A useful tool for plant research and student instruction, Traditional and modern crop protection in perspective, and The flowering enigma.
HELP!
The Plant Science Bulletin attempts to provide information of many kinds to the profession and, although the Bulletin does not publish research reports, we are interested in providing botanists with information related to botanical teaching and research. For teaching and research, the choice of organisms and test systems is a critical and often frustrating task. Are spinach leaves better than bean leaves for isolating chlorophyll? What plant provides the best material for studying embryogenesis? What fungus, alga or bryophyte best illustrates some aspects of growth and development? Similar questions are asked within all areas of teaching and research.
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"With a little help from our friends" the Bulletin hopes to publish articles which extoll the virtues and advantages of using one or another plant or test system. We are looking for brief articles, not to exceed 1500-2000 words, which point out what systems are readily available for study of a particular topic, the advantages and disadvantages of these systems and a bibliography which can provide the reader with entry into the field. Because of cost, we prefer to avoid illustrations, but they are not absolutely ruled out.
The Bulletin is actively soliciting the membership of the Botanical Society of America and other botanists in obtaining articles. Completed manuscripts and inquiries should be sent to the editor.
J. M. Price is attempting to trace details of the botanical career of James Eustace Bagnall and also wants to trace copies of Bagnall's book, Flora of Warwickshire, published in 1891. Mr. Price can be contacted at 10, Bishoptop Lane, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Members of the Botanical Society of America are invited to submit manuscripts which might qualify as SPECIAL PAPERS in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY.
The content of a special paper could be, but is not restricted to:
1) review-type article of limited scope but of general interest,
2) evaluation and critique of evidence from research on a controversial subject,
3) recent advances in a specialized research area,
4) overview of major research contributions to some aspect of plant science.
No definite format has been established for special papers.
Members of the Editorial Board will act as reviewers in some instances and will make the final selection of papers. Articles of 6-8 printed pages are desirable, but longer papers will be considered. However, special papers should not exceed the length set for regular articles, and authors should be guided by the policies outlined in the October issue, 1976 (inside front cover).
(2.8 manuscript pages equal 1 printed page; also, allowance must be made for illustrations and tables.)
PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
A BOTANIST/CELL BIOLOGIST is being sought by the Department of Botany, University of Rhode Island. The candidate should have research interests in higher plant cells and is expected to participate in existing departmental programs, to develop upper-level courses in plant cell biology and fine structure, to direct graduate work in area of specialization, and to maintain an active research program. The Ph.D. is required and post-doctoral experience is preferred. Training in electrom microscopy required and some experience in tissue culture and/ or molecular biology is needed. Rank at assistant or associate professor for fall, 1978. Applications should be sent to R. L. Hauke, Secretary of the Search Committee, Department of Botany, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881.
A MOLECULAR OR CELL BIOLOGIST with postdoctoral experience is being sought by the Department of Biological Sciences, Douglass College of Rutgers University. A recent Ph.D. with a broad background in biology and biochemistry is required. Primary teaching responsibilities in undergraduate courses in area of own competence, participation in introductory-level biology course and the development of graduate course in area of own research will be required. The candidate must develop a strong research program emphasizing development, immunology or membrane dynamics in either plant or animal systems. Contact Bill D. Davis, Department of Biological Sciences, Douglass College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
A PLANT BIOCHEMIST is being sought by the Department of Biology, University of South Carolina for fall, 1978. The appointee should be interested in teaching biochemistry and plant physiology and have a strong committment to research in plant biochemistry. A curriculum vitae, reprints, summary of research plans and names of three referees should be sent to Dr. Anthony Huang, Biology Department, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29802.
