PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN

A Publication of the Botanical Society of America, Inc.

VOLUME 28, NUMBER 3, JUNE, 1982

Emanuel D. Rudolph, Editor
Department of Botany
Ohio State University
1735 Neil Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210

Editorial Board
Jerry D. Davis - University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, WI 54601
John H. Thomas - Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
Anitra Thorhaug - Florida International University, Key Biscayne, FL 33199

The Plant Science Bulletin is published six times a year, February, April, June, August, October, and December, at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Subscriptions $10.00/yr. Change of address should be sent to Editor. Second class postage paid at Columbus, OH.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTICES
MEETINGS AND COURSES
PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
RECENT BOTANICAL BOOKS
BOOK REVIEWS

NOTICES

Teaching Section BSA Meeting Plans
Going to the annual meeting at Penn State? If so, be sure to stop by the teaching section booth in the exhibit area. The master collection of the slide exchange program will be on continuous display so that you may preview slides and place orders at your convenience. In addition to the plant geography and plant morphology sets available last year, there will be a number of small sets dealing with particular topics, such as sieve tube development, vessel member development, floral organogenesis, insectivorous plants, etc.

The teaching section will also be running a laboratory exercise exchange. Several members have offered to bring copies of laboratory exercises which they've refined for distribution to interested colleagues. If you have an original exercise or modification of a standard procedure which works well, bring some copies to the booth and share them with your colleagues. If you are not planning to attend the meetings but would like to share one of your exercises with others, send a copy of the exercise by 31 July to: Marsh Sundberg, Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54701.

University of Florida Herbarium's New Administration
The Herbarium of the University of Florida (FLAS) is now under the administration of the Florida State Museum, under the curation of Dr. Norris H. Williams. The Herbarium is still physically in the same location, and all letters, packages, specimens, etc. should be sent to: The Vascular Plant Herbarium, 209 Rolfs Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Please do not send specimens to the Department of Botany, a separate physical and administrative unit.

Garrett E. Crow Honored
The University of New Hampshire has selected Dr. Garrett E. Crow of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology as one of its 1982 Distinguished University Faculty members.

BIOSIS Publishes New Online Search Aid
Philadelphia, May 13, 1982--Biosciences Information Service (BIOSIS) has announced the publication of a new quick-reference tool and self-teaching aid for users of its computerized data base, BIOSIS Previews.

Entitled How to Search Biological Abstracts and Biological Abstracts/RRM by Computer, the colorful new brochure contains basic Information about computerized literature searching in general and also offers a broad overview of the BIOSIS Previews data base. Information about the BIOSIS Search Guide and other materials available from BioSciences Information Service designed to support use of the data base, along with a world-wide list of online search services offering BIOSIS Previews, is also provided. The publication was designed especially to introduce researchers and other "end users" to the literature retrieval opportunities available through computerized search services. It is available free to librarians, information specialists, or any individuals who may wish to use it in an instructional program or for general display. Requests for quantities up to twenty-five may be addressed to: BIOSIS

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Education & Training Group, 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1399.

Fulbright Senior Scholars
Applications are now being accepted for Senior Scholar Fulbright awards for university teaching and postdoctoral research in over 100 countries during the 1983-84 academic year. Awards are offered in all academic fields for periods of 2-10 months.

Interested applicants may now obtain application forms and information on college and university campuses in the Office of the Graduate Dean at graduate institutions or the Office of the Chief Academic Officer at 2- and 4-year institutions. On some campuses, material is available from the Office of International Programs.

Prospective applicants may also write for applications and additional details on awards, specifying the country and field of interest to: Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 11 Dupont Circle, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036. All applicants must be U.S. citizens and have had college or university teaching experience and/or a Ph.D. or the equivalent.

New applications deadlines are in effect for 1983-84 awards: June 15, 1982, for American Republics, Australia and New Zealand; September 15, 1982, for Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Indo-American Advanced Research in India Programs, 1983-84
This program is sponsored by the Indo-U.S. Subcommission on Education and Culture and is funded by the U.S. International Communication Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Government of India. The objective of the program is to draw into educational exchange Americans who are not Indian specialists but whose disciplinary or professional skills can be enhanced by the opportunity to carry out research in India.

