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Plant Science Bulletin archiveIssue: 1997 v43 No 4 Winter
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Botanical Society of America Business Office 1735 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210-1293 Ph: 614/292-3519 Fx: 614/292-3519 e-mail: hiser.3@osu.edu |
You can also update your information directly at our website: http://www.botany.org/! You are an important part of the BSA and we do not want to lose track of you! Be sure to include your phone, fax and e-mail if available.
| PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN ISSN 0032-0919 Published quarterly by Botanical Society of America, Inc., 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 The yearly subscription rate of $15 is included in the membership dues of the Botanical Society of America, Inc. Periodical postage paid at Columbus, OH and additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Kim Hiser, Business Manager Phone/Fax: 614/292-3519 email: hiser3@osu.edu |
Call For Nominations: 1998 Young Botanist Awards
The Botanical Society of America requests nominations for the Young Botanist Awards for 1997-1998. The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding graduating seniors in the plant sciences, and to encourage their participation in the Botanical Society of America. Nominations should document the student's qualifications for the award and should discuss the student's academic performance, research projects, and individual attributes. Nominations should be accompanied by one or more letters of support from faculty who know the students well. Award winners will receive a Certificate of Recognition signed by the President of the Botanical Society, which is forwarded to the nominating faculty member for presentation. Nominations should be sent to the Past-President, Daniel J. Crawford, Department of Plant Biology, Ohio State University, 1735 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210-1293.
Deadline: March 1, 1998.
Fire Sale! AJB Back Issues - Cheap!
We have a huge inventory of back issues dating back to Volume 56 (1969) and we need to get rid of it! The Botanical Society of America published 10 issues of the American Journal of Botany per year until 1985 (Vol. 72); all subsequent volumes contain 12 issues per year. A few volumes include the Abstracts issue as a numbered issue and the other volumes include the Abstracts as a supplement to the June issue: Some volumes and issues are not available and some are in limited quantities. Prices are strictly at cost for handling and postage. The sale will last for a period of one year, after which excess remaining issues will be recycled. Prices are per issue (in US Dollars) and orders will be submitted quarterly to reduce handling charges. Domestic delivery: $2.50 per issue shipped Periodical Rate, Canada: $3.50, other foreign: $3.75. Please send orders and/or inquiries concerning availability to:
| Botanical Society of America Business Office 1735 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210-1293 Ph: 614/292-3519 Fx: 614/292-3519 e-mail: hiser.3@osu.edu |
The Botanical Society reserves the right to adjust prices in the event of an increase in postage or handling costs.
Editorial Committee for Volume 43
| James D. Mauseth (1997) Department of Botany University of Texas Austin, TX 78713 |
Allison A. Snow (1998) Department of Plant Biology Ohio State University Columbus, OH 43210 |
Nickolas M. Waser (1999) Department of Biology University of California Riverside, CA 92521 |
| P. Mick Richardson (2000) Missouri Botanical Garden P.O. Box 299 St. Louis, MO 63166 |
Vicki A. Funk (2001) Department of Botany Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 |
Reports from the Sections:
Developmental and Structural Section
The section continues to have high levels of activity associated with the annual meeting. During the past year, two major initiatives have been acted upon:
1. Establishment of an email system for the chair of the section to communicate with all members of the section who have submitted email addresses to the Botanical Society. The use of this system by the chair is infrequent (not more than once a month) so as to prevent any perception of junk mail. Announcements for faculty positions and postdoctoral positions have been posted to the membership in order to benefit the younger members. Also, issues of import to the entire section and notices of deaths of important members have been communicated on this system.
2. Establishment of funding to assist with student attendance at the annual BSA meetings. Two separate programs for travel awards to student members of the Developmental and Structural Section of the Botanical Society of America have been established. The goal for each of these funds is to encourage and support student attendance at the annual BSA meeting. Each travel award will be in the amount of the student registration fee for the current annual BSA meeting. Every year, all student members of the Developmental and Structural Section will have the opportunity to apply for these travel awards. It is our goal to generate sufficient funds to support all of the section's student members who attend the annual BSA meeting. There is no requirement for a student to present a contributed paper in association with either of these travel awards.
Vernon Cheadle Student Travel Award Endowment -- As a way of honoring the memory of Dr. Vernon Cheadle, a challenge grant has been established for this endowment. For every dollar given to this permanent endowment for student travel, a matching amount will be contributed to this fund, up to a total of $2,500. The goal of this endowment will be to grow the principal over the long term, while making travel awards to several students per year.
Developmental & Structural Section Student Travel Award Fund -- As voted upon by the membership of the section in 1996, an annual drive will be initiated to generate contributions from the sectional membership to support student attendance at the annual meetings of 'the Botanical Society of America. Donations will be solicited in units equivalent to the current student registration fee (this year, for example, $85). In essence, each contributor will effectively sponsor the attendance of one or more students.
| - William (Ned) Friedman Chairperson |
Botanical Society of America Merit Awards
The Genetics section has been active in getting the section Newsletter going again. Grant Mitman (gmitman@po1.mtech.edu) has agreed to serve as editor of the newsletter. We gave the Margaret Menzel award to Jermome Laroche, Peng Li, Laurent Maggia, and Jean Bousquet for their talk entitled "Molecular evolution of angiosperm mitochondrial introns and exons."
The program this year was altered to give a special guest lecture. Our special guest was Yin-Long Qiu from Indiana University. There were 15 contributed papers and 6 posters. We will continue to work on improving the membership.
| - Kenneth G. Wilson Vice-Chairperson |
Phycological Section
Jeffrey Johansen, section secretary, organized for the first time in several years, a paper and poster session in conjunction with this years BSA annual meeting. Twelve oral presentations were given and six posters were displayed. Slightly more than two dozen phycologists participated in our session. Of the oral presentation, ten were contributed by students as were five of the posters. It proved an excellent forum for students (both>undergraduate and graduate) to present their research. Section funds were used to assist the students with travel stipends.
| - Dan Wujek Chair |
Tropical Biology Section
The Tropical Biology Section has a membership of about 350. This year the section co-sponsored with the Ecological Section a special lecture by Kamaljit S. Bawa, entitled "Tropical biodiversity losses: magnitude and solutions," followed by a diverse contributed paper session. Over 65 people attended the lecture. The Section plans to continue sponsoring an annual special lecture. Five Alwyn Gentry awards for Best Student Paper and Best Student Poster were presented at the 1997 Association for Tropical Biology meetings by the Association for Tropical Biology, the Tropical Biology Section of BSA, and the University of Chicago Press. We currently are seeking nominations for section chair and secretary/treasurer. The Section held a social with the Ecological Section and the Torrey Botanical Society.
| - Joe Armstrong Chairperson |
Ecological and Tropical Biology Sections Symposium Report: Genetics of Adaptive Phenotypic Plasticity
The field of phenotypic plasticity has been shaping for most of the century, ever since Woeltereck misunderstood Johansson's definition of genotype and phenotype and coined the term "reaction norm". It is now a full fledged and mature area of research, but several of its most fundamental questions are still very much open to debate. One of these is when can a plastic response be considered an adaptation? It is this deceptively simple question that was the focus of a recent symposium sponsored by the Ecological and Tropical Biology Sections at the Montreal meeting. The answer to the question involves determination of genotypic natural selection under field conditions, theoretical studies of optimization of phenotypes in multiple environments, investigations of the genetic basis of plasticity, investigations of the degree of genetic variation for plasticity in natural populations, and research aimed at defining and measuring the evolutionary and physiological costs of evolving and maintaining a plastic response.
The specific contributions were as exciting as the general questions that provided the basis for the symposium. Stephen Bonser (with Lonnie Aarssen Queen's University) talked about the relationship between phenotypic plasticity and allometry, focusing on meristem allocation in herbaceous plants. Hilary Callahan (with myself - University of Tennessee) used the study of adaptive plasticity to light availability as a model system to highlight how a knowledge of the genetic and physiological basis of a plastic response can yield significant insights into its evolution (and vice versa). Lisa Dorn (with Johanna Schmitt - Brown University) discussed the use of molecular Quantitative Trait Loci mapping techniques to uncover genes specifically involved in plastic responses in natural populations. Susan Dudley (McMaster University) addressed the problem of how in fact we should go about testing adaptive plasticity hypotheses, again using the shade avoidance response to light as an experimental model. Martin Lechowicz (with Thomas Lei - McGill University) also focused on adaptation to bade vs. sunlit environments, but widened the perspective by addressing the more difficult problem of investigating plasticity and adaptation in trees, with all the complications due to the long-lived perennial habit. Kelly McCounnaughay (Bradley University) discussed how developmental constraints can limit adaptive phenotypic plasticity regulating allocational strategies. Sonia Sultan (Wesleyan University) cunningly dissected the subtle problems that the very nature of plasticity poses to the investigator when it comes to relate plastic responses to increased or decreased fitness performances, arguing that the currently fashionable quantitative genetics techniques of data analysis are not only inadequate, but downright misleading when it comes to phenotypes measured under stressful conditions. Alice Winn (Florida State University) tackled the problem of defining and measuring costs to plasticity, which represent a major hindrance to the evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity and which are directly related to the genetic and biochemical machinery underlying plastic responses. Finally, I attempted to discuss the relationship between the genetics of plasticity and its adaptive significance, pointing out that knowledge of the action of genes involved in plasticity immediately gives us clues about their possible origin, including the likelihood of an historical process of adaptation.
The major theme spawned a lively discussion on a variety of other lines of inquiry, to which the speakers contributed both during the symposium and in the informal discussion which followed it. Is natural selection acting directly on plasticity, and if so, under which ecological circumstances? Are there genes specifically involved in controlling plastic responses, and what role do they play in the overall genetic architecture of the organism? How much does the genetic architecture of an organism constraint its ability to evolve phenotypic plasticity? Does the potential to produce a plastic response entail a hidden cost? If so, is adaptive plasticity maintained by stabilizing selection to counteract mutation accumulation and genetic drift? It was obvious that the contributing speakers believed that these and related questions are not only very relevant to the study of ecological genetics in changing environments, but more in general to the tempo and mode of phenotypic evolution. The attendance of more than one hundred people to the symposium was a reassuring sign that we are not the only ones...
| - Massimo Pigliucci Departments of Botany and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996 |
Other News
5th Clonal Plant Workshop
Bangor, Wales, September 9-14,1997
Clonal plants are different. They move around, sense gradients, forage for resources, and multiply by fragmentation. Or perhaps it is the viewpoint of researchers who study clonal plants that is different. Whatever the reason, it is difficult to imagine a more stimulating meeting in the organismal plants sciences than the 5th Clonal Plant Workshop organized by Liz Price (Manchester) and Chris Marshall (Bangor), which took place from September 9th to 14th in Bangor, Wales. Participants came from all over Europe, with a few thrown in from Asia and the United States for good measure.
This topic-oriented workshop offered a great opportunity to view the current status of clonal plant biology, because it offered a mix of new results and reviews of already published findings. This kind of mixture makes such workshops hotbeds for scientific integration, much more so than the large annual society meetings. In addition, the relatively small number of participants (around 90) and the generous schedule made it possible for everyone to talk at some length with anyone they wished.
The subject of this year's workshop was "Clonal Plants and Environmental Heterogeneity - Space, Time and Scale". Other topics included aspects of resource use and allocation, structure and dynamics of populations spatiotemporal dynamics, and morphological organization and physiological integration. It is of course, difficult to single out specific contributions without doing injustice to the ones not mentioned. That being said, here are some of my impressions.
The interactions between environmental heterogeneity and physiological integration in clonal plants was a recurring theme in presentations. Many studies have found that a high degree of physiological integration is a common phenomenon in clonal plants that grow in patchy, resource-poor habitats. For example, Fragaria child plants in patchy dune habitat have a higher degree of resource-sharing among ramets than plants from a more uniform grassland habitat (Peter Alpert). On the other hand, a few studies suggest that under certain circumstances, clonal fragmentation may be favored in patchy habitats, for example in water-limited environments, where water-stressed ramets could potentially negatively affect other ramets.
Wherever directional aspects of physiological integration (i.e. transport of resources between ramets) are being looked at, they turn out to be very important for understanding particular reactions of clonal plant species to environmental heterogeneity. Directionality has been a hot topic in clonal plant research for some time, but it appears that it is still too early for generalizations other than the ever popular "species are different". During early development, new ramets receive all resources from older ramets; in later stages, physiological integration may be to different degrees bidirectional, unidirectional in either direction, or virtually non-existent. An intriguing twist was added to such problems with the presentation by Maxine Watson and colleagues, who found that the degree of mycorrhizal infection varied in a predictable manner with the age of the nodes along mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) rhizome systems, where the roots of the youngest, leaf-bearing node were almost non-mycorrhizal, while two- to four-year-old nodes had the highest degrees of mycorrhizal infections. This is once again evidence for mycorrhizae adding another level of complexity to already complex systems.
Most people believe that plants do not move. A refreshing contrast to this view was presented in Kalevi Kull's contribution on vegetative mobility as a community parameter. He described the spatiotemporal dynamics of an Estonian grassland community in terms of placement, growth, and life spans of rhizomes and ramets of 130 species. As it turns out, not only do plants move, the mobility of a plant community may also change in response to disturbance or fertilization.
Genetic individuality featured prominently in work present by researchers from the Czech Republic (Sylvie Pecháèková, Vera Hadincova and colleagues). They found large differences among genotypes of Festuca rubra in their reaction to litter of Nardus stricta and equally large differences in the size and structure of root systems from rhizomatous and non-rhizomatous clones of Festuca. These results suggest that researchers dismiss genotypic differences at their peril, when they view such differences in morphology, physiology, and ecology as noise in the data, when in fact these differences may reflect the ability of a plant population to utilize a variety of niches ib the community. This also is an example for the dang I er of focusing on averages when it is the deviations from the averages that are the real results.
Many of the topics discussed at this workshop feature prominently in a new book edited by Hans de Kroon and Jan van Groenendael, entitled "The Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants" (Backhuys Publishers, Leiden. 1997), which includes chapters by many of the participants of this workshop. The four earlier workshops have all resulted in published proceedings and various collaborative projects and publications, and the 5th Clonal Plant Workshop will be no exception. So far, there have been few American participants and it is hoped that future workshops will attract more researchers from outside of Europe.
One thing that I have learned from this workshop is that there are many more aspects to clonal plant research and many more clonal growth forms than I had imagined. Anyone interested in leaming more about clonal plant research or getting in touch with the clonal community can do so by subscribing to the Cyber-Clone list-server. To subscribe send an email to listserv@nic.surfnet.nl with the message SUB CYBERCLONE, <firstname> <Iastname> and you will receive further instructions and information.