A CROP PHYSIOLOGIST is being sought by the Department of Plant Pathology, Louisiana State University at the assistant professor level. The appointee will be responsible for research on physiological processes as they relate to yield potential or soybeans grown under Louisiana conditions. Applicants should have a Ph.D. in plant physiology or in another plant science with emphasis in plant physiology. Closing date for applications is 1 February 1978. A detailed vitae, transcripts, publication list and at least three letters of recommendation should be sent to W. J. Martin, Head, Department of Plant Pathology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
A SEED PHYSIOLOGIST is being sought by the Department of Plant Pathology, Louisiana State University at the assistant professor level. The appointee will be responsible for research on physiology of seeds of red rice and other important weeds of Louisiana soybean fields with the objective of understanding the nature of the dormancy mechanisms in these weed seeds and means of breaking this dormancy. Experience in seed physiology is desired, but not required. Closing date for applications is 1 February 1978. A detailed vitae, transcripts, publication list and at least three letters of recommendation should be sent to W. J. Martin, Head, Department of Plant Pathology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
A DIRECTOR OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN is being sought by the University of Georgia. A Ph.D. in plant science or a terminal degree in a related discipline is required. Candidate must meet requirements for tenured rank in an appropriate university department. Preference will be given applicants with administrative experience and/or skills and those who possess special technical knowledge of plant sciences and botanical gardens. The Director is responsible for management of the Botanical Garden, direction of appropriate research and educational activities, preparation of budgets and for providing leadership in seeking outside funds. Applications and nominations should be sent to Dr. Albert F. Ike, Chairman of the Search and Screening Committee, 307 Old College, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602.
AN ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGIST and A PLANT BIOLOGIST are being sought by Beloit College. We seek applicants with Ph.D. for two tenure-track positions (one Chairman and one Assistant Professor) for Fall, 1978. Each at the molecular level plus teaching competence in at least one of the following: microbiology, genetics, developmental biology, cell biology, evolution. Teaching to include animal/plant physiology and beginning course
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emphasizing cellular and molecular biology. Active research involving undergraduates expected. One position at Assistant Professor level; excellence in undergraduate teaching a major qualification. Rank open for Chairperson; must have established record in teaching and research, with potential for administrative leadership. Submit resume and application by February 15, 1978 to Provost, Beloit College, Beloit, WI 53511.
A PLANT PHYSIOLOGIST is being sought by the Department of Botany, North Carolina State University at the assistant professor rank. Candidates with a background and interest in photosynthesis are preferred. Teaching will include undergraduate and graduate courses in plant physiology in cooperation with other plant physiologists and the candidates are expected to develop a personal research program, to direct graduate students and to serve on graduate advisory committees. The Ph.D. is required plus demonstrated abilities or definite promise in instruction and research; preference will be given to applicants with post-doctoral experience and strong backgrounds in photosynthesis. Send resumes, brief statement of research interest, official transcripts and three letters of recommendation to J. R. Troyer, Chairperson of Search Committee, Department of Botany, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS are being considered in the Gray Herbarium or in the Bussey Institution of Harvard University. Applicants to the Gray Herbarium should have a primary interest in plant systematics; those to the Bussey Institution in higher plant genetics or plant breeding. Closing date is 1 May 1978. Applicants should provide curriculum vitae and arrange for two letters of recommendation to be sent to Reed C. Rollins, 22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138.
A BOTANIST is being sought by the Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College for a position effective September 1978. Applicants should have broad training in botany with special research interests in expanding area of botany such as genetics or plant-microbe interactions. Candidates are expected to have active research programs and to teach 3-4 courses a year including an introductory course. The position is at the assistant professor level or possibly above. Interested persons should send their curriculum vitae, graduate and undergraduate transcripts, brief outline of research plans and at least one letter of recommendation to Mary D. Coyne, Chairman, Department of Biological Sciences, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02181.
PERSONALIA
Six faculty of the State College of Agriculture, Cornell University have been elected Liberty Hyde Bailey Professors. Those named are MARTIN ALEXANDER, HARLAN P. BANKS, NEAL F. JENSEN, WILLIAM T. KEETON, J. THOMAS REID and KENNETH L. ROBINSON.
DRS. ROBERT WYATT and HUGH D. WILSON have joined the Department of Biology at Texas A & M University as assistant professors with teaching and research activities in angiosperm systematics. Dr. Wilson is from Indiana University and Dr. Wyatt graduated from Duke University.
DR. WILLIAM K. PURVES resigned his position as head of the Biological Science Group at the University of Connecticut to become Stuart Mudd Professor of Biology at Harvey Mudd College in Clarement, CA.
DR. CHARLES R. CURTIS, formerly professor of Plant Pathology in the Department of Botany, University of Maryland has accepted a position as professor and chairperson of the Department of Plant Science, University of Delaware.
DR. RICHARD A. HOWARD, Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University has been awarded the Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal.
DR. RAY A. HILL has accepted an appointment as assistant professor of biology at Fisk University, Nashville, TE.