Approximately twelve long-term and nine short-term research fellowships will be awarded during the academic year 1983-84. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the postdoctoral or equivalent professional level.

Application forms should be requested from Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 11 Dupont Circle, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036, (202) 833-4985. Selection will be made on the basis of both project and scholarly/professional merit. The names of those selected will be forwarded to the Government of India for approval and affiliation. Awards will be announced in April 1983. Ordinarily grants will not be tenable before July 1983. Awards are subject to available funds. Applications due July 1, 1982.

Save Endangered Species Alert
One quarter of all species of animals and plants on Earth may disappear in the next 30 years because of man's destruction of their habitat. The rate of extinctions is increasing enormously as forests are destroyed and other wild areas are lost. Organisms that evolved over hundreds of millions of years will be gone forever. The complex interdependence of all creatures, from the largest mammals to the smallest plants, is being shattered. It is a crisis with profound implications for the survival of all life. Unfortunately, little is being done to save our planet's natural heritage.

The Ark is sinking. We need the help of every concerned citizen to conserve the diversity of life on Earth. For information about how you can help, please write to us at: Save Endangered Species, P.O. Box 50771, Washington, D.C. 20004

News Journal for Plant Genetic Resources Begins
Diversity, a news journal for the plant genetic resources community, will publish its first issue in April 1982. Developed in response to requests for a communications vehicle, made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others involved in plant genetic resources, Diversity will provide news and information to private and public sector scientists and administrators, government agencies, federal and state legislatures, non-profit organizations and related publications. The publication will report on collecting expeditions, U.S. and international political developments related to national and international agriculture policy, and private industry involvement in the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS). It will also provide readers with conference and committee meeting schedules and results. In addition, commentary from leaders in the community and in-depth articles will be featured. The news journal is being published by the Laboratory
for Information Science in Agriculture, supplemented by monthly newsletters.

For more information or a complimentary first issue, please contact: Mary E. Roberts, Diversity, 302 Aylesworth Hall, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523. (303) 491-5863.

Biological Nitrogen Fixation Report
A special volume of the Israel Journal of Botany (Vol. 30, Nos. 3-4, 1981) includes papers presented at the Batsheva de Rothschild Seminar, which was held in Rehovot in September, 1981. It contains review articles and reports on recent progress in the following topics: the nif gene and its engineering; nitrogenase structure, mechanism regulation and control; physiology and biochemistry of Rhizobium, cyanobacteria, Azospirillum and Azolla; efficiency of the process; rhizosphere and ecology; legumes. The price per volume is: $19 + $1 postage and handling. Prepaid orders should be sent to: The Weizmann Science Press of Israel, P.O. Box 801, Jerusalem 91 007 Israel.

PAGE NINETEEN

MEETINGS AND COURSES

Liquid Scintillation Counting Course:
The Nuclear Engineering Department of North Carolina State University and the Division of Continuing Education announce a three-day course entitled The Practice of Liquid Scintillation Counting. . The course will be offered August 23-25 1982 at Burlington Engineering Laboratories and Gardner Hall on the North Carolina State University campus. Through lectures and laboratories, participants will learn to understand and to properly use liquid scintillation counters. For additional information and an application, contact Rosemary Jones, Division of Continuing Education, North Carolina State University, P.O. Box 5125, Raleigh, Nr. 27650, 919/737-2261.

Bonsai Symposium:
The American Bonsai Society will hold its 15th Annual Symposium at the University of Maryland, College Park on June 24-26, 1982. The theme is "The Fine Art of Bonsai" with Mr. Mizukiko Nakahara of Ito City and others lecturing on mycorrhiza and overwintering. For further information contact: American Bonsai Society, P.O. Box 358, Keene, NH 03431.