The organizers of the next clonal plant workshop planned for the year 2000 in Innsbruck, Austria, will face a challenge to match the flawless organization of Liz Price and Chris Marshall for this year's workshop, which provided a perfect environment for both the formal and the not so formal parts of the meeting. The only way for the Innsbruck organizers to outdo the 5th Workshop will be to have it on top of a mountain. Which is exactly what they are planning on doing. See you there.
|
- H. Jochen Schenk |
BSA List of Officers for 1997 - 1998
(* = Members of the Council) Revised 8/14/97PRESIDENT*Nancy Dengler (1997-1998)
Department of Botany
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON Canada M5S 3B2
(416) 978-3536 FAX (416) 978-5878
E-Mail: dengler@botany.utoronto.ca
PRESIDENT-ELECT*Carol C. Baskin (1997-1998)
School of Biological Sciences
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0225
(606) 257-8770 FAX (606) 257-1717
E-Mail: jmbask0@ukcc.uky.edu
SECRETARY *Pamela Soltis (1997-2000)
Department of Botany
Washington State University
P.O. Box 644238
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-3533 FAX (509) 335-3517
E-Mail: psoltis@wsu.edu
TREASURER*Judy Jernstedt (1995-1998)
Depart. of Agronomy and Range Science
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616 - 8515
(916) 752-7166 FAX (916) 752-4361
E-Mail: jjernstedt@ucdavis.edu
PROGRAM DIRECTOR*Wayne J. Elisens (1996-1999)
Department of Botany and Microbiology
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73091
(405) 325-5923 FAX (405) 325-7619
E-Mail: elisens@ou.edu
COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE*Scott Russell (1997-1999)
Department of Botany and Microbiology
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019-0245
(405) 325-6234 FAX (405) 325-7619
EMail:srussell@ou.edu
EDITOR, American Journal of Botany*Karl J. Niklas
214 Plant Science Bldg.
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-5908
(607) 255-8727 FAX (607) 255-5407
E-Mail: kjn2@cornell.edu
EDITOR, Plant Science Bulletin*W. Joseph Leverich (1998)
Department of Biology
St. Louis University
3507 Laclede Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63103-2010
(314) 977-3903 FAX (314) 977-3117
E-Mail: leverich@slu.edu
BUSINESS MANAGER*Kim Hiser
Botanical Society of America
1735 Neil Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210-1293
(614) 292-3519 (Phone and FAX)
hiser.3@osu.edu
AIBS MEETINGS MANAGERMarilynn Maury
American Institute of Biological Sciences
730 11th Street N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-4521
E-Mail: mmaury@aibs.org
PAST PRESIDENT, 1997*Daniel J. Crawford
Department of Plant Biology
Ohio State University
1735 Neil Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210-1293
(614) 292-2725 FAX (614) 292-6345
E-Mail:crawford.13@osu.edu
PAST PRESIDENT, 1996Barbara Schaal
Department of Biology
Box 1137
Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899
(314) 935-6822 FAX (314) 935-4432
E-Mail: schaal@biodec.wustl.edu
PAST PRESIDENT, 1995Harry T. Horner
Department of Botany
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-1020
(515) 294-8635 FAX 294-1337
E-Mail: hth@iastate.edu
PAST PRESIDENT, 1994Grady L. Webster
Section of Plant Biology
University of California
Davis, CA 95616
(916) 752-2139 (1091) FAX (916) 752-5410
E-Mail: glwebster@ucdavis.edu
SECTIONAL REPRESENTATIVES:
The Council also consists of representatives from each of the following 23 sections:
BRYOLOGICAL AND LICHENOLOGICAL SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- * Paula DePriest
Department of Botany, NHB - 166
National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC 20560
(202) 786-0192, FAX (202) 786-2563
E-Mail: Depriest.Paula@NMNH.SI.EDU
DEVELOPMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL SECTION
- Chair (2004):
- *Pamela Diggle
Department of EPO Biology - Box 334
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0334
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0421
Phone: (303) 492-4860
FAX: (303) 492-8699
E-Mail: diggle@spot.colorado.edu - Program Director (2003):
- Larry Hufford
School of Biological Sciences
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-4236
(509) 335-2183 FAX (509) 335-3517
E-mail: hufford@mail.wsu.edu - Treasurer (2003):
- Darlene H. Southworth
Department of Biology
Southern Oregon University
Ashland OR 97520
Tel: 541-552-6865
FAX: 541-552-6415
E-Mail: southworth@sou.edu
ECOLOGY SECTION
- Chair (2004):
- *Suzanne Koptur
Department of Biological Sciences
Florida International University
Miami, FL 33199
(305)348-3103; FAX: (305)348-1986
Email: kopturs@fiu.edu - Vice-Chair (2004):
- Timothy J. Bell
Department of Biological Sciences
Chicago State University
9501 S. King Dr.
Chicago, IL 60628-1598
(773)995-2442; FAX: 773/995-3759
Email: tj-bell1@csu.edu - Secretary (2004):
- Joseph C. Colosi
Biology Department
DeSales University
2755 Station Ave.
Center Valley, PA 18034
(610) 282-1100 ex 1288 FAX (610) 282-2254
Email: JCC0@desales.edu
ECONOMIC BOTANY SECTION
- Chair (2005):
- *David M. Spooner
USDA-ARS
Department of Horticulture
University of Wisconsin
1575 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1590
(608) 262-0159 FAX: (608) 262-4743
E-Mail: dspooner@facstaff.wisc.edu - Secretary-Treasurer (2003):
- *Daniel K. Harder
Executive Director of the Arboretum
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, California 95064
(831) 427-2998 FAX: (831) 427 1524
E-Mail: dkharder@cats.ucsc.edu
GENETICS SECTION
- Chair (2004):
- *Stephen J. Novak
Department of Biology
Boise State University
1910 University Drive
Boise, ID 83785
208-385-3548 FAX 208-385-4267
E-mail: snovak@boisestate.edu - Vice Chair (2004):
- Randall L. Small
Dept. of Botany
437 Hesler Biology
Knoxville, TN 37996-1100
Phone: 865-974-6207 FAX: 865-974-2258
E-mail: rsmall@utk.edu - Secretary-Treasurer (2004):
- Wm Vance Baird
Horticulture Dept. - Poole Agr CT, Box 340375
- Clemson University
- Clemson, SC 29634-0375
Phone: (864) 656-4953 FAX: (864) 656-4960
E-mail: vbaird@clemson.edu - Editor, Newsletter:
- [vacant]
HISTORICAL SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Lee B. Kass
2127 Spencer Rd
Newfield, NY 14867
(607) 255-4876 FAX (607) 255-7979
E-Mail: lbk7@cornell.edu - Vice-Chair (2003)
- To Be Announced After Botany 2003
- Secretary-Treasurer (2003)
- To Be Announced After Botany 2003
- Program Chair (2003)
- Lee B. Kass
L. H. Bailey Hortorium
Department of Plant Bilology
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-5908
(607) 255-4876 or FAX (607) 255-7979
E-MAIL: lbk7@cornell.edu - Program Co-Chair (2003)
- Laurence J. Davenport, Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Samford University
Birmingham, AL 35229-2234
(205) 726-2584 or FAX (205) 726-2479
E-MAIL: ljdavenp@samford.edu
MYCOLOGICAL SECTION
- Currently Developing New Spores - new contacts coming soon
PALEOBOTANICAL SECTION
- Chair (2003) :
- *Dr. Brian Axsmith
Dept of Biological Sciences
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688
(251) 460-6331 FAX (251) 414-8220
E-Mail: Baxsmith@jaguar1.usouthal.edu - Secretary-Treasurer (2004):
- Kathleen B. Pigg
Department of Plant Biology
Box 871601
Arizona State University
Tempe AZ 85287-1601
(480) 965-3154 FAX (480) 965-6899
E-Mail: kpigg@asu.edu - Web Manager: [vacant new office, as of 8/15/01]
- Editor, Bibliography of American Paleobotany (2004):
- Wilson A. Taylor
Dept. of Biology
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Eau Claire WI 54702-4004
(715) 836-3176 FAX (715) 836-2380
E-mail: taylorwa@uwec.edu
PHYCOLOGICAL SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Martha E. Cook
Assistant Professor of Botany
Illinois State University
Department of Biological Sciences
Campus Box 4120
Normal, IL 61790-4120 USA
(309)438-8549 FAX Fax: (309) 438-3722
E-Mail: mecook1@ilstu.edu
http://www.bio.ilstu.edu/cook/ - Secretary (2003):
- Richard M. McCourt
Associate Curator of Botany
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
(215) 299-1157, Fax (215) 299-1028
E-mail: mccourt@acnatsci.org
PHYSIOLOGICAL SECTION
- Chair (2004):
- *Denise Seliskar
Halophyte Biotechnology Center
College of Marine Studies
700 Pilottown Rd.
Lewes, DE 19958
(302) 645-4366 FAX (302) 645-4028
E-Mail: seliskar@udel.edu - Program Director (2004):
- Henri Maurice
Biology Department
U of Southern Indiana
8600 University Boulevard
Evansville, Indiana 47712-3596
(812) 461-5231 FAX (812)
E-Mail: botprof@aol.com - Treasurer (2004):
- Peter F. Straub
Natural Science and Mathematics Division
Richard Stockton College
Pomona, N.J. 08240
(609) 652-4556 FAX (609) 748-5515
E-Mail: pete.straub@stockton.edu
PHYTOCHEMICAL SECTION
- Re-acting - new contacts coming!
PTERIDOLOGICAL SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Warren Hauk
- Dept. of Biology
Denizen University
Granville, OH 43023 - (740) 587-5758
E-mail: hauk@denison.edu - Secretary-Treasurer (2003):
- Karen Renzaglia
- ORDA
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901-4709
(618) 453-4549 FAX: (618) 453-3441
E-mail: renzaglia@plant.siu.edu
SYSTEMATICS SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Wayne Elisens
Dept. of Botany and Microbiology
University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma 73019
(405) 325-5923 FAX (405) 325-7619
E-Mail: Elisens@ou.edu - Secretary-Treasurer (& Program Director) (2004):
- Andrea D. Wolfe
Department of EEO Biology
The Ohio State University
1735 Neil Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210-1993
(614) 292-0267 FAX: (614) 292-6345
E-Mail wolfe.205@osu.edu
TEACHING SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Tim Gerber
Dept. of Biology and Microbiology - University of Wisconsin-Cowley Hall
- La Crosse, WI 54601
- (608) 785-8238
E-Mail: gerber.dani@uwlax.edu - Vice Chair (2003):
- Jim Mickle
Department of Botany
North Carolina State University - Raleigh, NC 27695-7612
(919) 515-9050 FAX (919) 515-7519
E-Mail: james_mickle@ncsu.edu - Secretary/Treasurer (2004):
- Stanley Rice
Department of Biological Sciences
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Durant, OK 74701-0609
(580) 745-2688 FAX (580) 745-7459
E-mail: srice@sosu.edu - Program Coordinator (2005)
- Phil Gibson
Department of Biology
Agnes Scott College
141 E College Ave.
Decatur, GA 30030
(404) 638-6267
E-Mail: pgibson@agnesscott.edu
TROPICAL BIOLOGY SECTION
- Chair (2004):
- *Susana Magallón
Dpto. de Botánica, Instituto de Biología - Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
- Circuito Exterior, Anexo al Jardín Botánico
- A.P. 70-233
- México D.F. 04510
- (52) 55-5622-9087 FAX (52) 55-5550-1760
- E-mail: S.Magallon@ibiologia.unam.mx
- Program Chair and Secretary-Treasurer (2004):
- Andrew Douglas
Biology Department
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
(662) 232-7203
E-mail: adouglas@olemiss.edu
MIDCONTINENT SECTION
- In Development Stage - new contacts coming soon
NORTHEASTERN SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Joanne Tow
33 Jay Street
Hicksville, NY 11801-5855
Botany2003@hotmail.com - Treasurer (2003):
- Karl Anderson
Rancocas Nature Center
794 Rancocas Road
Mount Holly, NJ 08060
(609) 261-2495
rancoc@bellatlantic.net
PACIFIC SECTION
- Chair (2003):
- *Dieter Wilkin
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
1212 Mission Canyon Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 682-4726 FAX: (805) 563-0352
E-Mail: dwilken@sbbg.org - Assistant Chair (2003):
- Nancy R. Morin
The Arboretum at Flagstaff
4001 S. Woody Mountain Road
Flagstaff, Arizona 86001
(928) 774-1442 ext.104 FAX (928) 774-1441
E-Mail: nancy.morin@nau.edu
SOUTHEASTERN SECTION
- Chairperson (2003):
- *James L. Mickle
Department of Botany
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7612
(919) 515-9050 FAX (919) 515-7519
E-Mail: james_mickle@ncsu.edu - Activities Committee Chair (2003):
- Frank D. Watson
Department of Biology
St. Andrews College
Laurinburg NC 28352
(919) 276-3652 X-358 FAX (919) 277-5020
E-Mail: - Secretary-Treasurer (2003):
- Larry Davenport
Department of Biology
Samford University
Birmingham, AL 35229
(205) 726-2584 FAX (205) 726-2479
E-Mail: ljdavenp@samford.edu
*BSA Council Members
Article
Announcing a Test and Trial Phase for
the Registration of New Plant Names (1998-1999)
by
L. Borgen, W. Greuter, D. L. Hawksworth, D. H. Nicolson & B. Zimmer,
Officers of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT)1
Introduction
From the 1st of January 2000, and subject to ratification by the XVI International Botanical Congress (St Louis, 1999) of a rule already included in the International code of botanical nomenclature (Art. 32.1-2 of the Tokyo Code), new names of plants and fungi will have to be registered in order to be validly published. To demonstrate feasibility of a registration system, the International Association for Plant Taxonomy (IAPT) undertakes a trial of registration, on a non-mandatory basis, for a two-years period starting 1 January 1998. The coordinating centre will be the Secretariat of IAPT, currently at the Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Germany. Co-ordination with present indexing centres for major groups of plants is being sought, in view of their possible active involvement at the implementation stage. The International Mycological Institute in Egham, U.K., has already accepted to act as associate registration centre for the whole of fungi, including fossil fungi.
Registration procedure
The coordinating registration centre (IAPT Secretariat), and any associated centre operating under its auspices, will register and make available all names of new taxa, all substitute names, new combinations or rank transfers that are brought to their attention in one of the following ways:
- by being published in an accredited journal or serial;
- by being submitted for registration (normally by the author or one of the authors), either directly or through a national registration office;
- or (for the non-mandatory trial phase only) as a result of scanning of other published information by the registration centres' own staff.
Registration by way of publication in accredited journals or serials
For a journal or serial to be accredited, its publishers must commit themselves, by a signed agreement with the IAPT, to
- point out any nomenclatural novelties in each individual issue of their journal or serial, either by including a separate index of novelties or in another suitable, previously agreed way;
- submit each individual issue, as soon as published and by the most rapid way, to a pre-defined registration office or centre.
Accredited journals and serials will be entitled, and even encouraged, to mention that accreditation on their cover, title page or in their impressum
A permanently updated list of accredited journals and serials is being placed on the World Wide Web (see under: http://www.bgbm.fu-berlin.de/iapt/registration/). This list will be published annually in the journal Taxon.
Registration by way of submission to registration offices
Authors of botanical nomenclatural novelties that do not appear in an accredited journal or serial (but e.g. in a monograph, pamphlet, or non-accredited periodical publication) are strongly encouraged to submit their names for registration - and will be required to do so once registration becomes mandatory - in the following way:
- all names to be registered are to be listed on an appropriate registration form, using a separate form for each separate publication;
- the form (in triplicate) must be submitted together with two copies of the publication itself, either to a national registration office (see below) or, optionally, directly to the appropriate registration centre. Reprints of articles from books or non-accredited periodicals are acceptable, provided their source is stated accurately and in full;
- one dated copy of each form will be sent back to the submitting author in acknowledgement of effected registration.
Registration forms can be obtained free of charge (a) by sending a request to any registration office or centre, by letter, fax or e-mail, or (b), preferably, by printing and copying the form as available on the World Wide Web (see above).
Registration offices are presently being established in as many different countries as possible. They will serve (a) as mailboxes and forwarding agencies for registration submissions and (b) as national repositories for printed matter published locally in which new names appear. A permanently updated address list of all functioning national registration offices is being placed on the World Wide Web (see above). This list will be published annually in the journal Taxon.
Registration date
The date of registration, as here defined, will be the date of receipt of the registration submission at any national registration office or appropriate registration centre. For accredited journals or serials (and, for the duration of the trial phase, for publications scanned at the registration centres), it will be the date of receipt of the publication at the location of the registration centre (or national office, if so agreed).
For the duration of the trial phase, i.e. as long as registration is non-mandatory, the date of a name will, just as before, be the date of effective publication of the printed matter -n which it is validated, irrespective of the date of registration. Nevertheless, the registration date will be recorded, for the following reasons:
- to make clear that the name was published on or before that date, in cases when the date of effective publication is not specified in the printed matter;
- to assess the time difference between the (effective or stated) date of the printed matter and that of registration, since it is envisaged that the date of registration be accepted as the date of names published on or after 1 January 2000.