DR. LORIN I. NEVLING, JR. has been appointed Assistant Director for Science and Education of the Field Museum of Natural History effective 1 January 1978. Dr. Nevling will continue to pursue his botanical research interests.
DR. WILLIAM C. BURGER has been named Curator and Chairman of the Department of Botany of the Field Museum of Natural History effective 1 January 1978.
DR. JOHN J. ENGEL was named Donald Richards Associate Curator of Bryology of the Field Museum of Natural History effective 1 November 1978.
DEATHS
Professor Herbert E. Street of Leicester, England, a pioneer and leader in plant cell, tissue and organ culture died on November 1977.
Frederick K. Sparrow of the Department of Botany, University of Michigan died on 2 October 1977.
Richard D. Wood of the Department of Botany, University of Rhode Island died on 11 October 1977. A memorial fund has been established to provide a scholar- ship for students of botany at the University of Rhode Island. Donations may be 'sent to URI Foundation, 21 Davis Hall, Kingston, RI 02881. Persons interested in receiving copies of Dr. Wood's current and in-press publications should write to Mrs. R. D. Wood, 76 Stonehenge Road, Kingston, RI 02881.
Chester A. Arnold, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Michigan died on 20 November 1977.
James W. Marvin, Jr., of the Department of Botany, University of Vermont died on 20 December 1977.
Nominations for the Jeanette Siron Pelton Award
The Conservation and Research Foundation has established the Jeanette Siron Pelton Award in Experimental Plant Morphology. The award, honoring' the memory of Jeanette Siron Pelton, consists of a $1,000 premium to be given not more often than annually to a person selected for sustained and imaginative productivity in the field of experimental plant morphology. The field may be broadly defined to include subcellular, cellular, and organismal levels of complexity. Thus, for example, work on cell walls or organelle development are fully as appropriate as studies on vascular differentiation, induction of reproductive structures, surgical work on the shoot apex, or mathematical analyses of growth, to name but a few possibilities. The award is not restricted as to sex, nationality, or society affiliation of the recipient, nor as to the language
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in which the work is published, Publications need not be restricted to reports of original research, but may include books and reviews. However, something must have been published within the last five years. Since it was the original intention of the award to reward and encourage younger investigators in this field, the Conservation and Research Foundation will look with favor upon nomination of awardees forty years of age or less, though a year or so could be overlooked in the case of an exceptional candidate. There will be no obligations imposed upon the recipient other than to enjoy the award and the honor which it may bring. Please send your nomination(s) for the 1978 Pelton Award to: Dr. Paul B. Green, Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; 415/497-3902. Please include two or three reprints and a summary of the nominee’s research work. Please include the date of birth of the candidate.
Botanical Society of America Delegation to the People's Republic of China, May 20-June 18, 1978
Dr. Arthur W. Galston (Leader), Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (Physiology)
Dr. Bruce Bartholomew, Department of Botany, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (Systematics)
Dr. Lawrence Bogarad, Department of Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Aveneue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (Physiology)\
Dr. R. H. Hageman, Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (Physiology)
Dr. Richard A. Howard, Arnold Arboretum, The Arborway, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130 (Systematics)
Dr. J. William Schopf, Department of Earth & Space Sciences, 3806 Geology Building, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90024 (Paleobotany)
Dr. Jane Shen-Miller, Metabolic Biology Program, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 20550 (Physiology)
Dr. Richard C. Starr, Department of Botany, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 (Phycology)
Dr. William Tai, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824 (Cytogenetics)
Dr. Anitra Thorhaug, Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Miami, 10 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149 (Marine botany)
A Logo for Our Society?
The council of the Society is considering having a logo and wants input from the membership. Members and friends of the Society are invited to submit designs by 1 June 1978 to Dr. Patricia K. Holmgren, Secretary of the Botanical Society (New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458). It is hoped to have these designs published in the Plant Science Bulletin to allow the membership to vote for their favorite.
BOOK REVIEWS
HARDY, R. W. F. AND W. S. SIVER (ed.). A Treatise on Dinitrogen Fixation, Section III: Biology. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 1977. 675 pp.
The cycling of nitrogen in nature has always been of interest to biologist. In recent years, increased concern for biological nitrogen fixation has arisen in relation to world food problems as well as questions about nitrogen oxidation and the effects of oxidized nitrogen compounds in the ecosphere and the atmosphere. A number of recent publications have resulted from these interests.