Summer Lichenology Course:
The University of Minnesota will offer a lichenology course to be taught by Martyn J. Dibben at its Itasca Lake Station, July 18- August 21, 1982. Dr. Dibben is an Adjunct Professor of Cryptogamic Botany at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and Head of the Section for Botany at the Milwaukee Public Museum. The course will complement Itasca's 1982 Field Mycology which is being offered on alternate days during the same semester. For further information write: Field Biology Program, Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, U.S.A.

Cactus and Succulent Conference:
The Third Annual Eastern Regional Conference of the Cactus and Succulent Society will meet October 8-10, 1982 at the Mariott Hotel. Somerset, New Jersey. Part of the program will be directed toward the problems of growing cactus and succulents in the Eastern Region of the United States and Canada. For further information contact: Suzanne Crawley, 59 Hobart Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08629.

PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Senior Botanist Smithsonian Institution:
There is an opening for a Senior Botanist, GS-430-16, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. responsible for research programs in plant biology, especially plant anatomy and morphology and plant/animal relationships, and in biological conservation. Qualifications: professional recognition as a national and international authority in plant anatomy, morphology and systematics; substantial research experience in several related fields, including medicinal botany, economic botany, plant/animal relationships, ethnobotany, and relationship of botany to human needs; extensive service on national and international panels in the fields of biological conservation, medicinal and economic botany, and food and energy sources. Salary range: $54,755- $57,500. Send a Personal Qualifications Statement, SF-171, and curriculum vitae and bibliography by July 9, 1982 to: Personnel Office, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, Attention: MPA-EX-01-82. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

Plant Physiologist at Vanderbilt University:
Assistant Professor to teach undergraduate and graduate courses and to establish a vigorous research program in one of the following areas of physiology: development, symbiosis, photosynthesis or plant-herbivore interactions. Postdoctoral experience preferred. Position starts Fall semester, 1983. Apply by October 1, 1982 and have three letters of recommendation sent to: Chairman of the Search Committee, Department of General Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235. Vanderbilt University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

Research Professor of Dendrochronology University of Arizona:
The Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research invites applications for the new position of Research Professor of Dendrochronology. Together with support positions, it has been created to advance our capability in the use of the physical and chemical properties of wood, in precisely dated annual rings, as sensors of past environmental conditions and as dating tools. Major emphasis would be placed on developing and applying microdensitometric and related techniques for characterization of the properties of annual rings and improving our understanding of the physiology of wood formation in relation to external environmental conditions as a basis for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Thus, the Laboratory requires candidates with a strong background in environmental plant physiology and some familiarity with wood anatomy, and with a Ph.D. or equivalent degree, who would vigorously pursue a research program in this exciting and rapidly expanding field. Rank and salary will depend on qualifications.

Applicants should send curriculum vitae, bibliography accompanied by selected publications and a statement of research interests and directions, together with names and addresses of 3 professional references to:

PAGE TWENTY

Va1more C. LaMarche, Jr., Chairman, Densitometry Search Committee, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. The University of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

Herbarium Curator at University of Texas:
The University of Texas at Austin is seeking a M.S., with curatorial experience, to supervise and help manage a large plant collection (approximately 900,000 specimens), mostly Latin American. The salary is $12,000-$14,000 per annum beginning September 1, 1982. Submit applications to: Jackie M. Poole, Curator, Plant Resources Center, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712. Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Graduate Research Assistantship Sul Ross:
The Department of Biology, Sul Ross State University invites applications for a Graduate Research Assistantship beginning Fall, 1982. The nine-month appointment carries a stipend of $5000. Preference will be given to students with a strong background in plant anatomy or systematics. Previous experience with DIC, fluorescence, and phase microscopy desirable. Student will take part in a National Science Foundation funded project dealing with reproductive mechanisms, rubber variation, and anatomy of Parthenium argentatum (Guayule). Application including personal vita, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation should be sent to Dr. John M. Miller, Department of Biology, P.O. Box C-57, Su1 Ross State University, Alpine, TX 79830.