It is therefore in the interest of every author to submit nomenclatural novelties for registration without any delay, and by the most rapid means available.
Access to registration data
Information on registered names will be made publicly available as soon as feasible, (a) by placing it on the World Wide Web without delay in a searchable database, (b) by publishing non-cumulative lists biannually, and (c), hopefully, by issuing cumulative updates on a CD-ROM-type, fully searchable data medium at similar intervals.
A call to everyone: help testing the system so as to make it work
To make the test effective and significant, it is important that everyone publishing nomenclatural novelties on or after 1 January 1998 should participate by registering all new names and combinations on a voluntary basis. Please help (a) by doing so yourself and (b) by spreading the message to others!
Do not be put off if shortcomings or errors occur in the initial months. Remember, this is a test phase. Let us know of any bug or crinkle in the system, and we will iron it out. What matters is that everything operates smoothly by the end of 1999, and that by the next Congress all have satisfied themselves that it will.
We believe that registration of new names, once implemented in a functional way, will be a great benefit for all concerned with but little inconvenience for cost - and so did the Nomenclature Section at Yokohama in 1993 feel. Nomenclature must be fit for a good start into the next millennium. Let us work together to make it happen.
1Contact address: IAPT Secretariat, Botanischer Garten & Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Königin-Luise-Str. 6-8, D-14191 Berlin, Germany.
Announcements: Obituaries
In Memoriam
| The Botanical Society has been notified that Corresponding Member
Dr. Lawrence A. S. Johnson of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia, passed away August 1, 1997 |
Charles E. Turner, 1945-1997
We are deeply saddened to report the death of our friend and colleague, Charley Turner. Charley passed away at only 51 on April 15, 1997 after a three month struggle with colon-liver cancer. He leaves his wife Jacqueline Johnson Turner and young sons Matthew and Adam.
Charles Edward Turner was born in Washington D.C. on Sept. 21, 1945. He grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana where the beauty of the woodlands of Indiana stimulated his interest in nature. Charley received his BA in biology at Wabash College, Indiana in 1967. He briefly considered becoming a physician, took medical school entrance examinations and scored high enough to have his choice of medical schools, but decided instead to continue to study biology. Charley attended the University of Washington in Seattle and received a Masters in Botany in 1969. He went to the University of California at Berkeley to study plant breeding systems with Herbert Baker and received his Ph.D. in Botany in 1981. His dissertation research was on the breeding systems of Sagittaria, weeds of rice fields of the central valley of California.
Charley's association with the USDA-ARS began in 1981, when he came to the Biological Control of Weeds Laboratory, Albany to do postdoctoral studies on conflicts of interests in biological control of weeds with Lloyd Andres. In 1983, he was hired as a staff scientist in that lab, where he worked primarily on biological control of yellowstar thistle using insects. In 1995, he became the director of the USDA-ARS Biological Control Laboratory in Brisbane, Australia, where he directed the effort against Melaleuca quinquenervia, an invasive weed in the Florida Everglades.
Although trained in Botany, Charley had broad interests. He was interested in wild plants, weeds, insects, biological control, mutualisms between arthropods and plants, birds, and much more. He remained active in basic botany; he contributed the Alismataceae section and coauthored the Cardueae (the thistle tribe of the Asteraceae) for the new Jepson's flora of California, the standard work for that region. As an ecologist, he helped rediscover the leaf domatia-beneficial mite mutualism, a widespread antiherbivore defense used by woody plants. Charley's biological control research resulted in a number of new insects for yellowstar thistle, some of which are already impacting the weed. One of his most important areas of research was on the potential and real effects of introduced biological control agents on nontarget native plants. This work has contributed and will continue to contribute to the improvement of the practice of biological control of weeds.
Charley was active in his community. He was president of the board of the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, a group that assisted inner city children to relate to nature through gardening. For many years, Charley taught a popular spring wild flower course at the University of California, and was involved in many other regional professional groups. His orientation to the natural world was a appealing mixture of basic science, problem solving for agriculture, conservation, and aesthetics.
Charley was a very able biologist and a fine colleague who understood cooperative research. He was a warm and thoughtful person, a kind and respected man. He will be very missed by his colleagues, friends and family.
| - Robert W. Pemberton, USDA-ARS, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and - Suzanne Koptur, Florida Intemational University, Miami, Florida |
Richard M. Klein, 1923-1997
Long-time Botanical Society member Dr. Richard M. Klein, Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont, passed away September 4, 1997. Along with others, Dr. Klein was instrumental in establishing the Society's Developmental Section. He was quite active in the Society, serving as a Council Member and as Chair of the Developmental Section and the Committee on Education. Dr. Klein served as Editor of PLANT SCIENCE BULLETIN from 1975 to 1980.
Following Army service during WWII, Dr. Klein attended the University of Chicago, earning his B.S. and M.S. in Botany, followed by his Ph.D. in botany and Biochemistry. He joined the New York Botanical Garden as a Curator, and in 1958 he was named A. H. Caspary Curator of Plant Physiology. In 1967 Dr. Klein was appointed Professor at the University of Vermont where he remained until his retirement in 1992.
In addition to his generous service to the Botanical Society, Dr. Klein was active in number of other positions. Among these were service as a Council Member of the Society for Economic Botany, Council Member of the American Society for Photobiology, and Council Member of the Developmental Biology Society, Treasurer of the Society for Economic Botany, Chair of the Northeast Section of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, and Co-Chair of the Northeast Photobiology Group. Dr. Klein served as Associate Editor of the Botanical Review and was on the Editorial Boards of Economic Botany and Environmental and Experimental Botany. From 1972-1974, Dr. Klein served as Vermont Environmental Commissioner.
Dr. Klein received a number of honors including the Bausch and Lomb Science Medal, American Men and Women in Science, and Who's Who in the East. He was a Corresponding Member of the Canadian Society of Plant Physiology.
During his academic career, Dr. Klein was an editor or author of ten books including important monographs such as Plant Growth Regulation (1961) and Phylogenesis and morphogenesis in the Algae (1970) and such widely used plant texts as The Green World (1979, 1987) and Fundamentals of Plant Science (1987). He also was author or co-author of over 130 research publications as well as many popular articles on plant science.
Dick Klein is survived by his widow, Deana T. Klein of South Burlington, Vermont, retired Professor (biology) at St. Michael's College, Colchester, Vermont.
Announcements (Part II): Nominations, Applications, Positions
Call for Nominations
Lawrence Memorial Award
The award committee of the Lawrence Fund invites nominations for the 1998 Lawrence Memorial Award. Honoring the memory of Dr. George M. Lawrence, founding Director of the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the Award ($ 1,000) is given biennially to support travel for doctoral dissertation research in systematic botany or horticulture, or the history of the plant sciences, including literature and exploration.
Major professors are urged to nominate outstanding doctoral students who have achieved official candidacy for their degrees and will be conducting pertinent dissertation research that would benefit significantly from travel enabled by the Award. The Committee will not entertain direct applications. A student who wishes to be considered should arrange for nomination by his/her major professor; this may take the form of a letter which covers supporting materials prepared by the nominee.
Supporting materials should describe briefly but clearly the candidate's program of research and how it would be significantly enhanced by travel that the Award would support. Letters of nomination and supporting materials, including seconding letters, should be received by the Committee no later than 1 May 1998 and should be directed to: Dr. R. W. Kiger, Hunt Institute, Camegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 USA. Tel. 412-268-2434.
1998 Darbaker Prize in Phycology
The Botanical Society of America is accepting nominations for the Darbaker Prize in Phycology. This award is presented for meritorious work in the study of microscopical algae. The Darbaker Award Committee will base its judgment primarily on papers published by the nominee during the last two full calendar years (1996-1997). The award is limited to residents of North America and only papers published in the English Ianguage will be considered. A monetary prize is presented to the recipient at the BSA society banquet during the annual meeting.
Nominations for the 1998 award should include all reprints of the nominee's work that are to be considered for the 1996-97 period and a statement of the nominee's merits addressed to the committee. The materials must be received no later than April 1, 1998. Please send nomination materials to: Gary L. Floyd, Chair, Darbaker Committee, 936 Kendale Road South, Columbus, Ohio 43220; email - floyd.1@ osu.edu
The David Starr Jordan Prize
In 1986, Cornell, Indiana, and Stanford Universities established a joint endowment to fund a prize in honor of David Starr Jordan, a scientist, educator, and institution builder with important ties to each of these institutions. The prize is international in scope and presented approximately every three years to a young scientist (normally 40 years of age or less, or with not more than 10 years since receipt of the Ph.D.) who is making novel, innovative contributions in one or more of the areas of Jordan's interest: evolution, ecology, population and organismal biology.
The intent of the prize is to recognize young scientists who are making research contributions likely to redirect the principal focus of the fields. In addition to a cash award, the recipient will receive a commemorative medal and will attend an awards ceremony, visit each of the institutions and give scholarly presentations of his/her work. The selection of the prize winner will be made by a committee composed of representatives from each of the three institutions.
The Fourth David Starr Jordan Award will carry a prize of $15,000 and will be announced in mid-1998. Nomination forms are available from: Dr. Jeffrey Palmer, Department of Biology, Jordan Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, tel 812-855-6284, fax 812-855-6705. All nomination materials must be received prior to February 1, 1998.
The 1998 Jesse M. Greenman Award
The Greenman Award, a certificate and a cash prize of $1,000, is presented each year by the Missouri Botanical Garden. It recognizes the paper judged best in vascular plant or bryophyte systematics based on a doctoral dissertation published during the previous year. Papers published during 1997 are now being accepted for the 30th annual award, which will be presented in the summer of 1998. Reprints of such papers should be sent to Dr. P. Mick Richardson, Greenman Award Committee, Missouri Botanical Garden, P. O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-0299, U.S.A. In order to be considered for the 1998 award, reprints must be received by 1 June 1998.
Educational Opportunities
Biology Master's Degree -- Boise State University
The Department of Biology at Boise State University seeks students interested in pursuing a Master of Arts or Science in Biology. Research opportunities exist in a broad range of biological subdisciplines. Teaching assistantships are available and are funded at a competitive rate. Prospective students should contact a potential faculty sponsor prior to applying. For more information and a list of faculty and their interests see http://www.idbsu.edu/biology/biohome.htm.
Recombinant DNA Lab Courses
7-19 June 1998
During the summer of 1998, Indiana University's Department of Biology, in cooperation with the I.U. Division of Continuing Studies, will offer two week-long laboratory courses focusing on the techniques and procedures used in recombinant DNA research and their application. Participants also have the opportunity to work with a DNA sample of their own research organism. Both courses will be taught on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington.
Recombinant DNA Technology - The first course, "Recombinant DNA Technology," will introduce participants to procedures involved in recombinant DNA work and to the molecular aspects of genetic engineering. Most of the procedures that are taught to biology graduate students in the recombinant DNA section of a graduate techniques course at Indiana University will be covered. Participants can make arrangements to isolate genomic DNA from their own research organisms during the course.
The following techniques will be included: DNA and cloning vector manipulation, PCR technology, preparation of recombinant DNA, transformation of bacterial cells, selection and assay of cloned and amplified fragments of "foreign" DNA, transfer of DNA for probing (Southern blot), preparation of nonradioactive DNA probes, and use of web sites in research and teaching. "Recombinant DNA Technology" is designed for those with a basic understanding of the structure of DNA and elemental genetics and with a minimal understanding of enzymes and biochemistry. The course is scheduled for June 7-12, 1998. Registration deadline is May 15.
Application of recombinant DNA Technology: RFLP and Fingerprinting Analysis, RAPD Analysis and DNA Sequencing - This course will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about the materials and techniques used in recombinant DNA research. Participants may bring a DNA sample to sequence during the course. This course will emphasize the following techniques: DNA sequencing using non-radioactive methods, RAPD analysis of genomic DNA, fingerprinting and RFLP analysis of genomic DNA, electroporation of bacterial cells, chemiluminescent detection of nucleic acids, application of computers to DNA sequencing data analysis, preparation of random fragment sequencing libraries and double-stranded DNA for sequencing, use of bioneb cell and bipolymer disruption systems, and use of web-based sites for molecular biology.
A basic understanding of the structure of DNA and elemental genetics is assumed for participants in this short course, as is a minimal understanding of enzymes and biochemistry. Previous experience with PCR or RFLP analysis and DNA sequencing is not a prerequisite, nor is completion of "Recombinant DNA Technology." This course is scheduled for June 14-19, 1998. Registration deadline is May 15.
The instructor for both courses is Dr. Stefan J. Surzycki, Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana University. The registration fee for each course is $1,125.00. The fee for those enrolling in both courses is $1,800,00. The fees include all instruction, laboratory supplies, use of equipment, and lab manuals. For additional information, contact Jane Clay, Bloomington Division of Continuing Studies, Indiana University, Owen Hall 204, Bloomington, IN 47405, phone (812) 855-6329, internet Jclay@indiana.edu, web http://www.indiana.edu/~scs/dna.html.
Funding Opportunities
New England Botanical Club
Graduate Student Research Award
The New England Botanical Club will offer $2000 in support of botanical research to be conducted by graduate students in 1998. This award is made annually to stimulate and encourage botanical research on the New England flora, and to make possible visits to the New England region by those who would not otherwise be able to do so.
The award will be given to the graduate student(s) submitting the best research proposal dealing with systemic botany, biosystematics, plant ecology, or plant conservation biology. It is anticipated that two awards will be given, although the actual number of awards and amount will depend on the proposals received.
Applicants must submit: Proposal of no more than three double-spaced pages, budget, curriculum vitae, and two letters in support of the proposed research, one from the student's thesis advisor. Three paper copies of the proposal, budget, and CV must be submitted.
Send proposals to: Awards Committee, The New England Botanical Club, 22 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138. Proposals and supporting letters must be received no later than March 2, 1998. The recipient(s) will be notified by April 30, 1998.
Previous Awards: Two Graduate Student Research Awards were given in 1997. Tatyana Rand, of Brown University, received support for her study on the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of halophytic forbs in New England salt marshes and Thomas Vining of the University of Maine in Orono, received support for his study of the phenology and hybridization of two Picea species.
International Water Lily Sociey
Research Grants
The International Water Lily Society (IWLS) plans to award a small number of research awards (normally ranging from $500 - 1,000) for 1998 to support scholarly activity in the area of aquatic plant research. Deadline for application is March 2,1998. This program provides financial support to graduate students, faculty and other professionals pursuing research or scholarly activity leading to recognition in their discipline. Grants may be used to purchase needed equipment, conduct travel or supplement salaries. Proposals focused on the ecology, taxonomy, systematics, conservation, propagation, or horticultural aspects of water lily taxa (Nymphaeaceae and Nelumbonaceae) will be given preference. Request applications from: Dr. Ed Schneider, Chairman IWLS Research Committee Santa Barbara Botanic Garden 1212 Mission Canyon Road Santa Barbara, CA 93105, USA, <schneid@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu>
Request for Applications:
International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups
The Directorate for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health announce the second Request for Applications (RFA) for International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups, for multi-institutional, multidisciplinary research addressing the combined goals of drug discovery, biological conservation, and sustainable economic development in less developed countries of the world. The full RFA and other information are available on the Web at http://www.nih.gov/fic/res/rfa.htm. Inquiries can be addressed by e-mail to joshua-rosenthal @ flcod.fic.nih.gov. An optional letter of intent is requested by October 15, 1997; the completed application is due at NIH by January 22, 1998. The first round of ICBG awards started in 1995, and resulted in support for five major projects, working in Africa and Latin America, with emphasis on vascular plants and on insects, in tropical environments. Collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and cooperation with local, indigenous peoples' organizations are hallmarks of all the projects. Systematic Biology Program NSF/DEB; 703306-1481 September 8, 1997
American Philosophical Society Grants
The American Philosophical Society makes grants towards the cost of scholarly research in all areas of knowledge except those where support by government or corporate enterprise is more appropriate. Projects likely to culminate in scholarly publications are preferred; projects in the creative or performing arts, for the general readership, and educational materials for classroom use are not eligible.