A treatise examining the broad aspects of nitrogen in nature has been assembled under the editorship of Hardy and Silver. The treatise, of which this is Part Two, is organized into for sections in three volumes. Sections I and II in the first volume are devoted to inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry and biochemistry. Section IV in the third volume is on agronomy and ecology. This volume entitled “Biology” is a collection of twelve chapters by 15 authors and includes discussions on dinitrogen fixation by free-living bacteria, blue-green algae, lower plant symbioses (especially lichen), and higher plant symbioses, with emphasis on Rhizobium and legumes. A long chapter on actinomycete-induced nodules in woody dicotyledonous non-legumes is followed by six chapters on various aspects of legume symbioses. A final chapter summarizes recent genetic research on Klebsiella.
The authors, all competent researchers, deal comprehensively both with past work and with recent developments. Although the division of topics between this volume and that on agronomy and ecology seems arbitrary and restrictive, these chapters stand on their own. Some cross-referencing to other chapters or volumes has been included. The book should serve as a rich source of information. To make the information more accessible, the authors have included a detailed outline at the beginning of each chapter. Each chapter contains its own bibliography arranged in order of citation. The volume would prove more useful if, in addition to the subject and taxonomic indices, and author index had been provided.
John G. Torrey, Harvard University
DAY, P. R. (ed.). The Genetic Basis of Epidemics in Agriculture. Annals New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 287. 1977. 400 pp. $35.00
In the summers of 1969 and 1070, agriculturists were considerably perturbed by the onset of an epidemic of southern corn leaf blight. The root cause of the problem was the presence of genetic uniformity in corn resulting from, presumably, modern advances in agricultural technology. Besides causing the introduction of a broader genetic base for corn grown in the United States, the ensuing commotion precipitated formation of a committee of the National Academy of Sciences to study the problem and, six years later, a conference of agricultural scientists to review the status of the epidemiology and control of diseases and pests in the world’s food and fiber crops. Papers given at the conference are collected in the volume.
This is not a book to be used for light reading before bedtime. While, physically, it is a relatively small paperback belying it $35.00 price, the printing is compact. The material treated is remarkably condensed yet comprehensive;
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unit for unit, this is the best current volume available for an overview of the epidemiology of plant diseases and pests. It is apparent that the editor, organizers, and authors are competent and have created a very significant contribution in a developing discipline.
The opening chapter by Marshall gives a fine summary of the problem, viz. the relative advantages and hazards encountered in genetic homogeneity. Chapters follow on the status of genetic vulnerability of important crops around the world. Some of this will be especially valuable to teachers wishing to update information for their classes; for example, consequences of the introduction of coffee rust into Brazil. There is valuable information for the modeler, including an especially timely treatment and review by Waggoner on analysis of the growth curve. Geneticists will be especially interested in the protracted treatment of populations, physiology as related to epidemics, and genetic models. For practically oriented agriculturists, there are specific examples of epidemics, progress in plant breeding for control, and the genetic resources for diversity.
This is a good book. It's comprehensive. It's scholarly. Above all, it's timely.
Ralph Baker, Colorado State University
GOVINDJEE (ed.). Bioenergetics of Photosynthesis. Academic Press, New York. 1975. 698 pp.
About every five years a book on physical or biophysical aspects of photosynthesis appears. The newest monograph in this line is a much enlarged version and is capably edited by Professor Govindjee of the University of Illinois. Eighteen internationally recognized researchers contributed the 12 articles. The first chapter, provided by the editor and his wife, represents a survey of photosynthesis that is not limited to the book's subject matter; it serves to introduce, and to also duplicate, some of the material covered in subsequent chapters. Of all the chapters, it provides the best reference source for the less informed student. With the exception of Chapters 7, 11 and 12, the many other contributions are outstanding and will provide an excellent source of information to con- temporary scientists and mature graduate students. Because of the intricacies of the separate subject matters covered by the individual authors, the book will necessarily be read and understood only by the student with considerable background in biophysics. Chapter 7 (Electron Transport) adds little to the otherwise comprehensive nature of the book. Chapters 11 and 12 are repetitious of previously covered material and should have either been excluded or combined with earlier chapters.