Temporary Part- Time Biologists at California State Polytechnic:
Ph.D. and M.S. applicants are sought to teach in biological science courses. Those who have interest are requested to contact: Dr. Don C. Force, Chairman, Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 West Temple Ave., Pomona, CA 91768. The deadline is June 30, 1982 for the 1982-83 applicant pool. This is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

RECENT BOTANICAL BOOKS

Funk, V. A. and D. R. Brooks, eds. Advances in Cladistics; Proceedings of the First Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society. Scientific Publications Office, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458, 1981.
xii + 250 p., illus. ISBN 0-89327-240-X paper $29.50 plus $1.25 U.S. or $2.00 non-U.S. postage and handling. (Most of the papers presented at the first meeting in 1980 of the Henningians whose claim is that cladistics (phylogenetic systematics) is a powerful analytical tool in comparative biology and systematics. These papers present a cross-section of current research and 5 out of the 13 are botanical.)

Harvey, John. Mediaeval Gardens. International Scholarly Book Services, Inc., Timber Press, Dept. H., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1981. xvi + 199 p., illus. ISBN 0-917304-69.1. $34.95. (A scholarly treatment based upon written records and illustrations from manuscripts and paintings covers the period, mainly from 500 to 1500, with particular emphasis on England. A detailed chart dates the garden cultivation of various species in northwestern Europe and England from contemporary writings.)

Johnson, Robert W. and Phillippa Goodchild, comps. Current Plant Taxonomic Research on the Australian Flora 1980-81. Queensland Herbarium, Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, 4068, Queensland, Australia. 1981. iv + 125 p. ISBN 0-7242-1936-6, wrappers. Available from the Director of the Herbarium, no price given. (This edition for the first time includes overseas as well as Australian projects dealing with the flora and vegetation of the region, including New Guinea and New Zealand, and listed by topic and taxon.)

Lewis, Walter H. and Memory P. F. Elvin-Lewis. Medical Botany; Plants Affecting Man’s Health. John Wiley and Sons, 1 Wiley Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873, 1977. xvii + 515 p., illus. ISBN 0-471-86134-0 paper. $14.95. (A new paperback edition of this valuable book is most welcome.)

Weier, T. Elliot, C. Ralph Stocking, Michael G. Barbour and Thomas L. Rost. Botany; An Introduction to plant Biology. 6th ed. John Wiley and Sons, 1 Wiley Dr., Somerset, NJ 08873, 1982. xii + 720 p., illus. ISBN 0-471-01561-X. $24.95. (A new edition after 8 years that arranges organisms in the five kingdom system and revises all chapters, but particularly the one on the prokaryotes.)

Williams, Gareth, compo Elsevier's Dictionary of Weeds of Western Europe. Their Common Names and Importance in Latin, Danish, German, English, Spanish, Finnish, French, Icelandic, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese and Swedish. Elsevier North-Holland, Inc., 52 Vanderbilt Ave., New York, NY 10017, 1982. 320 p. ISBN 0-444-41978-0. $74.50. (The basic index is by Latin name, with one official common name in each language, with indication of importance as a weed in different zones of western Europe, followed by thumb-indexed alphabets of common names by each modern language keyed to the Latin name. It should be particularly useful to those dealing with weedy plants and herbicides used against them.)

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Smith, David G., ed. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences. Crown Publishers, 1 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016, 1981. 496 p., illus. ISBN 0-517-54370-2. $35.00. (Botanists will particularly find the chapters on the origins and early evolution of life, and fossils and evolution useful, however this whole well illustrated and written volume is well worth the less than eight cents a paper as a reference to contemporary geological thought.)

Stieber, Michael T. and Anita L. Karg with the assistance of Donna M. Connelly and Karen K. Britz, comps. Guide to the Botanical Records and Papers in the Archives of the Hunt Institute Part 1. Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, 1981. 89 p. ISBN 29, 115 paper, no price given. (The first part of a register, covering the letters A and B, of manuscript materials, arranged by person or organization under whose name the items are catalogued which first appeared in Huntia (4#1) which gives a synopsis of their content and has a separate detailed index to persons, items and organizations related to or mentioned in them.)