Grants cover travel to the objects of research, purchase of photo reproductions of documents, and consumable professional supplies not available at the applicant's institution. The Society makes no grants for study, salary replacement, travel to conferences, consultation with other scholars, assistance with data entry, publication or translation, or the purchase of permanent equipment, telephone calls or stationery.
Eligibility: Applicants are expected to have held the doctorate for at least one year. Foreign nationals applying from abroad must state precisely what objects of research, only available in the United States, need to be consulted.
Amount of award: averages $3,000; $6,000 maximum. In accordance with federal regulations, a 1099 miscellaneous income form will be issued for all grants that exceed $600.
Deadlines: March 1 for decisions by mid-June, October 1 for decisions by mid-January, and December 1 for decisions by mid-March.
Obtaining forms: Written requests for forms must indicate eligibility, specify the area of research, and state the proposed use of grant funds. Include a self-addressed mailing label. Telephone requests for forms cannot be honored. Write to Committee on Research, American Philosophical Society, 150 South Independence Mail East, Philadelphia PA 19106.
Questions concerning the eligibility of a project or applicant are accepted at (215) 440-3429 (M, T, Th, F 9-5; W 9-1) or via e-mail to eroach@amphilsoc.org
Call for Applications
Bullard Fellowships in Forest Research
Harvard University
Each year Harvard University awards a limited number of Bullard Fellowships to individuals in biological, social, physical and political sciences to promote advance study, research or integration of subjects pertaining to forested ecosystems. The fellowships which include stipends up to $30,000, are intended to promote individuals in mid-career with an opportunity to utilize the resources and to interact with personnel in any department within Harvard University in order to develop their own scientific and professional growth. In recent years, Bullard Fellows have been associated with Harvard Forest, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the J. F. Kennedy School of Government and have worked in areas of ecology, forest management, policy and conservation. Fellowships are available for periods ranging from four months to one year and can begin any time in the year. Applications from international scientists, women and minorities are encouraged. Fellowship are not intended for graduate students or recent post-doctoral candidates. Further information may be obtained from: Committee on the Charles Bullard Fund for Forest Research, Harvard University, Harvard Forest, P.O. Box 68, Petersham, MA 01366 USA. Annual deadline for applications is February 1.
Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships
University of California, Davis
Applications and nominations are invited for Katherine Esau Postdoctoral Fellowships, which will be awarded to outstanding young scientists interested in developing careers in structural aspects of plant biology, including studies in which plant structure is integrated with function. Esau Fellowships will be awarded for a period of two years to enable successful candidates to work under the mentorship of a University of California, Davis, faculty member.
Applications/nominations should identify an appropriate faculty mentor(s) and include a curriculum vitae of the candidate, reprints of published works, and brief proposal of the research that would be carried out under this program. The names and addresses of three references are also required.
Requests for information regarding these fellowships should be addressed to Dr. William J. Lucas, Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee, Esau Fellowship Program, Section of Plant Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, Davis CA 95616. Fellowships will be awarded on a bi-annual basis. Deadlines for this on-going program are June 1 and December 1. The University of California is an equal opportunity employer.
NSF Ph.D Fellowship, Root Ecology
Penn State University
An NSF Ph.D. Fellowship is available for research on root ecology at Penn State University. The general subject area is the role of root architecture in optimizing the acquisition of soil resources with contrasting spatial and temporal distribution, such as water and phosphorus. Available tools include a geometric simulation model of root architecture (SimRoot) and related populations of plant genotypes segregating for specific architectural traits. For information contact Jonathan Lynch, Dept. Horticulture, Penn State, University Park, PA, 16802, tel 814-863-2256, fax 814-863-6139, email JPL4@psu.edu. Only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible.
Positions Available
Microbiology and Plant Systematics
Auburn University
The Department of Botany & Microbiology at Auburn University seeks to fill 2 tenure track positions at the Assistant Professor level. The successful candidate for the Microbiology position will have responsibility for courses in microbial physiology as well as general microbiology or general biology. Candidates with a record of research in some area of microbial physiology, yeast genetics, and/or signal transduction are preferred. The successful candidate for the Plant Systematics position will teach Plant Taxonomy/Systematics and in the General Biology Program. Candidates with a research program related to some area of plant systematics utilizing molecular techniques are encouraged to apply. For both positions a Ph.D. degree in a relevant area is required, and candidates with postdoctoral experience and demonstrated ability to establish a strong, independent, and extramurally funded research program are preferred. A complete C.V., brief statements of future research interests and teaching experience, and 3 letters of reference should be sent to: Dr. Robert Locy, Search Committee Chairman, Department of Botany & Microbiology, 101 Life Sciences Building, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849. Auburn University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, and actively seeks applications from qualified women and minority candidates.
Plant Ecologist
Southwest Missouri State University
The Department of Biology at Southwest Missouri State University invites applications for a tenure-track position in plant ecology at the level of Assistant Professor. Requirements for the job include a Ph.D. with a specialty in plant ecology and a record of publication. Primary duties include teaching courses in introductory biology and plant ecology; student advisement; research and publication; and involvement with the graduate (master's) program. Salary will be commensurate with experience. The starting date is 17 August 1998.
Applicants should submit a letter of application specifying teaching and research interests, a curriculum vita, and the names /addresses/phone numbers/e-mail addresses for five references to: Dr. John Heywood, Chair, Plant Ecology Search Committee, Department of Biology, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield MO 65804-0095. Tel 417-836-5149, fax 417-8364204, e-mail <jshO29f@wpgate.smsu.edu>. Review of applications will begin 16 January 1998. SMSU is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Plant Biologist
Drake University
Pending final budget approval, the Department of Biology at Drake University invites applications from individuals with the Ph.D. degree for a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor in Plant Biology effective August 1998. Teaching responsibilities will include introductory and advanced courses in botany. Applicants with teaching experience, research interests in field botany, plant taxonomy, and grassland ecology are preferred. Postdoctoral experiences with computers, geographic information systems, and remote technologies are desirable. Herbarium experience, greenhouse technology, and knowledge of Iowa grassland ecology is desirable. The research program established at Drake will involve participation by graduate (M.A.) and undergraduate (B.S.) students. The department expects excellence in both teaching and research. Applicants should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae including teaching experience, statement of teaching philosophy, research interests and goals, relevant reprints, and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of three references. Send application and supporting material to: Dr. Wayne B. Merkley, Department of Biology, Drake University, 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50311-4505. Formal consideration of applications begins January 20, 1998, and will continue until position is filled. Drake University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Diversity and Evolution of Non-Flowering Land Plants
University of Connecticut
The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut anticipates a tenure-track position in evolution and diversity of nonangiospermous land plants at the level of Assistant Professor, although all ranks will be considered. The successful candidate must have expertise in one or more extant or extinct land plant groups and will have established an innovative research program focusing on the origin, diversity, evolution or systematics of land plants. Teaching responsibilities will include introductory biology/botany and a specialty course in land plant diversity and evolution, or paleobotany. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in biology, botany or a related area; post-doctoral experience is desirable. Please send CV, statements of research and teaching interests, three letters of recommendation and copies of publications to: Cynthia Jones, Chair, Land Plant Evolution Search Committee, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Box U-43, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043. Review of applications will begin January 16, 1998. The University of Connecticut encourages applications from under-represented groups including minorities, women and people with disabilities.
Plant Ecology
The University of Oklahoma
The Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma is seeking a plant ecologist for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. This individual will be expected to teach and conduct research in ecosystems ecology and must have a Ph.D. in botany, ecology, or a related field. Teaching responsibilities will include undergraduate botany, ecology, and a specialty course at the graduate level. Postdoctoral experience and expertise in computational ecology, rhizosphere ecology, or GIS are particularly desired. Curriculum vitae, including statements of research and teaching interests, and three letters of reference should be sent to: Dr. Linda Wallace, Chair Ecology Search Committee, Botany and Microbiology Department, University of Oklahoma, 770 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019-6131. Review of applications will start February 1, 1998 and will continue until a suitable applicant is found. The University of Oklahoma is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
Plant Population Geneticist
University of Toronto
The Department of Botany, University of Toronto invites applications for a tenure track position at the Assistant Professor level effective July 1, 1998. We seek a plant geneticist with research interests in population and evolutionary genetics. We are particularly interested in applicants using molecular and theoretical approaches to the study of evolutionary processes and with interest in teaching genetics and evolution.
The successful candidate will be expected to develop a vigorous, externally funded research program, train graduate students and teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. A Ph.D. and postdoctoral experience is expected. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, copies of up to five recent publications, statements of research and teaching interests, and arrange for three letters of recommendation to be forwarded to Professor Spencer Barrett, Chair of Population Genetics Search Committee, Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2 before January 16, 1998.
In accordance with Canadian Immigration requirements, this advertisement is directed to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada. The University of Toronto encourages applications from qualified women or men, members of visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities. minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities.
Economic Botany/Ethnobotany
Postdoctoral Position
Field Museum of Natural History
The Field Museum of Natural History is seeking an outstanding economic botanist/ethnobotanist to fill anew postdoctoral research associate position "The Abbott Laboratories Adjunct Curator of Economic Botany." This two-year term position is part of the Museum's new initiative to revitalize programs that focus on economically important plants as they relate to biological, conservation, social, and economic issues. The primary duties of the successful candidate will be to undertake research in some aspect of economic botany/ethnobotany. We are looking for someone who will interface with our Botany and Anthropology Departments and our Environmental and Conservation Programs Office. In addition to research, the adjunct curator will serve as a resource for developing educational programs in economic botany and ethnobotany. Facilities include over 2.6 million botanical specimens (including a fine economic botany collection and one of the world's richest holdings of neotropical plants), 600,000 objects in the Archaeology and Anthropology collections, an outstanding library, and molecular systematics and biochemical laboratories. Geographic focus is open. Additional information on the Field Museum is available at http://www.fmnh.org/.
Consideration of applications will begin on January 5, 1998. Please submit a curriculum vitae; a statement of research objectives; names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of at least 3 references; and copies of relevant publications to: Search Committee, Department of Botany, The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496. E-mail inquiries: botany@fmnh.org. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, we especially encourage applications from women and minorities.
Plant Population Biologist/ Director of Botanical Garden
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California at Berkeley seeks to fill a tenured position (Associate or Full Professor) in the area of plant population biology. A primary responsibility of the job will be to serve as the Director of the UC Botanical Garden. The research interests of the investigator selected should be focused on evolutionary change in extant populations. The ideal person would combine the study of plan, population biology with interests in population genetics and systematics. Possible areas of expertise include population genetic structure, life-history evolution, conservation genetics, evolutionary dynamics of fungal/plant interactions and pollination biology.
Teaching assignments in Integrative Biology would involve participation in an upper division course in plant population biology or evolutionary ecology, participation in a core course in genetics or biodiversity, and graduate level seminars in the area of specialty.
The 34 acre Botanical Garden, located 5 minutes from central campus in Strawberry Canyon, provides opportunitiesfor research with living plants, supplies teaching material for classes on campus, and serves as an outdoor laboratory for students. The Garden's well-documented collections are especially rich in succulents and South American, South African, European and Asian plants as well as Californian flora. In terms of, species diversity, the Botanical Garden's collection ranks among the largest in the United States.
Integrative Biology is an interactive, multidisciplinary department with an evolutionary focus. The Department is housed in the recently renovated Valley Life Science Building which provides a diversity of modern core facilities and also contains the University and Jepson Herbaria, the Museum of Paleontology and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. The Department also has access to the field stations of the U.C. Natural Reserve System scattered throughout California.
Completed applications must be postmarked by October 15, 1997. The appointment commences on July 1, 1998. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, three publications, statements of teaching and research interests, and the names of three referees to the address below. The University of California is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer.
Search Committee, Directorship of the UCB Botanical Garden Department of Integrative Biology 3060 VLSB, # 3140 University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
Postdoctoral Researcher, Wood Anatomy
University of Hawaii
Woods From a Tropical Forest Region (Peru) Project, Department of Geography, University of Hawaii. Regular Full-Time, one year limited-term, RCUH Non-Civil Service position, located in Honolulu, Hawaii. Continuation is dependent upon program/operational needs, satisfactory work performance, and availability of funds. Minimum Monthly Salary: $2,856.00. Duties: Performs microtechnique and conducts research on the effect of climate on wood structure. Other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications: Ph.D. from an accredited college or university in forestry, botany, or related discipline. Experience in plant microtechnique and data analysis. Knowledge of wood anatomy. Inquiries: Deborah Woodcock, 808-956-7526, woodcock@hawaii.edu. Application Requirements: Send cover letter (note ID#350) with narrative on your qualifications for the position, curriculum vitae, and the names, addresses, and email addresses of three work related references to the Director of Human Resources, Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, 2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki Hall D-100, Honolulu, HI 96822. Closing Date: November 17, 1997.
Botanical Information Consultant
L.A. County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Salary $2,207 to $2,741/mo. Researches and provides answers for inquiries form the public (i.e., identifies plant species from flowers or cuttings), recommends control measures for plant diseases and pests, and provides articles, brochures, and presentations on botanical/horticultural subjects. Requires: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in botany, horticulture, or a closely related field and one year's experience disseminating botanical information to the public in a botanical/ horticultural establishment. Obtain application from County Parks and Recreation, 433 S. Vermont, Los Angeles CA. Tel. 213-738-2995.
Symposia, Conferences and Meetings
Phosphorus in Plant Biology
28-30 May 1998
An international symposium entitled Phosphorus in Plant Biology: regulatory roles in molecular, organismic, and ecological processes, will be held May 28-30, 1998 at Penn State University. For information contact Jonathan Lynch, Dept. Horticulture, Penn State, University Park, PA, 16802, tel 814-863-2256, fax 814-8636139, email JPL4@psu.edu, website: http://www.lsc.psu.edu/phys/annualsym.html.
1998 Congress on In Vitro Biology
30 May - 4 June 1998
The Society for In Vitro Biology will conduct the 1998 Congress at Bally's Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 30 to June 4, 1998. The abstract deadline is January 16, hotel reservation deadline is April 24, and meeting registration deadline is May 15. For information, contact Tiffany McMillan, tel 301-3245054, fax 301-324-5057, email < sicb@sivb.org>.
Columnar Cacti and their Mutualists: Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation
29 June - 3 July 1998
Columnar cacti are the dominant plants in many and ecosystems in North, Central, and South America. Interest in the evolution, ecology, and conservation of these impressive plants and their pollinators and seed dispersers has increased markedly in the recent years. These topics will be the majors themes of a five-day workshop to be held in Tehuacan City, Mexico on 29 June - 3 July 1998. This workshop will bring together scientists studying many aspects of the biology of these cacti and their mutualists. It will include invited talks, posters, informal discussions, and a field trip. For further information, please contact Ted Fleming (email < tfleming@umiami.ir.miami.edu>,tel3O5-284-6881,fax 305-284-3039) or Alfonso Valiente-Banuet (email < avaliente@miranda.ecologia.unam.mx>, fax 52-56228995 or 52-5616-1976).