A special asset of the book is its excellent subject and author indexes allowing efficient use of the monograph. Equally appealing, but less successfully accomplished, is the inclusion of various constants, units and equations encountered in photosynthetic research. This added benefit would have been improved if the editor had indicated the preferred nomenclature in the area. Similarly, the inclusion of lists of abbreviations for each chapter distracts from the readability of the monograph; a general listing would have amplified an already excellent attempt to combine successfully the contributions of a diverse list of authors.
Norman I. Bishop, Oregon State University
HILLSON, C. J. Seaweeds: A Color-Coded Illustrated Guide to Common Marine Plants of the East Coast of the United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. 1977. Paper, $6.95; Cloth, $10.00.
The stated purpose of this little guide is to provide a quick reference for identification of seaweeds from Maine to Florida. The author describes and illustrates 79 plants which he feels are most likely to be found. A few animals resembling seaweeds are also included (bryozoans and gorgonians).
There are some good points to this book and some not so good. On the plus side, the taxa are presented as habitat sketches with some drawings at hand-lens magnification; this obviates the necessity for a microscope for identification. On the other hand, a microscope is mandatory for even generic determination of some seaweeds listed. The presentation of the Chlorophyceae, Phaeophyceae, and Rhodophyceae in sections printed in green, brown and red ink is a touch sure to appeal to the amateur phycologist. The cross-referenced glossary is a useful addition. One page of additional references is included, although some of these are out-of-date, hard to find, or marginally useful.
One problem with this book is the impossibility of choosing 79 plants that are both common and widespread between Maine and Florida. Many deletions are apparent. For example, Sphacelaria cirrosa, Bangia atropurpurea, and Cystoclonium purpureum are common and abundant north of Cape Hatteras, rare or missing south of it. Conversely, Centroceras clavulatum is very common in the southern part of the range, absent to the north. The sea grass Thalassia testudinum is not found north of Cape Kennedy, Florida, but is included while Ruppia maritima and Diplanthera wrightii, with much wider ranges, are excluded. Many of the tropical species included are both restricted in distribution and rather uncommon (e.g., Halymenia floresia and Caulerpa paspaloides). It initially appeared that the book is weighted in favor of tropical algae, but the balance of northern and southern forms is nearly equal.
The use of page space is not efficient. Many pages are less than 50% utilized, and this space could have been used to increase the number of seaweeds presented. Thirteen blank pages for field notes are surely unnecessary. The author makes a point of noting economic utility and edibility of various species, but is remiss in presenting recipes or adequate current references to seaweed cookery, a subject appealing to amateur phycologists. Lastly, there are several errors in nomenclature which are contradictive of current phycological opinion. All in all I would have felt better about this book if it were not so ambitious. It doesn't replace Kingsbury's book for the northern areas, and is not inclusive enough for southern waters. The dilettante phycologist would find it a useful adjunct, and it might serve to whet the appetite for more.
Paul E. Hargraves, University of Rhode Island
McROY, P. AND C. HELFERRICH (eds.). Seagrass Ecosystems: A Scientific Perspective. Marine Science Series, Volume 4. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 260 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. 1966. 328 pp., illust. $29.75.
Seagrasses have been an ignored group of plants, despite their widespread ecological abundance and the importance of their communities to marine fisheries.
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Aquatic botanists ignored them because they were marine; marine botanists concentrated on algae and thus excluded seagrasses. A sudden interest was stirred in the 1930's when the "wasting disease" was thought to cause the decimation of the North Atlantic Zostera or eelgrass populations. Then, a few ecologists such as H. T. Odum and Pomeroy began, in the late 1950's, to investigate seagrass productivity as an offshoot of marsh grass productivity studies. In the early 1960's only a few voices were heard in defense of the importance of studying seagrasses, notably Phillips in Florida, den Hartog in the South Pacific and Caribbean, Molinier, Picard and Ledoyer in the Mediterranean, and a few Japanese workers. In the late 1960's a much larger group joined the pursuit of seagrass ecosystem studies, often because local problems in the coastal zone demanded baseline seagrass information.
This is the effort arising from a Seagrass Workshop held in Leiden, Netherlands, October, 1973, and represents the first formally published compilation of seagrass material in hard cover. It is the first, fledgling attempt to synthesize seagrass investigation from an ecosystem viewpoint. As such, it is of historic interest.