Thomas, Robert C. and James A. Ruffner, eds. Research Centers Directory. A Guide to University-Related and Other Nonprofit Research Organizations Established on a Permanent Basis and Carrying on Continuing Research Programs. 7th ed. Gale Research Co., Book Tower, Detroit, MI 48226, 1982. 1083 p. ISBN 0-8103-455-4. $170.00 (Botanists will find relevant information in the subject categories: Agriculture, Conservation, and Life Sciences in this detailed listing of over 5,000 entries, as well as the over 1,500 subject categories in the index, which includes about 150 entries under botany.)

Turner, P. D. Oil Palm Diseases and Disorders. For The Incorporated Society of Planters, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016, 1981. xvii + 280 p., illus.
ISBN 0-19-580468-6. $59.00 (A well illustrated manual, with some color pictures, as well as a source of information about current and past research of this important crop plant that is an oil source.)

Little, Elbert L., Jr. Atlas of United States Trees. Vol. 6, Supplement. Miscellaneous Publication No. 1410, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, 1981. v + 81 p. No price given. (This volume adds maps for 35 Crataegus species and Juniperus erythrocarpa and provides an index to common and scientific names for the trees treated in all 6 volumes.)

Lord, John B. Aleksander Tamsalu 1891-1960, a Botanist in Exile. Technical Bulletin 11, The Royal Botanical Gardens, P.O. Box 399, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8N 3H8, 1980. 127 p., illus. $4.50 including postage. (The life and professional activities of an Estonian agricultural and floristic botanist of the Theodor Lippmaa phytogeographical school who appears as a truly tragic person who was displaced during and after World War II and had great difficulty applying alien scientific theory to North American situations.)

Merrill, Elmer D. Plant Life of the Pacific World. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Rutland VT 05701, 1981 (reprinting of 1945 edition). xvii + 297 p., illus. ISBN 0-8048-1370-1. $13.50 (It is useful to have this long out-of-print work available because it contains so much diverse information for the non-professional as well as professional about Pacific Island plants and vegetation. The list of species systematically arranged has been revised to include name changes since the 1945 edition which then appeared in hardback and as an armed forces paperback.)

Morishita, Hideki and Masamiki Masui, eds. Saline Environment: Physiological and Biochemical Adaptation in Halophilic Micro-organisms. The Organizing Committee of Japanese Conference on Halophilic Microbiology, Osaka, Japan, available from International Scholarly Book Services, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1980. 200 p., illus. ISBN 0-89955-334-6 paper. $20.00 (The proceedings of a conference held in August 1977 that considers bacteria in saline environments.)

Robertson, Kenneth R. Observing, Photographing, and Collecting Plants. Illinois Natural History Survey, Natural Resources Building, Urbana, IL 61801, 1980. 62 p., illus. Single copies free. (A fine introduction for amateurs or the general public who want basic information about plants and botany.)

Ayrey, Betty. Ferns, Facts, and Fancy in the Australian Scene. Lothian Publishing Co., Melbourne, available from ISBS, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1977. 39 p., illus. ISBN 0-85091-063-3, $4.95 paper. (A short guide for those who desire to cultivate ferns as houseplants.)

Blackall, W. E. and B. J. Grieve. How to Know Western Australian Wildflowers; a Key to the Flora of the Extratropical Regions of Western Australia. Part IIIB (Epacridaceae-Lamiaceae). Restructured and revised 2nd ed. by B. J. Grieve. University of Western Australia Press, available from ISBS, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1981. 33 + 297-456 p., illus. ISBN 0-85564-161-4. $39.00. (An extended illustrated key with 8 color plates of selected flowers.)

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Boland, D. J., M. I. H. Brooker, and J. W. Turnbull, with scanning electron microscopy by D. A. Kleinig. Eucalyptus Seed. CSIRO, Australia, available from ISBS, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1980. ISBN 0-643-02586-3. $25.00. (After a brief review of Eucalyptus reproduction, the major part of this book is devoted to identification of the seeds of about 150 species, and their collection and processing.)