Pollen and Spores: Morphology and Biology
6-9 July 1998
This is the fourth in an occasional series of palynological conferences organized by the Linnean Society. Palynology Specialist Group (LSPSG) in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Natural History Museum, London. The previous conferences were: The Evolutionary Significance of the Exine (1974); Pollen and Spores: Form and Function (1985) and Pollen and Spores: Patterns of Diversification (1990). The conference is timed to coincide with the retirement from Kew of Keith Ferguson, founder and first Secretary of the LSPSG (1974-1998). There will be a mixture of invited and contributed papers and posters on the following topics: Pollen development; Anther and tapeturn; Pollen-pollinator interactions; Pollen-stigma interactions; pollen morphology in systematics and evolution; Ultrastructure (fossil and living groups); Pre-Cretaceous palynology; Cretaceous palynology; Tertiary palynology; Quaternary palynology; Pollen and archaeology; and Preparation and techniques. The proposed registration free will be around 130 sterling with reduced rates for students. Registration forms will be included with the second circular. For more information, contact Lisa von Schlippe, Conference Administrator, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey,TW9 3AB, fax 44-0181-332-5176, e-mail: l.von.schlippe@rbgkew.org.uk
IOPB VIIth International Symposium
10-15 August 1998
The Universiteit van Amersterdam will host the VII International Symposium of the International Organization of Plant Biosystematists, with the support of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, the Royal Dutch Botanical Society, the Hugo de Vries Foundation, the Faculty of Biology, and the City of Amersterdam. The theme of the Symposium is "Evolution in Man-Made Habitats." Correspondence concerning general matters of the Symposium should be addressed to: VIII IOPB Symposium, Dr. Hans den Nijs, ISP-Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands, tel +31 20 5257660, fax +31 20 5257662, email <IOPB98@bio.uva.nl>
Tenth Wildland Shrub Symposium
12-14 August 1998
The Shrub Research Consortium in concert with the Great Basin Environmental Education Center is sponsoring the Tenth Wildland Shrub Symposium, August 12-14, 1998 at Snow College, Ephraim, Utah. The symposium theme is Shrubland Ecotones. There will be a mid-symposium field trip to the Great Basin Experimental Range and to hybrid zones in Salt Creek in the Uinta National Forest. Contributed papers and posters on succession within and between communities; biodiversity; the role of boundaries in the biology, management, and restoration of various shrubland communities and their interfaces with other communities; hybrid zones; and other shrubland biology subjects are invited. The proceeding will be published by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. If you would like to present a paper, send a title and abstract (² 200 words) to Dr. E. D. McArthur, Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 735 North 500 East, Provo UT 84606 by January 15, 1998 (tel. (801) 377-5717, e-mail /S=E.MCARTHUR/OU1=S22@MHS-FSWA.ATTMAIL.COM). To receive pre-registration materials and additional information please contact: Dave Lanier, Great Basin Environmental Education Center, 150 East College Avenue, Ephraim, UT 84627 (tel. (801) 283-7261, e-mail davel@storm.snow.edu).
Sixth International Mycological Congress
23-28 August 1998
The Sixth International Mycological Congress -- IMC 6 is scheduled to take place from August 23-28, 1998 in Jerusalem at the ICC Jerusalem International Convention Center. The Congress Program encompasses a wide array of themes structured of symposia sessions and workshops, daily plenary lectures, social activities, and a special program for accompaning persons. For further information please contact: Congress Secretariat, P.O. Box 50006, Tel Aviv 61500, Israel. Tel: 972 3 5140014, Fax: 972 3 5175674/514007. E-mail: for Compuserve users: ccmail:MYCOL at Kenes; for Internet users: MYCOL@Kenes.ccmail.compuserve.com Information on the Sixth International Mycological Congress may be found on: the WWW at: http://lsb380.plbio.lsu.edu/ima/imc6.html
XVI International Botanical Congress
1-7 August 1999
The XVI International Botanical Congress will be held in St. Louis, Missouri at the America's Center on 1-7 August 1999. This promises to be a major scientific event, and marks the first time the IBC has been held in the United States since 1969 in Seattle. The Secretariat has a web site up and running (" http://www.ibc99.org/") For further information, contact the XVI International Botanical Congress, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis MO 63166-0299, USA; tel: (314) 577-5175; fax: (314) 577-9589; e-mail: ibc16@mobot.org
INQUA XV International Congress
3-11 August 1999
We intend to organize a Workshop for the International Union for Quaternary Research during the INQUA XV International Congress in Durban (3-11 August, 1999) with the following topic: "Migration of Asiatic (Turanian) and ecosystems to East and South Africa during the Miocene-Pliocene and the environmental conditions contributing to evolution of Hominidae (Kovalev's hypothesis)". This problem might include the following issues. 1. The Messinian climaticcrisis (6.7-5.3 Myr) and the formation of ecosystems involving C4 plants of the aspartate type in Southern Turan. Migration of riparian ecosystems (with Tamarix, Phragmites, Caroxylon and Populus as dominant elements) from Southern Turan to East and South Africa, where they replaced the climate-affected tropical rain forest. Comparison of such communities with their modem analogs (the South African relic communities and the North American saltcedars of the Asiatic origin). 2. Traces of the faunal migration accompanying the spreading of the Turanian plant assemblages and the possible Asiatic origin of the early hominoids (e.g., migration of Sivapithecus). 3. Developing of such communities in Africa during the Pliocene. The influence of these exotic (adventive) plant assemblages upon the African mammalian fauna, causing its essential pauperization and providing relatively safe conditions for the early hominid inhabiting (in contrast with the intensive predators' pressure in the savannahs). Contacts: Dr. Oleg V.Kovalev, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 St.Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: kov@zisp.spb.su, and Dr. Sergey G.Zhilin, Dept. of Palaeobotany, Komarov Botanical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, 197376 St.Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: zhilin@herb.bin.ras.spb.ru; fax: (812)234-4512
Book Review
Book Review: Biochemical
Applications of Modern Mass Spectrometry in Plant Science Research. Newton, Russell P., and Terrence J. Walton, eds., 1996. Proceedings of the Phytochemical Society of Europe, Volume 40. ISBN 0-19-854965-2 (cloth US$145) 240pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 - Mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming a common research tool, primarily because it can be interfaced with gas chromatography (GC-MS) or high performance liquid chromatography (LC-MS) for rapid and relatively easy identification and quantitation of large numbers of compounds in complex mixtures. GC-MS and HPLC-MS systems are reaching the state of development where benchtop models are within the grasp of many biological labs. Labs that currently lack MS capabilities can get samples analyzed at chemical core-facilities located in many universities around the country (I've worked with both Penn State and UI Champaign-Urbana). It is important to keep abreast of the latest innovations, and this book has chapters that highlight some "state-of-the-art" uses of MS for natural products chemistry, but also incorporates significant chapters on MS of proteins, DNA, and its use in plant physiology.
This book constitutes the proceedings of a joint meeting of the Phytochemical Society of Europe and the British Mass Spectrometry Society in March of 1995. The focus of the book is a nice blend of a little history plus some projections as to future directions, but it is devoted primarily to examples of MS use today. Chapters deal with different classes of compounds, the typical MS analysis used with each, and often includes comparisons of alternative methods with strengths and weaknesses of each.
The role of MS in secondary chemistry is already well appreciated but the chapters dealing with classes of natural products were outstanding and justify its acquisition for college and university libraries. Several of the chapters stand out: #10 dealing with GC-MS and fast atom bombardment (FAB) LC-MS of plant hormones, #12 dealing with FAB-MS of flavonoid glycoside mixtures, #13 dealing with GC-MS of fatty acid derivatives, and #15 with its overview on the use of HPLC-UV-MS as a screening tool for potentially useful compounds in many chemical classes. Several other chapters on natural products chemistry (near the end of the book) were rather disappointing and gave the appearance of being rather hastily prepared from work in progress. To generalize, quality MS work entails compiling a large body of preliminary analyses to learn how the chemical class of interest fragments. Any compound, when properly handled, can generate a distinctive mass spectrum analogous to a fingerprint. The examples in this book show the value of such painstaking effort.
In addition to the natural products work, nearly one-quarter the book was devoted to protein and to a lesser extent DNA, highlighting techniques useful to plant biochemists and physiologists. Chapter #4 compares Matrix-assisted laser desorption (MALDI) and electrospray (ESI) for proteins and interacting cofactors (e.g. determining whether a cofactor is covalently bound). Chapter #6 examines the utility of MS in characterization of protein primary structure, localization of post-translational modifications, and assignment of disulphide bridges. Chapter #5 reviews recent advances in MS using protein examples. Chapter #7 examines the use of MALDI in DNA studies where, at present, it is restricted to relatively small chemically synthesized oligonucleotides.
Two chapters, in particular, seemed to take novel approaches toward applications of MS. Chapter #8 addressed the use of secondary ion mass spec (SIMS) in plant physiology. The authors illustrate uptake and movement of aluminum and calcium ions through the tissues of plant root tips. It was an interesting chapter but apparently no review of SIMS in plant physiology exists and this would have been a logical place for such a review. Chapter #1 I illustrated the use of FAB followed by collisionally induced dissociation (CID) to examine the cyclic nucleotide messengers of plants. The remaining chapters near the front of the book are well written and serve as a general introduction to mass spectrometry, typically with an historical perspective.
This is a significant book; the first "review" of MS that is actually shelved in the biology section (QK as opposed to QC, QD, or QP). I scanned some of these other sources of recent MS information and, in comparison, I found that the chapters in this book were skimpy with broad introductory information that would have given some chapters a stronger contextual basis. For instance, though the lignin chapter is very well written I'm still not sure why there is such a great interest in whether a plant has lignin based on p-coumaryl, coniferyl, or sinapyl units, and with DNA sequencing being so common what are the advantages and disadvantages of the use of MALDI as a sequencing tool? In a cross-disciplinary book such as this, an attempt should be made to provide enough background to allow access to readers from the other discipline.
Some form of glossary would have been useful; the collection of acronyms became quite large rather quickly. Overall, the book is well written and attractive; data figures are excellent and mass spectra are usually superimposed with the pertinent chemical structure. Advanced students and cross-disciplinary researchers at the biology-chemistry interface should find this book rewarding. The complexities of both plant materials and MS techniques practically necessitate collaborative efforts. Most of the techniques discussed in this book are not "plug-n-play" kinds of science; you'll need to find a user-friendly chemist who is open to collaboration. - Timothy C. Morton, Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago
Book Review: Conservation Biology
The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook Packard, S., and C. Mutel, eds., 1997. ISBN 1-55963-319-0 (cloth US$50.00) 1-55963-320-4 (paper US$25.00) 432 pp. Island Press, 1718 Connecticut Avenue SW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20009. - This book is a well-assembled, authoritative and wide-ranging volume, part of the excellent North American Prairie Conference series. The papers were prepared for the 12th conference, held in 1990; they are also a product of the Society for Ecological Restoration's Second Annual Conference, also in 1990. Despite the seven year delay from first preparation to publication of this volume, the content is timeless, in that it provides the necessary description underpinning the emerging discipline (and activity!) of tallgrass prairie restoration ecology. For several reasons, prairies (in particular the prairies of the American Midwest) have enjoyed a leading role in the development of the "craft" of restoration since its inception some 50 years ago. As W. R. Jordan points out in his engaging foreword, when Americans began to care about prairie conservation, the old prairies, formerly the cover to an enormous expanse of North America, were nearly gone - and prairies, in contrast to some other kinds of ecosystem, once gone, tend not to return on their own. Sufficient remnants of the old prairies and prairie-savanna still survived and could serve as models and seed sources for restoration efforts. Furthermore, prairies are in many ways 'easier' to restore than some other ecosystems (like forests or coral reefs, for example), hence this kind of ecosystem is rather better-studied than others.
The book consists of an editorial overview, followed by 21 chapters arranged in five sections, and six, quite comprehensive, appendices. Two introductory chapters nicely set the scene, both above- and below ground. Kline's opening chapter, in particular, eloquently introduces the reader to the major elements of this ecosystem complex: the tallgrass prairie and its plant and animal constituents, fire, succession, and human settlement effects; and the oak-savanna and its plants and animals. The second section, on Goals and Plans, addresses systematically such considerations as size of the natural area and other physical factors, and problems associated with selecting particular target areas for restoration. These are followed by a series of "options" for restoration, with appropriate management activities prescribed. Many practical issues are addressed (to burn or not to burn; to plow or not to plow; when and how to seed, etc.). Reinartz's chapter attends to some of the particular problems associated with restoring populations of rare plants. He has followed a risk/benefit approach to generate several useful rules for restoring with rare species. Part 3, on Seeds and Planting, is decidedly practical, with details about how, when and where to get and process seed; how to design seed mixes; individual seed treatments to break dormancy or inoculate with nitrogen fixing bacteria; how to interseed; (and, indeed, how to seed). Part 4, on Management and Monitoring, covers fires and controlled burns, as well as invasive weeds; and Part 5 on animals, rounds out the text.
Overall, the book is nicely written and well-organized, showing evidence of having been very carefully developed and edited -some of the individual tables are very specific and potentially very useful, full of hard-to find data. There has been of late a veritable plethora of publications concerning natural communities of the tallgrass region of North America (well, at least some 48 books and related volumes, usefully classified and commented upon here in an annotated appendix, arranged as general references and by state and province.) The volume also includes five other carefully compiled, useful and informative appendices (this handbook is a true handbuch, in the best of senses). One extensive appendix lists and analyses the 988 taxa of native vascular plants occurring in the American Midwestern tallgrass prairie, plus the Ontario tallgrass prairie 'peninsula', including an index or coefficient representing the rarity/ distribution status, separately for each taxon, across each of the fifteen relevant U.S. states or Canadian provinces. While I was particularly pleased, as a researcher in Canada, to find that the maps and lists didn't all stop at the border, I should emphasize here the nature of the book's focus: tallgrass. There is nothing, for example, on the interesting intermountain grasslands of interior British Columbia, or the rough fescue and mixed grass prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba. Of these, the intermountain grasslands are the best-represented of the Canadian native prairies (with 30-50% remaining - not a vast amount but far more than, say, the <1% remaining of southern Ontario and southeastern Manitoba tallgrass prairies.) This informative appendix includes a summary of the distribution of ,wetness ratings" among the species, plus a summary of the physiognomic classes found among the tallgrass flora'. Terrestrial vertebrates are dealt with in another detailed appendix; sources of seeds and specialized equipment in another; and a compilation of restoration related organizations, journals, and World Wide Web sites in yet another.
To carp, if only about the book not intended by the editors - but important and needed nonetheless - I would have wished to see more (some?) on the connections and developments within the theoretical bases of academic restoration science. More on the ways in which fundamental elements of conservation biology, community ecology and even biogeography impinge upon these matters of tallgrass prairie ecological restoration.
The editors have produced an engagingly-illustrated, informative and interesting book - a solid description of the state-of-the-art of prairie restoration. I shall turn to my already well-thumbed copy many times in future. I recommend it to all restorationists, interested conservation biologists, plus plant ecologists and botanists who are inclined toward these matters. - Jon Lovett-Doust, Department of Biology, University of Windsor.
Book Review: Economic Biology
Essential Oil Crops Weiss, E. A., 1997. ISBN 085199-137-8 (cloth US$135.00) 600 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. - Essential Oil Crops combines an admirable thoroughness in the discussion of some essential oils with a disappointing lack of any discussion of some others. The author informs us of many important details, providing detailed tables on the physical and chemical characteristics of different essential oils. He even notes oils of lesser economic importance and/or much lower production levels from species related to those which are used to produce oils of major importance. Within a given major oil the differences between oil of a given grade produced in various countries are discussed. For example on p. 194 cinnamon oils produced from bark in India, the Seychelles, Madagascar, Ghana, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia are compared.
The organization of Essential Oil Crops is straightforward: an initial chapter on the world market for essential oils and a final chapter on methods of oil production; book-end chapters on oils from the Annonaceae, Geraniaceae, Graminae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myristicaceae, Myrtaceae, Oleaceae, Piperaceae, Rosaceae, Rutaceae, Santalaceae, and Zingiberaceae. There is also a good glossary.