The enthusiasm gathered by the Leiden Workshop and the information generated and integrated by the sixty seagrass scientists at Leiden and the scores of others around the world, not invited to Leiden, but encouraged by the sudden attention to seagrasses, is missing from this volume. The major integrative sections, "Production Ecology and Physiology of Seagrasses" by McRoy and McMillan, "Structure, Function and Classification in Seagrass Communities" by den Hartog, "Aspects of Decomposition of Seagrasses" by Fenchel, "Consumer Ecology of Seagrass Beds" by Kikuchi and Perez, and "Seagrass System Oceanography" are taken almost verbatim from the background papers written prior to Leiden (that is earlier in 1973). Despite a three and one-half year period in which the papers could easily have been updated and despite the voluminous seagrass literature which had appeared in the interim, which Dr. K. Bridges (in collaboration with McRoy under IDOE sponsorship) has regularly compiled and updated via computer, the reviews are now sadly out-of-date. Most of the reviews were not complete, according to subject matter index compiled by Bridges and distributed at Leiden. For the reader who has no background in the subject, the book would furnish an introduction to the literature. For the investigator, or student pursuing seagrass research interest, there are many drawbacks, mostly of omission. The major review sections are of differing value, ranging from that of McRoy and McMillan which is full of mistakes, inaccuracies, omissions and highly questionable opinions to the process-oriented decomposition chapter by Fenchel, which is of textbook clarity and of lasting value, well worth reading by either students or advanced investigators. Perhaps the section of most value to the botanically-oriented ecologist would be that of den Hartog, which classifies seagrass communities on a world-wide basis and discusses spatial, dynamic, and functional aspects. However, den Hartog's monograph "The Seagrasses of the world" (1970), now a classic among seagrass literature, is of far greater value and of much more detail for those interested in these fields of knowledge. Also den Hartog's many papers on this area provide more depth and clarity.
A major puzzle of this book is why is so much space (about 40%) is given to a set of chapters on research on seagrasses in certain very specific locations (Mexico, Australia, Israel and Denmark), rather than to expansion of often too abbreviated discussions of more general and integrative nature. If these regional articles provide pressingly important information which sea grass researchers needed, why were these reviews not published within the last four years since Leiden (October, 1973) in journals which have devoted much space to seagrasses? If the point was that these were very important works and thus to be highlighted, why was the information from these regional reports not incorporated into the review articles and compared and integrated with the other results? The editors did not integrate the chapters within the book as a whole; authors do not refer to each other's relevant work and much repetition and duplication of thought occurs.
A second volume, The Biology of Seagrass Ecosystems, in the series edited by R. C. Phillips and C. P. McRoy is currently in preparation and one hopes it will fill the gaps for the increasingly large group of investigators interested in seagrass ecosystems. Since the senior editor, Phillips, is the "Dean" of American seagrass workers by virtue of twenty years intensive dedication to many aspects of seagrass research, one's expectation of a comprehensive seagrass volume may finally be fulfilled.
Anitra Thorhaug, University of Miami
EDEN, T. Tea. Third Edition. Tropical Agriculture Series. Longmans Group Ltd., London. 1976. xiv + 236 pp., illust. $29.50.
This compact monograph has a wealth of specific information, including the results of the latest scientific research, on all aspects of the cultivation and manufacture of tea.
Tea history, the extent of current cultivation, climate, soils, fertilizers, botany, seeds, vegetative propagation, planting, pruning, and harvesting are all discussed in some detail and illustrated with good photographs. Principal diseases and pests are described and methods of control given. There is an account of the chemistry of the tea leaf and of various processes used in the manufacture of the finished product, with descriptions of machinery used.
The third edition of this useful work incorporates recent scientific work and contains a list of the major tea research institutes and their programs. A statistical review indicates the pattern of current sales and consumption, and the book has an extensive bibliography and useful index.
This book will be primarily useful to those engaged in any aspect of the tea industry, but it should also be of interest to students of economic botany and of world agriculture in general.
Sydney S. Greenfield, Rutgers University
STOCKING, C. R. AND U. HEBER. Transport in Plants III. Intracellular Interactions and Transport Processes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 1976. xxii + 517 pp., illust.
This volume is a collection of reviews on the physiological importance of transport between compartments of plant cells. The transport between the cytoplasm and organelles or between parts of organelles (in the case of chloroplasts) is important for energy transduction, metabolite movement, detoxification, storage, and control of cellular functions. Selection of this topic for a volume in the Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology (New Series) was
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forward looking and recognized the importance of intracellular membranes and their roles in compartmentation as important to cellular functions.