Bolyard, Judith L. Medicinal Plants and Home Remedies of Appalachia. Charles C. Thomas, 2600 South First St., Springfield, IL 62717, 1982. 160 p., illus. ISBN 0-398-04180-6. $18.50. (This book documents the use of natural and naturalized plants as medicine by an isolated culture.)

Griffing, David H. Fungal Physiology. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1 Wiley Drive. Summerset, NJ 08873, 1981. xiii + 383 p., illus. ISBN 0-471-05748-7. $32.50. (A senior-graduate level textbook that fills a gap
left without a recent text coverage of this field with a summary that cites many experimental studies.)

Jarvis, P. G. and T. A. Mansfield, eds. Stomatal Physiology. Cambridge University Press, 32 East 57th St., New York, NY 10022, 1981. Society for Experimental Biology Seminar Series 8. ISBN 0-521-23683-5 cloth; 9-521-28151-2 paper. $49.50 cloth, $19.95 paper. (A collection of papers suitable for student use on the anatomy and function of stomata in response to various environmental factors.)

Moore-Landecker, Elizabeth. Fundamentals of the Fungi. 2nd ed. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632, 1982. xiii + 578 p., illus. ISBN 0-13-339200-7. $39.95. (A revision after ten years of an introductory mycology text with an expanded morphology and taxonomy section and updating of other parts.)

Nelson, P. E., T. A. Toussoun, and R. J. Cook, eds. Fusarium: Diseases, Biology, and Taxonomy. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 215 Wagner Building, University Park, PA 16802, 1982. xv + 457 p., illus. ISBN 0-271-00293-X. $39.50. (Forty papers by 60 authors present current information about the pathology, ecology. genetics, cytology, physiology and taxonomy of this very important plant disease causing fungus genus.)

Phillips, Roger, assisted by Lyndsay Shearer. Mushrooms and Other Fungi of Great Britain and Europe. Pan Books, available from the Mad River Press, Rte. 2, Box 151B, Eureka, CA 95501, 1981. 288 p., illus. ISBN 0-330-26441-9. $16.45 paper. (A primarily visual guide, and a good one with fine color photographs, to 914 species of British larger fungi which includes basic information about collecting, identifying and eating them.)

Roland, Jean-Claude and Francoise Roland. Atlas of Flowering Plants Structure. Translated by Dennis Baker. Longman, Inc., 19 West 44th St., New York, NY 10036, 1980. 103 p., illus. ISBN 0-582-45589-8. $14.95 paper. (Meant for undergraduates, this well illustrated guide to the development and functions of flowering plant structures shows levels of magnification from macroscopical to ultrastructural.)

Ross, R., ed. Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium on Recent and Fossial Diatoms; Budapest, September 1-5, 1980, Taxonomy, Morphology, Ecology, Biology. Otto Koeltz Science Publishers. P.O. Box 1380, D-6240 Koenigstein, West Germany, 1981. viii + 487 p., illus. ISBN 3-87429-192-8. DM 200 (subscribers), DM 250 (single copies). (Thirty-two technical papers covering various aspects of fossil diatom biology.)

Roux, J. P. Cape Peninsula Ferns; a Guide to the Fern Species of the Cape Peninsula, with Black and White Drawings and Identification Keys of All Recognized Species. National Botanical Gardens of South Africa, available from ISBS, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075,1979. (viii) + 66 p., illus. ISBN 0-620-03775-X. $10.00 paper. (After a brief introduction most of this work is devoted to fern identification.)

Sharr, F. A. Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings; a Glossary. University of Western Australia Press, available from ISBS, Inc., P.O. Box 1632, Beaverton, OR 97075, 1978. xxxvi + 228 p. ISBN 0-85564-122-3. $24.95 paper. (This book explains the meanings of about 4,500 Latin names, divided into two alphabets by genera and species; the way names are made; and a brief chronology of botanical collecting in Western Australia to 1850, as well as a short bibliography.)

BOOK REVIEWS

Bechtel, H., P. Cribb, and E. Launert. The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass; 1981. 444 pages, 720 color photographs and numerous line drawings; regular edition $75.00; de luxe edition $200.00; publication date August 4, 1982. Numbers: SB409 B42; 1 635.9’3415; 80-28634; IBSN 0-262-02162-5.