Information on plant production is clearly related back to the discussion of oil production. For each essential oil, a brief introduction including a well-written history is given, followed by reviews of the botany and ecology of the species and relevant agronomic information. This information includes preferred soils, fertilization schemes, cultivation methods, harvest, distillation, and pests and diseases for each associated oil crop. In each case, this is followed by a detailed discussion of the various physical, chemical, and flavor/olfactory qualities of the oil.
Unfortunately, the general title of the book, Essential Oil Crops, implies that the book will discuss all major essential oil groups. However, the author says on p. viii in the "Introduction" that "The crops selected are those the author believes should be encouraged in countries where cash crops are limited, or outside inputs to raise rural income difficult to obtain. For this reason the important pine oils have not been included, since these are frequently produced in more developed countries. It is emphasized that this book is basically concerned with growing essential oil plants to obtain an aromatic derivative, and not with essential oils per se." On p. x he adds "Governments in producer countries should also support their growers by taking advantage of the world consumer demand for natural products to expand their markets, and in so doing add emphasis to the advantages of 'Trade Not Aid!"' Though this rationale is plausible, even admirable, for $135 the book should include a hint of this rationale in the title-e.g. "Essential Oil Crops for Developing Economies." Another difficulty involves the bibliography ' Though it is extensive and sure to be very useful, the most recent papers cited are from 1995, and those are few in number.
As such, though it is otherwise a very clearly written book, full of important and well-organized information, the audience is limited. Large libraries and those in the fields of plant biochemistry, plant secondary metabolism, or essential oils might find it useful, particularly those working in less developed nations. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801
Book Review: Evolutionary
Natural Hybridization and Evolution Arnold, Michael L., 1997. ISBN 0-19-509974-5 (cloth US$60.00) 0-19-509975-3 (paper US$29.95) 215 pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York NY 10016 - Natural Hybridization and Evolution represents an excellent addition to the Oxford Series in Ecology and Evolution. In the preface, Arnold outlines two major objectives for this book: 1) to examine the hypothesis that natural hybridization represents a significant evolutionary event - one that sometimes produces novel genotypes, spawns new lineages, or leads to evolutionary reticulation, and 2) to illuminate the underlying viewpoints that characterize studies of hybridization. He disputes, in particular, two related, and predominant "dogmas" in the zoological literature - that hybridization is a disruptive force relative to divergent evolution, and that it therefore leads to "evolutionary dead ends." Because the evolutionary role of hybridization has been the subject of considerable research, conjecture, and controversy, readers are almost assured of an opportunity to reconsider the latest published evidence in an engaging synthesis of this topic. In addition, the paperback could be used effectively either as ancillary reading in a graduate level biosystematics or evolution course or as the targeted focus of a topical seminar.
The organization of the book is logical and fairly traditional, with the first two chapters providing an historical context and clarification of species concepts. Certainly not all biologists concur on how species are defined, but Arnold argues that some of our definitions serve to impede rather than illuminate the role of hybridization as a process in natural populations. I don't fully agree that "all species concepts are based on the viewpoint that this process is somehow 'bad,"' (p. 12), but it is true that hybridization and the novel genotypes that result are often viewed as maladaptive rather than as creative forces. In examining hybridization and introgression in Asclepias many years ago (Kephart et al., 1988), we speculated that hybrids that are capable of invading ecotones between parental species are in effect "exploiting" alternate habitats which are not only spatially defined but may vary temporally during succession (e.g., in light gaps or in secondary environments that result from anthropogenic events). Although the evolutionary significance of such colonization depends on both the frequency of such events in time and space, and the relative fitness of hybrid and parental populations, this may be one of many questions that "are rarely if ever addressed" (p. 21), perhaps because of the biases that Arnold sees as inherent in our articulation of species concepts. Thus, while some might argue that Arnold overstates his case in places (e.g., that most "crossing experiments were merely an exercise in demonstrating the dogma that hybridization is maladaptive"), such assertions do have a considerable basis for some taxa, and this position may encourage additional investigation in these groups.
The book also guides the reader to numerous classic and contemporary studies of hybridization, highlighting both the strength of recent phylogenetic tests of reticulation in plant species (e.g., Rieseberg et al. 1990) and the relative dearth of population-based studies of hybrid zones by botanists. Moreover, the case studies involving fossil or contemporary floras and faunas (e.g., Hawaiian silver swords, cladocerans) will help us to identify more readily the effects of hybridization and introgression, and to understand their heterogeneous distribution among taxa. However, our evidence of these processes is often dynamic, particularly as new molecular techniques emerge. For example, a diploid hybrid speciation model initially discounted by Wolfe and Elisens based on the available allozyme and DNA markers (i.e., Arnold's discussion, p. 43), has recently been supported using an ISSR-based microsatellite approach (Wolfe et al, in review).
Another strong feature of the book are the helpful discussions of incongruities among data sets, and the integration of animal and plant examples in ways that illuminate general patterns. The inclusion of numerous figures and tables is a real asset, particularly in the chapter on reproductive barriers. The treatment of differing perspectives is also balanced (e.g., Grant versus Chase & Raven on Aquilegia), but a cautionary note on the vagaries of interpreting pollination syndromes would have been useful (i.e., Waser et al., 1996). Also, I would have enjoyed more discussion of the difficulties of interpreting gene flow and reproductive patterns from population versus species level perspectives. The potential for useful discussion is considerable in lpomopsis aggegata (i.e., contrast the varied discourse by Grant, and Paige & Whitham), and the linking of molecular, phylogenetic and pollination data has been excellent (e.g., papers by Soltis et. al, and by Wolf). Unfortunately there is very little discussion of a vast literature on ferns and bryophytes, particularly given the pervasiveness of hybridization in the former group. Perhaps future editions can address this omission.
Theoretical models of hybrid zone evolution are also reviewed in the book, with the overlying theme: What is fitness of hybrids relative to parental types and how aoes that information influence the role of hybrids in plant and animal evolution? Arnold documents in tabular form the variability in hybrid fitness (low to high) for numerous taxa including the complex of irises he and his coworkers have studied. He argues cogently that hybrids are not only sometimes more fit (e.g. Artemesia) or variably less fit (e.g. Iris) than their parents but they may be heterogeneous with respect to fitness as a result of differing patterns of environment-dependent selection. Arnold also reviews recent experiments designed to examine the difficulty of initial hybrid formation; he then incorporates such rarity into a revised model of hybrid zone evolution, one which includes a role for exogenous and endogenous selection and for the establishment of "fit" hybrids in novel habitats.
One of the real strengths of this treatise on the evolutionary role of hybridization lies in Amold's ability to link differently configured studies across historical and contemporary periods into a cohesive unit. This feature is especially evident in the final chapters which summarize the evidence that hybridization and introgression have indeed led to the development of new evolutionary lineages via diploid and polyploid speciation. Included are controversial cases such as the red wolf, and notably missing are examples of pteridophyte evolution. Yet the reader is still provided with an insightful re-examination and summary of how hybridization and introgression (sensu Edgar Anderson; Lewontin and Birch) may lead to the replacement of species by recombinant types or to the extension of introgressants and hybrid derivatives into novel habitats. Little new ground is traversed here that is not already known in the literature or alluded to in previous chapters, but the synthesis is clearly effective. Moreover, Arnold's discussion of the importance of introgressive hybridization in conservation biology adds a significant dimension to our understanding of how this process may both enrich the gene pool and enhance the fitness of rare taxa.
Overall, the book is an excellent and engaging analysis of the evolutionary role of hybridization in natural populations, well exceeding the objectives established in the preface. It is not an exhaustive summary, partly because the published literature is voluminous, and perhaps because the compact, paperback form lends itself so well to the goal of stimulating further study and to synthesis of a controversial, yet highly important topic. The prose is well-written and the chapter summaries are helpful and usually reflect the major points discussed therein. I highly recommend the book to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals alike. Most of us with an interest in hybridization will likely find our copies well-used, and a source of ideas for future study. - Susan R. Kephart, Department of Biology, Willamette University, Salem OR 97301
- Kethart; S., R. Wyatt, and D. Parrelia. 1988.
- Hybridization in North American Asclepias. 1. Morphological evidence. Systematic Botany 13: 456-473.
- Rieseberg, L., R. Carter, and S. Zona. 1990.
- Molecular tests of the hypothesized hybrid origin of two diploid Helianthus species (Asteraceae). Evolution.44: 1498-1511.
- Waser, N., L. Chittka, M. Pnce, N. Williams, and J. Ollerton. 1996.
- Generalization in pollination systems and why it matters. Ecology 77: 1043-1060.
Book Review: General
Reaching for the Sun: How Plants Work King, John, 1997. ISBN 0-521-55148-X (cloth US$54.95) 0-521-58738-7 (paper US$16.95) 240 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211. - In his Microcosmographica Academica, F. M. Cornford advises that "if you should write a book (you had better not), be sure that it is unreadable; otherwise you will be called 'brilliant' and forfeit all respect." Fortunately, John King neither took this cynicism to heart nor forfeit our admiration or respect. In a comparatively short text partitioned nonetheless into an intimidating array of 17 chapters, he has redacted (by virtue of thoughtful and deft prose) the salient elements of plant physiology into a compelling and authoritative essay that will educate as well as entertain all but the most obtuse of minds. The author's approach is to weave his specific area of expertise into a rich tapestry containing threads of history, ecology, anthropology, and evolution. The result is less a text for students and professionals and more a primer for the education of all who vaguely fathom the importance of plants yet may not know exactly why.
Chapter 1 deals with transpiration and how plants employ convection and evaporation to cool themselves and their surroundings. The author peppers his subject with facts emphasizing the importance of water to plant life. Thus, we learn that a full sized maple tree growing in an open field can lose up to 200 liters of water on a sunny warm day, while a full grown corn plant can dispose of the equivalent amount of water during its lifetime. When we pass from the aerial to the subterranean domain, we also learn that a rye plant's root system can increase 5 km in total length per day to achieve a total length of 622 km. Turning to the ascent of water in trees, the author adds his first historical thread by pointing out that the cohesion theory was prefigured as early as 1727 by the cleric and scientist Stephen Hales who hypothesized that "perspiring leaves" have the power to pull water through the woody tissues of plants.
The leitmotif of water is extended and varied in Chapter 2 where the reader is introduced to the basics of photosynthesis, the process by which plants manufacture their own substance using the energy of star light. Here, we learn about the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier who advanced the notion that animals "burn" carbon and hydrogen-bearing compounds as they respire, that the Belgian physician Jan Bapista van Helmont adduced plants draw less from the soil and more from the air as they increase in mass, and that van Helmont's Dutch counterpart Jan Ingen-Housz was the first to notice that plants release oxygen but only when placed in the light.
The topic of respiration is picked up in Chapter 3, where the author gives special attention to fermentation and the alternative cyanide-resistant, heat production pathway used by plants to facilitate pollination (e.g., Symplocarpus foetidus, Dryas octopetala, and Papaver radicatum) or to melt the snow (e.g., Crocus and Narcissus). We are also treated to a thoughtful discussion of how compounds in the respiratory chain are siphoned off to produce the huge array of chemicals essential to plant growth, survival, and reproduction such as the leaf waxes, the chlorophylls, the nucleic acids, and hormones like the gibberellins. There is even a treatment of the ability of roots to deal with oxygen starvation which varies widely across species. Chapters 4 and 5 continue the topic of plant metabolism, especially the requirements for nitrogen and trace minerals and the roles roots play in recycling materials as they "mine" the soil.
Chapter 6 introduces the plant's supercellular transport systems, the xylem and the phloem tissues, which are responsible for the movement of water and nutrients. In this chapter we read about Marcello Malpighi's girdling experiments that showed materials are transported downward as well as up along the lengths of tree trunks (although he failed to appreciate that two different tissue systems are involved). The author then takes up the topic of metabolic sources and sinks and discusses how mature leaves nourish and abed the growth of more distal, juvenile leaves.
Growth substances are given their due in Chapter 7 but only after Prof. King convinces us that the rates and achievements of plant growth can be stunning (by pointing out that some bamboo shoots grow over a meter in length a day and that a giant redwood increases in size 250 billion times from seed to mature specimen). Prof. King takes obvious delight in telling us about Charles and Francis Darwin, who were the first to observe, record, and ponder the operation of plant growth substances using Phalaris canariense seedlings. Indeed, the Darwins were the first to conclude that the tips of these seedlings "sensed the light," thus paving the way for Fritz Went who restored the ability of decapitated seedlings to bend toward the light by means of chemical extracts, and for Fritz Kögl's subsequent isolation of 40 mg of crystalline auxin from about 180 liters of human urine. Eiichi Kurosawa's experiments with "silly rice disease" and the Gibberella fungus, the identification of the cytokinins purified from corn seeds, and the first glimmerings into the roles of ethylene from the behavior of German street trees growing near leaking gas mains in the 1860's are also artfully presented and enjoyably discussed with authority.
Circadian plant rhythms are dealt with in the following two chapters where we read about the experiments of Jean Jacques d'Ortour de Mairan, a French astronomer, who adduce internal biological clocks by watching the movements of Mimosa leaves well over 200 years ago. We also learn about the fastidious habits of Rose Stoppel whose punctilious but misguided attempts to water bean plants in a darkened room with a flashlight covered with dark red paper helped Erwin Buenning, Kurt Stem, and, later, others like Edward D. McAlister, Lewis H. Flint, Harry Borthwick and Sterling Hendricks to comprehend the existence of phytochrome whose chemical states help to reset natural rhythms to a 24-hour cycle. In these chapters we also learn about the tragic death of a brilliant doctoral student in Paris, Julien Toumois, who, by studying hops and hemp, concluded that it was the length of the night and not the shortness of the day that dictated when his plants flowered. The seminal work of Garner and Allard, who coined the terms photoperiodism and short- and long-day plants, is also nicely described and pondered.
The remaining chapters deal with dormancy (chapter 10), the slings and arrows of outrageous ecological fortunes (chapter I 1), the importance of color, odor, and flavor to pollination and seed or fruit dispersal (chapters 12 and 13), the use of secondary and primary metabolites in chemical warfare (chapters 14 and 15), phyto-pharmacology and ethnobotany (chapter 16), and finally programmed senescence and the inexorable process of death (chapter 17).
Any book treating such a diverse assembly of topics cannot escape the occasional lapse or error. The ascicular leaves of cacti are referred to as thorns instead of spines. The tensile strength of water is given without qualification or reference to the adhesive effects or dimensions of its containment vessel. There is an unfortunate tendency to ascribe consciousness or intent to the "minds of vegetables" or the evolutionary process. The book also unintentionally perpetuates the myth (stubbornly ingrained in so many text books) that the first sugar produced by photosynthesis is glucose (it's really phosphoglyceraldehyde). And there is a curious mix of metric and old British Imperial units. But this is nit-picking, pure and simple, and should not detract from an otherwise masterful treatment that is all the more remarkable given the complete absence of drawings, photographs, tables or any other graphic devise.
John King's Reaching for the Sun is bound to have influence because it could easily be adopted as the text for an undergraduate course requiring little or no prior background in biology or as intriguing and enjoyable bedside reading material, especially when placed along side F. O. Bower's Plants and Man, Sherwin Carlquist's Island Life, and E. J. H. Corner's The Life of Plants. These four books will undoubtedly deprive you of sleep, but you will be richly rewarded with the insights of sharp minds that command respect as they speak to us with passion, clarity, and exemplary bio-logic - Karl J. Niklas, Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University
Book Review: Genetics
Techniques of Plant Cytogenetics Jahier, Joseph, ed., 1996. ISBN 1-886106-57-6 (paper) 180 pp. Science Publishers, Inc., 10 Water Street, #310, Lebanon, NH 03766. - This book is the English translation of "Techniques de cytogenetique vegetate," INRA, Paris, and is not for sale in Europe. It is a compilation of techniques used by members within the Department de Genetique et Amelioration des Plantes at INRA and as such, different writing styles abound. In all, 53 people are listed as contributors, or inditers, to this publication. The text is divided into five different subject areas which are then subdivided.