The volume is organized into four sections. The first includes one article, "Plant Membranes" by Falk & Stocking. It is a worthy short review but, other than dealing specifically with each organelle membrane, it isn't integrated with the general theme of this volume.
The last section on the theory of membrane transport also contains only one theoretical paper on non-equilibrium thermodynamics and membrane transport and its application to a specific model membrane with narrow pores. This paper is well done but has marginal utility in this volume. A more appropriate chapter would have been one on the theoretical implications of compartmentalization.
The other two sections of the book on intracellular interactions, and intracellular transport in relation to energy conservation could be lumped into one section for there is considerable overlap in the kinds of material covered. The two sections include five articles on chloroplasts, two on metochondria and one on both. Two articles are devoted to the vacuole and endomembrane system and one is concerned with the nucleus.
In general, the articles on chloroplast are well written and illustrated. Most emphasize the movement of metabolites across the chloroplast inner membrane. Except for discussions of phosphate and bicarbonate transport, accounts of the movements of inorganic ions between the chloroplast stroma and cytoplasm are rare as are accounts of the movements of other kinds of compounds such as growth regulators. Thus, other possible roles for intracellular transport in these organelles were not explored.
Only two papers were devoted to mitochondrial cytoplasmic interactions. The one by Heldt on metabolite transport is well written and illustrated. I found parts of the paper by Wilson and Graesser difficult to read. Their account of the Mitchell hypothesis is obscure and, in some cases, in error. For example, the sum of the electrical potential and the chemical potential is not the proton motive force as was implied on page 380. Their description of the role of mitochondria in the regulation calcium levels in the cytoplasm, however, is a welcome departure from the exclusive consideration of substrate exchanges across organelle membranes.
Strotmann and Murakami's "Energy Transfer between Cell Compartments", comparing substrate movements in chloroplast and mitochondria is well organized, illustrated, and is interestingly written. I recommend it highly.
Brachet's review of nuclear and cytoplasmic interactions is mostly about RNA and protein exchanges between the nucleus and cytoplasm and doesn't consider less conspicuous exchanges of materials which could also be important.
The two articles on vacuoles and endomembrane systems by Matile and Wiemken and by Morré and Mollenhauer complement each other. Matile and Wiemken's emphasizes the many roles of the vacuole in storage and digestion; Morré and Mollenhauer's stresses the continuity of the endomembrane system and its roles in membrane development.
In general, most of the articles in this volume are well written. I felt the need, however, for a synthesizing paper which could draw all of the others together, elaborate some general principles and indicate research areas which need to be developed.
The technical quality of the book is excellent. Diagrams and the electron micrographic reproductions are of high quality. I appreciated the inclusion of article titles in the references. Also, citation of references in the text by author and year rather than by number helped stress the fact that people rather than numbers do research.
Bud Etherton, University of Vermont
LANGE, O. L., L. KAPPEN, AND E.-D. SCHULZE (eds.). Water and Plant Life. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. 1976. 536 pp. $52.80.
The editors state that they have attempted to present, "from an ecological point of view an analytical as well as a synoptic survey of the large field of, 'Water and plant life'. This is done in 31 papers grouped in seven sections. The content of the papers ranges from the structure of water in biological systems through carbon pathways in photosynthesis and the effects of water stress on carbon and nitrogen metabolism, to a group of articles dealing with water in relation to vegetation types. Each section has a brief preface, which very effectively summarizes the diverse views of the various authors. Some of the articles present the personal views of the authors and may leave readers unfamiliar with the topic with an inadequate picture of the problem. For example, one writer attributes most injury from water stress to disturbance of hormonal balance, another to disruption of cell fine structure, another to the effects of reduced turgor, and still another to changes in permeability. Fortunately, Hsiao et al. discuss the problem in broader terms of the whole plant.
The articles vary somewhat in clarity and effectiveness, but this is inevitable, especially when several authors are using what is to them a foreign language. Because of the specialized nature of many articles, this book is most useful to readers who already know something about plant water relations and wish to learn more about current views. Overall it brings together a large amount of information and presents current viewpoints and references concerning almost every aspect of the broad field of plant water relations.
Paul J. Kramer, Duke University