Several manuals, encyclopedias, and lists of cultivated orchids were published during the last 150 years. The first, by J. C. Lyons was published in Ireland. Its second edition was published in 1845. The third was subsequently translated into German in 1851 and published in Stuttgart.

The United Kingdom is the cradle of orchidology, and it is not surprising, therefore,

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

that a number of such works were published there. The best known is the Orchid Grower's Manual by B. S. Williams published in seven editions, the first in 1852 and the last in 1894 (reprinted in 1973). James Veitch and Co., the well known orchid firm of a century ago published a two volume Manual ofOrchidaceous Plants (1887-1894, reprinted in 1963) which contains basic as well as practical information. Less well known is Orchids: Their Culture and Management by W. Watson and W. Bean published in two editions between 1890 and 1897 and replaced in 1930 by a new edition by W. Watson and H. J. Chapman.

Two major manuals were published in France, but neither is as good as their British counterparts. They are L'Orchidophile by F. du Buysson (1878) and Les Orchidees by E. du Puydt (1880). Two other manuals in French are by Belgian authors: Les Orchidees Exotiques et leur Culture en Europe by L. Linden, A. Cogniaux and G. Grignan (1894) and Le Livre des Orchidees by Le Comte O. de Kerchove de Denterghem (1894).

Stein's Orchideenbuch by B. Stein from Breslau published in 1892 (and reprinted in 1980) may well be the first orchid manual in German. However, the best known German manual is the one by Rudolph Schlechter (and several collaborators) first published in 1914 and now in its third edition.

The earliest Russian manual I know of is Orchidei (Orchids) by Dr. I. Troyanovsky published in 1912. A more recent book is a slender volume entitled Orchidei i ih Kultura (Orchids and Their Cultivation) by V. A. Poddubnaya-Arnoldi and V. A. Selezneva (1957).

Orchideeen Welke in Ned-Indie Gekweekt Kunnen Worden by P. M. W. Dakkus (still remembered as the very strict Tuan Dakkus by old timers at the Bogor Botanical Gardens) was published in three editions between 1930 and 1935 in Bandung, Indonesia. A more recent Indonesian manual is Bunga Anggerik (Orchid Flowers) by S. M. Latif (1960).

No large manuals or handbooks have been published in the U.S. The closest we have is American Orchid Culture by E. A. White (three editions and several printings between 1927 and 1947) and Rebecca Northen's multi-edition excellent Home Orchid Growing.

A more recent (1955) manual is the Encyclopedia of Cultivated Orchids by the late (and controversial) American author, Alex D. Hawkes, which was published in England. It received very poor reviews from many knowledgeable orchidologists, but is still in press for lack of a better one. Therefore, the manual by Bechtel, Cribb and Launert is needed and most welcome. The English edition is a translation from the German version which was first published in 1980 by Verlag Eugen Ulmer. Of the three authors one is German (Helmut Bechtel, a well known nature photographer) and two are English (Phillip Cribb and Edmund Launert, both from Kew Gardens). Copyright to the English Edition is held by Blanford Press in the UK and the volume being reviewed here was published by the MIT Press despite being printed and bound in England and West Germany. I am listing these facts simply as a lament that no one has had the initiative to write and publish such a book in the U.S., the country which has more orchid growers than any other in the world.

The dust jacket and covers of the German edition are much more attractive than those on the volume from MIT Press and one wonders whether greed or incompetence on the part of the publishers (certainly not the authors) is responsible for this. Fortunately, (to coin a brand new and very original phrase) one should not judge a book by its covers because the contents are first rate.

A concise chapter on the morphology of orchids opens part I of the book. It is well illustrated, clearly written, and accurate. A minor slip is the statement that "the stigma produces a sticky sugary 1iquid ..." because this is not the case in several orchids.

Subsequent chapters (all very concise and good) deal with the life cycle of orchids, ecology, history of cultivations, hybridization, conservation, nomenclature and classification. A key to subfamilies and tribes is also provided. Unfortunately, physiology is not covered in equal detail.