The five subject areas covered are, Observations of Chromosomes: Basic Techniques, Complimentary Techniques for the Study of Chromosomes and DNA, Study of Pollen and the Embryo Sac, Production of Interspecific Hybrids Culture of Embryos and Fertilized Ovaries, and Polyploidisation. Each section is prefaced by a brief introduction followed by many procedures used to study the subject in question.
The first subject area is divided into studies of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis using differing plant tissues. Many of the techniques appear to be nearly identical down to using the same chemicals and tissue sources so at times, there is redundancy. However the variety of techniques abound with lots of choices to try with a tissue not listed but, which may be closely related. The tissues studied to determine number and morphology of chromosomes ranged from root and leaf meri stems to embryos, protoplasts, callus, embryoids, and fungal mycelium. The studies of cells undergoing meiosis dealt almost exclusively with meiosis at the Metaphase I stage with one protocol dealing with meiosis at Prophase 1.
The second subject area, Complementary techniques for the study of chromosomes and DNA, covers the topics of Giemsa-banding, Fluorochrome-banding, Hybridisation in situ, and Cytophotometry and autoradiography. It is stated that, since the first report of chromosome banding using plant material in the early 1970's, most labs have developed their own modifications to the techniques and let word of mouth be the method of dissemination of this new information instead of publication. There are four protocols presented for Giemsa-banding for C-banding-somatic mitosis and only one protocol for C-banding meiosis and N-banding-somatic mitosis. If the editors intent was to bring together modifications done by various investigators, I would have expected more protocols to be presented. Three different staining methods were presented for Fluorochrome-banding. Hybridization in situ dealt with the hybridization of a probe of DNA or RNA with a cytological preparation allowing for the precise location of a complimentary sequence. The techniques presented used radioactively labelled probes, biotin- and fluorescein-labelled rRNA probes, and DNA probes labelled with digoxigenin. The technique of choice would be determined by the method of detection available to the investigator and the degree of resolution desired. Also, many laboratories are moving away from the use of radioactivity and the latter two techniques are nonradioactive in nature. All three techniques are presented in great detail. The cytophotometry and autoradiography portion of this section is very brief but adequate.
The section dealing with the study of pollen and the embryo sac presents five different protocols for staining pollen for determination of fertility. Protocols are also given for observation of pollen germination in situ and in vitro. The techniques for working with embryo sacs differ more with the mode of observation than with the preparation of the tissues. The ovules are fixed in either FAA or FPA and the modes of observation are light field, phase contrast, Nomarski interferential contrast, and interferential contrast microscopy. An improvement to this section would be photographs showing the merits of each form of observation type since the preparation of tissues is so similar.
The section entitled, "Production of interspecific hybrids. Culture of embryos and fertilized ovaries", is quite brief in comparison to the other subjects covered. There is little, if any, information on creating the interspecific hybrids and only slightly more on the culture of embryos produced by crosses. For those wishing to culture embryo and fertilized ovules, a good book on plant tissue culture would be more appropriate to consult. Also one generally thinks of ovules being fertilized, not ovaries.
The final section dealing with Polyploidisation concentrates almost exclusively with treating plantlets, seeds or roots with colchicine. Only one technique uses nitrogen protoxide and it is sketchy, at best. Techniques are given to determine if polyploidisation has taken place. These include measuring of guard cell length, counting of chloroplast number per guard cell, determining the number of nucleolar chromocentromeres, counting the number of stomata per given area and measuring diameter of pollen grains. Nothing is said but, one assumes the bigger or more abundant indicate an increase in ploidy level. The Annexes, or Appendices, contain very little information. The recipes for three stains are presented along with instructions for making permanent mounts and taking photographs. Many of the individual protocols had their own instructions for preparing stains, culture media and fixatives so were not included in the Annexes. However, many of the recipes for stains and other chemical solutions were not included and it will be necessary to find them in other sources.
As presented in the Introduction, this book is intended for use by teachers and students and as an indispensable tool for researchers and laboratory technicians. I would agree about it's use by laboratory technicians, researchers and teachers but I would recommend its use only by advanced students who already have a working knowledge of plant cytogenetic techniques. I would not recommend it for a beginning cytogenetics class without the support of a text explaining the reasons behind the techniques and a more complete list of stains and fixatives. Another drawback to using this text in a classroom setting is that while many of the techniques have a list of supporting literature, many of these articles are in French or French journals, or in journals not readily available at many Universities and Colleges and not accessible to students.
Overall, this is a good reference for those working in the field of plant cytogenetics or in areas using plant cytogenetics techniques. It is not for those who want a little light reading or have no familiarity with the field but, I welcome it's presence to my reference collection and will probably be using several of the techniques presented in the very near future. - Cynthia M. Galloway, Dept. of Biology, Texas A&M University. Kingsville, TX 78363
Book Reviews: Horticultural
Cyclamen A Guide for Gardeners, Horticulturists, and Botanists Grey-Wilson, Christopher, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-386-9 (cloth US$ 39.95) 192 pp. Timber Press, Inc., 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527 - In Cyclamen A Guide fir Gardeners, Horticulturists, and Botanists, Grey-Wilson revises and expands his 1988 monograph The Genus Cyclamen. Grey-Wilson states his reasons for this revision and expansion as the recent increases in our knowledge of Cyclamen, a small genus of only twenty species, and a desire to include information which would make the book useful and accessible from the perspectives of gardeners, horticulturists, and taxonomists. In this attempt to produce a work useful for a very broad audience, Grey-Wilson succeeds admirably, no surprise given his other work such as his book on poppies, also published by Timber Press, or his articles for "The Garden."
Grey-Wilson opens with an essay on the "magic of cyclamen," and then quickly gets down to business with chapters on cultivation, pests and diseases, cyclamen botany, the taxonomy of the genus Cyclamen as a whole, and the various groups of cyclamen species. Each species is considered in detail, including the history of its study, its botany, its biogeography, and its cultivation. Grey-Wilson's thoughtful analysis of a recent classification scheme (p. 42) gives the reader confidence that what is being read about the plants themselves is equally well considered. Next comes cyclamen cultivars, and logically, an entire chapter devoted to Cyclamen persicum, the florist's cyclamen. Hybrids, aberrant plants, technical listings of the various Cyclamen species, and a discussion of the conservation of wild cyclamen species rounds out Grey-Wilson's discussion of the plants themselves. Appendices give a convenient key for identification of Cyclamen species, lists of sources for Cyclamen in the United Kingdom, lists of awards which may be given to various cyclamen by the Royal Horticultural Society such as its Award of Garden Merit, cyclamen societies, national collections of cyclamen within the United Kingdom, and collector's numbers for various accessions. A thorough bibliography completes this important work.
Throughout Cyclamen A Guide for Gardeners, Horticulturists, and Botanists, numerous color pictures illustrate the species and cultivars discussed with a useful mixture of close-up views to show details of flowers or foliage and more distant photographs to illustrate stands of these plants in the garden. Grey-Wilson's extensive personal experience in cultivation, brought into the various discussions of species and cultivars throughout the book, makes another strong selling point for Grey-Wilson's book.
Though the author's breadth and depth of knowledge and his fluid style make this an excellent volume for a professional library or for a serious amateur gardener, not to mention university libraries, the small type face irritates the reader. Also, the text has an obvious slant toward information relevant to British gardening and the British climate-no sources of cyclamen in the United States are listed. This limits the usefulness of the book for American gardeners outside the Pacific Northwest, since over most of the United States many or most of the cyclamen species and cultivars discussed will only be able to be grown indoors. In spite of these faults, and Grey-Wilson's frequent reliance on the passive voice, e.g. the majority of the paragraphs on p. 116 begin in the passive voice, Cyclamen A Guide for Gardeners, Horticulturists, and Botanists deserves to sell many copies. Buy one. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801
Trilliums Case, F. W., Jr., and R. B. Case, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-374-5 (cloth US$29.95) 285 pp. Timber Press, Inc., 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527. - Here is an attractive book on Trillium that appeared, sadly, hot on the heels of the premature death of John Freeman, the monographer of the sessile trilliums (subgenus Phyllantherum). Fred and Boots Case have used Freeman's work, and that of other Trillium workers (all cited in a fairly full bibliography), as the botanical foundation for a book that is still decidedly their own. They have spent years with the North American trilliums, visiting and photographing them all in the field and growing and hybridizing them in their garden. The result is a work that combines bookish descriptions with first hand observations of population variation and garden worthiness. The distillation of their experience with cultivating the various species will be especially welcome to the growing body of wildflower and naturalistic gardeners. The Cases are not unmindful of the conservation issues raised by this popularity, in fact they emphasize them. They clearly feel that the horticultural industry will eventually conquer the barriers to propagation that have so far led to wild digging for most commercially available trilliums. Even this may be justified, at times, during the course of rescue operations" accompanying development.
There are a series of brief but accurate and informative introductory chapters outlining the basics of morphology, life history, natural and artificial hybridization, diseases (including a strong caution against growing plants with the insidious greening mycoplasma of T grandiflorum), propagation, conservation, and classification. Following a nicely illustrated and usable key that successfully separates the indistinguishable, the bulk of the book is given over to species accounts arranged alphabetically within three groups: North American pedicellates, North American sessiles, and Asians. The species accounts are uniform, with full descriptions, pertinent field and garden notes, and where and when the plants may be found. Each is accompanied by a (slightly crude, pixel-ated) distribution map and at least one (usually superb) color habit photograph. The description section (peculiarly headed "habit") covers the above ground parts fairly thoroughly, but occasionally with amusing errors, like petals 30-60 cm. long in Trillium cuneatum or leaf size and shape varying from green to bluish-green in T. sessile.
There is something of an obsession with flower color variants among Trillium taxonomists, who seem to think that each one must be formally described and named as a botanical forma. The Cases dutifully record all of these (some of them reluctantly) and point out a few more that they've seen but mercifully haven't baptized. If propagation of trilliums is ever feasible, these color variants and natural and artificial hybrid derivatives will be fertile ground for naming cultivars under the ICNCP (a point also taken up by the Cases). The Trillium enthusiast will also want to examine the numerous variants portrayed in the beautiful and detailed paintings and drawings in K. & J. Samejima's 1987 Trillium Genus Illustrated, a book mostly in Japanese, but with parallel English species accounts. This book was the basis of the Cases' treatment of the Asiatic Trilliums (though its scope includes North America), but they have simplified it and provide a rather different distribution map of T. tschonoskii. In general, they are less familiar with the Asiatic species, which differ from the North American ones in the prevalence of polyploidy. It's a shame that this relative unfamiliarity led them to leave out the Himalayan, which is closest to Trillium and traditionally included in the genus.
The Cases have previously published numerous reviews of Trillium species and their cultivation for horticultural publications as disparate as the Bulletin of the American Rock Garden Society and the Bulletin of the Arboretum Waasland in Belgium, but this book far outclasses those preparatory works and stands on its own. It is required feasting for all trilliophiles. - James E. Eckenwaider, University of Toronto.
Hollies: the Genus llex Galle, Fred C. 1997. ISBN 0-88192-380-X (cloth US$59.95) 619 pp. Timber Press, Inc., 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527. - Hollies: the Genus Ilex, including chapters by Harry William Dengler, Alden Hopkins, and Libby Hodges Oliver; presents an eclectic and fascinating look at a major landscaping plant and a seasonal horticultural crop. "Eclectic" applies here in a positive way, since much of the information expected from a monograph, or something near a monograph, is included along with many other interesting facts - see the material on hollies in art and the many photographs of holly used in decorations. Perhaps this book should have been entitled "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hollies Plus a Whole Bunch of Things Of Which You Hadn't the Foggiest Notion." Botanical information and terminology appropriate for the professional are included-there is even a very correct complaint from the author about the sometimes-sloppy collecting methods which have confused the arrangement of some recent discoveries in the genus. This reviewer must note how pleased he was to see the inclusion of material on Colonial Williamsburg, with pictures of the lovely holly topiaries in the Governor's Palace gardens and elsewhere and of the Christmas decorations. The holly found there is truly outstanding.
In Part I the author takes us through holly history and folklore, landscaping, orcharding, topiary, bonsai, Christmas decoration, and art. Part II gives us the taxonomic history of the genus, a survey of morphological characteristics, and a review of holly systematics. Part III surveys the various species and cultivars, breaking them down into deciduous and evergreen categories. This material includes a very thorough review of the known cultivars from both categories. Part IV completes the book with extensive discussion of planting, pruning, propagation, breeding, and pathology of hollies. Appendices cover the Holly Society of America, holly sources, holly fossils, holly collections, and holly breeders. Black and white illustrations pepper the text, and over 200 color plates are included in a central section showing flowers, foliage, and fruit of various hollies along with important holly collections and cultural methods. A number of these photographs are blurry, but their inclusion is still reasonable since they illustrate important points.
Together, Hollies: the Genus Ilex is a volume which every university library should have. It would be valuable for the personal libraries of many, including horticulturists and landscape architects, and should be inIuded on the reading lists of horticulture, landscape architecture, and woody plants classes. Its readers need not have intimate familiarity with botanical names of landscaping plants, since common names are also included. For an example, see "Companion Plants" on p. 26. The information is largely directed at an American audience, though not exclusively. For example, European sources for material are given, and many Ilex species from the tropics are considered. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801
The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises Stebbins, Geoff, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-388-5 (cloth US$29.95) 160 pp. Timber Press, Inc., 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527 - The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises displays good balance between horticultural information and taxonomic information, between information from the author's experience in Britain and information relevant to American gardeners, between detailed description and broad-scope views. The text is written in an outstandingly fluid style, especially given that some of the material falls into the class commonly called "garden writing." This book is written with useful practical information, and the author's stated intent is to avoid excess detail in describing cultivars "Iris are ... in a state of flux, with new hybrids continually being introduced. Earlier plants are soon superseded, and in this book I have tended to recommend either those older hybrids that are likely to remain with us for some time to come or newer plants that show significant improvements." (p. 7) This sort of balanced view and moderate amount of detail permeates this book.
Right away, in Chapter 1, the author shows us a very clear organizational sense: "Even in a book intended for practical gardeners a certain amount of technical explanation is required for the reader to understand and appreciate the different plants in a genus such as Iris. To some extent this is the most important chapter in this book because it puts the plants described in other chapters into context and where plants have botanical affinities, often cultural, similarities can be assumed." (p. 10) The good sense of the author also stands out in lines such as "Any classification system is open to question and to change because it is an artificial structure imposed on a naturally evolving set of plants." (p. 13) He further shows good sense with balanced criticism of outlandish breeding practices when he says "Just as rose breeders are criticized for creating roses that have little scent, some iris hybridizers may have concentrated too much on novelty of flower type and colour and neglected the rest of the plant." (p. 31)
The chapters in The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises begin with classification and botany, followed by chapters on the various taxonomic divisions of the genus: bearded iris, Siberian iris, Pacific (US) Coast iris, water iris, spuria iris, stinking iris, and dwarf bulbous iris. Interesting historical notes are also included, such as in the various stories behind the identification and naming of the Iris as the fleur-de-lys. Stebbins then considers irises for specialists, irises as cut flowers, irises in the garden, general iris cultivation, and iris hybridizing. At this point several better known iris growers from the United Kingdom are interviewed, producing the only disappointing chapter in the book. The briefly stated personal preferences of these gardeners arc neither particularly interesting nor do they fit the overall style of the book. A final chapter deals with other cultivated members of the Iridaceae, such as Neomarcia, a common house plant. Appendices include lists of cultivars, iris collections, iris sources, iris societies, award winning irises which have received the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit or the American or the British Dykes Medal, iris siting suggestions, and an excellent glossary. Do you know the difference between arilbred irises and arilmed irises?