Part II spans pages 39-419 and provides descriptions of cultivated orchid genera and species, and information about their distributions, history, synonyms, derivation of names, taxonomy, types and culture. A total of 217 genera and 1200 species are described and illustrated with 720 excellent photographs. There are exceptions though, for example, the picture of Amblostoma tridactylum on p. 165 doesn't show much; the photograph of Pleuorthallis crenata is too dark (due to poor printing I assume). However, one must balance this against the excellent photographs of 38 Paphiopedilum species and many spectacular pictures of other orchids.

The selected biographical notes will be a gold mine for orchid history buffs, even if a few important names from the past (for example, Dr.. J. Harris, the man credited with providing the intellectual stimulus which led to the first orchid hybrid; Prof. Knudson, who discovered how to germinate orchid seeds asymbotically; N. Bernard, the discoverer of orchid mycorrhizae and phytoalecnus; G. E. Rumphius, the blind seer and orchidologist from Ambon) and present (Dr. G. Hadley, Dr. R. Dressler, Dr. H. Sweet, Dr. H. Kamemoto and several Australian scientists, among others) are missing.

A selected bibliography on pages 425-427 contains a good selection of general and regional books and articles. This is followed by a well illustrated glossary, an index of synonyms and a general index.

PAGE TWENY-FOUR

Altogether this is an excellent book, a one volume library in fact. It should easily replace all existing manuals, encyclopedias and handbooks and become a (or even the) most important volume in the library of those interested in orchids. In reference libraries it will probably answer most questions on orchids and certainly more than any other single book on the subject. I shall certainly recommend it to all those who will want just one book on orchids.
Joseph Arditti, University of California, Irvine

Kinghorn, A. Douglas (Ed.). Toxic Plants. Columbia University Press, 565 W. 113 St., New York, NY 10025, 1979. 195 pp. $20.

"Toxic Plants" is a neat little book emphasizing human toxicology. The eight papers based on a 1977 symposium of the Society for Economic Botany at the University of Miami, are authoritatively written in sufficient detail to represent major syntheses in areas covered. They include seven chapters on: toxic mushrooms, solanaceous and liliaceous toxins and teratogens in animals, pokeweed and other mitogens, potentially toxic houseplants, cocarcinogenic Euphorbiaceae, poisonous Anacardiaceae, and dermatitis evoked by Asteraceae with an introductory chapter on poisonous plants. Although each contribution is important in itself, the volume is strikingly uneven. One-quarter of the whole is a single paper on mushrooms, three papers emphasize dermatitis, leaving only three chapters for all other kinds of poisonings from plants. Obviously plant toxicity in total cannot be covered during a short symposium, and the editor makes this point, but the organizers could have found contributors representative of a greater range of expertise. Insofar as it goes, "Toxic Plants" will have a winning readership; unfortunately, the title implies much more.
Walter H. Lewis, Washington University, St. Louis

Richardson, D. H. S. The Biology of Mosses. ix + 220 pages. 72 figures. Hasted Press, John Wiley & Sons, New York. 1981. Price: $29.95 (paper).

This small paperback should interest a broad spectrum of biologists. It brings together some of the more fascinating aspects of the biology of mosses as revealed by recent researches. The chapter titles disclose the variety and nature of the subjects treated: Structure, History and Illustration; Water Relations; Photosynthesis, Temperature and Nutrients; Sex and Cytogenetics; Capsules and Spore Dispersal;
Spores and Protonemata; Moss-animal Associations; Mosses and Microorganisms; Ecology; Air Pollution; Monitoring and Geobotanical Prospecting; Mosses and Man. Each chapter contains a well-chosen list of references. The subject matter was carefully culled for reader interest rather than general or in-depth coverage. The book should serve admirably on a parallel reading list for general biology or botany, plant diversity, and many other courses. Anyone with a biological turn of mind, for that matter, will find a surprising amount of interesting information about a little-appreciated group of plants.
Lewis E. Anderson, Duke