Line drawings clearly illustrate botanical characters as they vary through the genus Iris, and the many color pictures give an informative survey of the genus. Several of these color plates have a layout which resembles that used in other volumes from the Gardener's Guide series published by Timber Press. One figure particularly relevant for gardeners and amateur breeders shows, on pp. 102-103, step-by-step how to cross pollinate irises, with their unusual floral system including falls and standards. Sources of Iris material and societies concerned with the culture of irises are well balanced between those from the United States and those from the United Kingdom.
This book would fit well into a university library, a professional library for a botanist or horticulturist, or the library of an amateur gardener. It is appropriate for the reading lists of undergraduate or graduate courses in a number of the subdivisions of plant biology, such as horticulture or floriculture. Whoever buys The Gardener's Guide to Growing Irises receives a real bargain. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801
Book Review: Plant Pathology
Plant Pathology, 4th edition. Agrios, George N., 1997. ISBN 0-12-044564-6 (cloth US$59.95) 635 pp. Academic Press Inc., 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101-4495. - Plant Pathology by George Agrios has been a good basic reference for plant pathologists for many years. The fourth edition will help continue this tradition. The visual presentation is far more appealing in this new edition, with more graphs and pictures, colored photographs in the center, and a better layout of the text. The graphs and pictures add to the information content of the text. The chapters and structure of the book remain unchanged since the third edition, justifiably so as the book is very well organized. The book is divided into two major sections. The first section introduces, in a good logical progression, different concepts in plant pathology. The second section discusses the environmental factors and the different groups of organisms that can cause disease. Chapters and subsections of chapters are self-contained and can be read independently. The two sections nicely complement each other and present a comprehensive introduction to the discipline of plant pathology.
After introducing the history and significance of plant pathology (Chapter 1), the author discusses how pathogens reach and infect their hosts' tissue (Chapter 2), attack their hosts (enzymes, toxins, growth regulators) (Chapter 3), and which physiological processes pathogens are most likely to affect in their hosts (translocation, photosynthesis) (Chapter 4).
This is followed by a discussion of how plants defend themselves against pathogens (preexisting and induced structural and chemical responses) (Chapter 5). The sixth chapter introduces the genetics of host-pathogen interactions, an area that is developing quickly since the localization and sequencing of the first resistance gene and has been revised accordingly. Environmental conditions strongly influence the expression and development of plant disease (Chapter 7), while factors such as disease resistance, pathogen virulence will affect disease epidemiology and predictions on how a pathogen's population size will increase through time and affect yield loss (Chapter 8). Mechanical, biological and chemical methods of disease control are presented in Chapter 9.
The second section of the book describes which environmental factors and groups of organisms can cause given diseases. For each group of organisms (fungi, prokaryotes (bacteria and mollicutes), viruses, nematodes, parasitic plants and flagellate protozoa), the author first describes the taxonomy of the group and discusses the general characteristics of a group (ecology, identification, isolation, life cycle) before presenting given pathogens within each group. For example, within the fungi, under oomycetes, Phytium and Phytophthora (causing downy mildew ) and Albugo (white rust of crucifers) are discussed. Under each organism, one will typically find a general introduction to the disease, followed by the symptoms, description of the pathogen and its life cycle, a discussion of the development of the disease and specific methods of control.
The major changes between the third and fourth editions, besides the genetics section, include a revision of the taxonomy of fungi, and a revised taxonomy of viruses. For the fungi, the slime molds are now grouped under the kingdom protozoa rather than fungi, and the oomycetes belong to the kingdom chromista. The viruses are now classified according to their molecular material (DNA or RNA, single- or double-stranded), and shape among other characteristics. We now have families and genera for viruses. In the third edition, viruses were categorized under the plant they affected, virus diseases of tobacco, tomato, or potato for example. This is a major revision which deserves attention.
For all biologists interested in the study of plant pathogens, this book is a great reference and a general introduction to the discipline. It is a great textbook for graduate courses, but some may prefer a less detailed textbook for their undergraduates. Plant Pathology by George Agrios covers what is typically part of a plant pathology class and does a nice job of it. However, this does not include studies of natural plant populations. If you are looking for information on the impact of disease on reproduction and survival of individual plants, on population structure and on how disease maintains genetic diversity in the host population, you will be disappointed. This book does not cover ecology and population biology. This subject area has been covered previously by Jeremy Burdon (1987) in his book entitled 'Diseases and plant population biology' (Cambridge University Press) and, in 'Plant resistance to herbivores and pathogens' by R. S. Fritz and E.L. Simms (1992, The University of Chicago Press). - Johanne Brunet, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
Book Reviews: Systematics
The Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains. Volume 1: The Middle Rockies Scott, Richard W. 1997. ISBN 0-87480-482-5 (cloth US$110) 901 pp. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 . - Alpine floras are fascinating both for the professional botanist and for those amateurs willing to endure the thin air and long hikes required to enjoy their often stark and striking beauty. Richard Scott clearly had both groups of users in mind while writing this flora, for in the preface he states "I hope that all users will consider the treatment useful, and that the experienced botanist will not find it too brief, nor the amateur too technical." What follows is an assessment of how well this goal was met.
The text begins with an introduction to alpine ecosystems. Alpine environments are here described as those that exist above timberline, a rather rich concept in itself as five different kinds of timberline are listed: forest limit (physiognomic forest line), economic forest line (above which trees cannot be economically harvested), tree limit (the elevation above which some species reach tree size), tree species limit (the elevation above which tree species are stunted but present, i.e. krummholz, elfinwood or krupelkiefer), and historic tree line (indicating earlier climatic regimes). The Alpine Flora of the Rocky Mountains is limited to those species growing above the elevation where more or less continuous trees are found (tree limit), trees being defined as arborescent species 3 m or more in height. A few geomorphic processes such as nivation, solifluction, and frost action are then briefly outlined. Next follows a compact but informative discussion of alpine environments. The general introductory material ends with a presentation of the adaptations required of plants living in the often harsh alpine milieu.
Following the general introduction, the Middle Rocky Mountains themselves are examined. The area containing the Middle Rock Mountains includes southwestern Montana, Wyoming, and northeastern Utah. In this section of the book individual mountain ranges and drainage basins are discussed, and included are brief synopses of glacial events, tectonic activity, and mineralology. The author has chosen to include the Medicine Bow Mountains, with the alpine-containing Snowy Range, as part of the Middle Rocky Mountains. Although this stance is controversial - the Medicine Bows are often placed in the Southern Rocky Mountains - the author in large part includes them in the Middle Rocky Mountains so that the book covers all of the alpine areas found in the state of Wyoming (Scott, pers. comm.). Thus possibly the book covers an area defined both vegetationally/physiographically and politically. I would have liked to see a stronger biological or physiographic justification for the inclusion of the Medicine Bow Mountains in the Middle Rocky Mountains. In all, the material that introduces the reader to the alpine zone and to the study area in particular is quite informative and is consistent with the usual material found in large regional floras.
Most of the text, of course, is devoted to the flora. Except for a few personal observations made by the author, this flora was assembled from voucher specimens. The bulk of the specimens examined are housed at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (RM) at the University of Wyoming. Also consulted, but not so stated in the text, were specimens at Central Wyoming College (CWC), Montana State University (MONT), Teton National Park, and several small U.S. Forest Service herbaria (Scott, pers. comm.). While RM is an excellent and quite complete herbarium, the flora would have been more authoritative and perhaps more complete had the author consulted at least Utah State University (UTC), Brigham Young University (BRY), the University of Montana (MONTU), and the University of Idaho (ID). Because of this limited herbarium consultation, the dot maps in the text are fine for general distributions only.
The author has approached the text as an admitted "lumper" and seems to be rather taxonomically conservative as well. Therefore, the keys and descriptions should easily lead to an acceptable identification, although perhaps a taxonomically conservative one. This is especially true as Scott defines a species as a "good" species if it is "separated from other species by a gap in the variation of observable traits and a [presumably] corresponding barrier to interbreeding." We are not told, however, what "observable" means. Is it by the unaided eye, at 10X magnification, or at some other level of magnification? The flora is user-friendly in its strictly alphabetical arrangement by family, genus, and species, and the keys are clear and easy to follow if the reader already has a grasp of botanical terminology.
Each species is provided with an "accepted" scientific name and author, a reference to the original publication of the specific epithet, a list of synonyms users of western U.S. floras and monographs are likely to encounter, a mostly non-technical description, a brief overall range and habitat description, a dot map, and a line drawing. Unfortunately, the careful observer and collector will occasionally encounter specimens that do not exactly fit the species' description as it is based on what the author deemed to be "typical" of the species, especially as it occurs in alpine zones. The scientific user would much prefer a description that encompasses the known morphological variation in the species, at least in alpine zones. Accompanying line drawings, however, will aid both the professional and amateur botanist. These drawings range from excellent and informative (especially those originally published by the University of Washington and Stanford University presses) to rather oversimplified (e.g., Erigeron melanocephalus), but are mostly quite good or excellent. Common names have been provided for each species. Mostly these names come from "standardized" government sources especially Beetle (1970) but in some cases they are invented de novo by anglicizing the Latin binomial. My personal bias is reflected in wondering why, for example, Payson Bladderpod is "better" for the general public than is Lesquerella paysonii or why Sticky Geranium is better than Geranium viscosissimum? Yarrow for Achillea millefolium doesn't bother me, however, because it is an old name that really was, and is, a common name. If it is a legitimate common name fine, if not why invent one?
Has the author met his objective of supplying a useful flora for both the professional and amateur botanist? As a botanist who spends a fair amount of time in alpine regions of the American West, the answer to the first part of the question is yes. The book, however, is definitely one that will not accompany me to the field. At 901 pages and an 8.5 x 11 inch format, it is too large and heavy to be stowed in a backpack. The descriptions are perhaps a little watered down but are still very useful as long as I don't collect something not "typical" - and the synomy is fairly complete. The author has missed the mark as far as the amateur is concerned. Because the amateur audience has at their disposal a host of excellent picture books and smaller format floras (e.g. Arnow et al. 1980; Dorn 1984, 1992; Nelson 1984; Shaw 1989) that would suit their purposes much better, few amateurs are likely to pay $110 for a book they too cannot carry in a backpack. Furthermore, amateurs may find the descriptions and keys too technical and are likely to ignore the synonymy. Given its cost and bulk (and this is just the first of a projected three volumes covering the length of the Rocky Mountains), the author would have done well to focus the text on a scientific audience. I would, in spite of its shortcomings, recommend this text to field and herbarium taxonomists and to dedicated amateur botanists. I'm certain that the text is destined to become dog-eared in my hands. - Steve L. O'Kane, Jr., Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0421
- Arnow, L., B. Albee and A. Wyckoff. 1980.
- Flora of the Central Wasatch Front, Utah. Univ. Utah Printing Serv. 663 pp.
- Beetle, A. A. 1970.
- Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agric. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31, 124 pp.
- Dorn, R. D. 1984.
- Vascular plants of Montana. Mountain West Publ., Cheyenne, WY. 276 pp.
- _____. 1992.
- Vascular Plants of Wyoming. Mountain West Publ., Cheyenne, WY. 340 pp.
- Nelson, B.E. 1984.
- Vascular plants of the Medicine Bow Range. Jelm Mt. Press, Laramie, WY. 357 pp.
- Shaw, R.J. 1989.
- Vascular plants of northern Utah. Utah State Univ. Press. 412 pp.
Native Orchids of Belize McLeish, I., N.R. Pearce, B.R. Adams, and J. Briggs, 1995. ISBN 90-5410 6093 xvii + 278 pp. A. A. Balkema Publishers, P.O. Box 1875, Rotterdam, Netherlands - More years ago than it is wise to remember I visited the El Cayo (simply Cayo in this book) and Stann Creek Districts in what was then British Honduras. I was just starting to develop an interest in orchids and found it amazing that so many of them could be seen on trees. My guide, a British agricultural officer, kept drawing my attention to birds and iguanas which according to him made tasty pies, but I kept looking at the orchids without being able to recognize a single one. Should the fates take me back to these districts they will be part of an independent country, Belize. I will probably still be unable to recognize most orchids, but this time my guide will be dedicated to orchids. It will 
be this book which was written by four people (McLeish, a veterinary officer; Pearce, a medical practitioner; Adams, a tree crop agronomist; and Brings, an agriculturist; I will refer to them as MPAB) who can be best described as Victorian amateurs interested in orchids.
The word amateur has been debased in our time because it has been equated to hobbyist, and/or a person who dabbles superficially in something or other. On the other hand "Victorian amateurs" were/are anything but dabblers. They were/are usually accomplished experts in an area from which they did/do not derive an income. For example many have argued that Darwin falls into this category. MPAB certainly do as is clearly evident form this book. Their preface is in fact a short historical account of orchid collections in Belize and pertinent publications. In addition to providing interesting information the preface sets a serious tone for the book and also makes it clear that the authors are serious scholars and dedicated botanists, not just orchid lovers.
To appreciate the orchid flora of any area one must have an understanding of the geography and climate of the region. MPAB provide that in the introduction. I learned more from this chapter than during my visit long ago. My only quibble is a bad case of "theitis" because I I of 19 paragraphs, some in long sentences, start with "the". The "the...... the," "the..."gets old fast.
Chapter 2, classification and key to genera, is what would have made my visit more informative. It would have allowed me to classify an orchid or two while wondering what iguana pie tastes like. The key uses both vegetative and flora characteristics which should make it easy to use. Most of the book (pp. 13-261) is occupied by species descriptions. The book follows Dressler's classification system and taxa are listed in that order. Each genus is described in enough detail to make recognition possible. An interesting and informative feature is the etymology of generic names. A key is provided for genera which contain more than one species.
The format used to describe species is uniform. A clear and concise description which is easy to read and inclusive is followed by the following headings: general distribution; distribution in Belize; habitat; flowering season; etymology; and, when necessary, notes. Species are illustrated with color photographs (most are good) and/or excellent line drawings. As a result it is very easy to get a "feet" for each orchid.
A checklist of Belize orchids constitutes chapter 4. It lists herbaria which contain orchids collected in Belize (both under its current and colonial names). This check list is also a convenient source of names and correct spellings. A good glossary and an extensive index complete the book.
Geographically this book completes coverage of a major part of Central America since there are already books on the orchids of Mexico and Guatemala. It also adds to the literature on the orchid flora of the Caribbean. For me this is a useful book which brings back memories of early travel and first time impressions of the tropics. Of course I refuse to become involved in the perennial squabbles among taxonomists regarding the validity of names and accuracy of descriptions. If this was not the case there is no doubt in my mind that I could find something to quibble about. As it is i have nothing to argue about and only offer my compliments to the authors for a first rate book. With all that I still have a question: what does iguana pie taste like? - Joseph Arditti, Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA.
Book Reviews: Briefly Noted
The Identification of Flowering Plant Families Cullen, J. 1997. ISBN 0-521-58485-X (cloth US$59.95) 0-521-58550-3 (paper US$21.95) 227 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011. - The fourth edition of this small volume is to be welcomed. It is greatly enlarged and more user-friendly, mainly because the extensive abbreviations in the family descriptions have been removed. The first three editions were authored by Davis and Cullen and contained 260 families and 122 pages, 272 families and 113 pages, and 285 families and 133 pages, respectively. The new edition has 286 families (which is the new one?) and a whopping 215 pages and, like the third one, is arranged on the Engler and Prantl system. Some of the larger families (e.g. Liliaceae) have sub-keys and descriptions for the widely-recognized segregates within them, raising the actual number of treated families to 286 from the 258 with numbers. Who is the book aimed at? The subtitle tells it all. - P. Mick Richardson, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants Mabberly, D. J. 1997. ISBN 0521-41421-0 (cloth US$49.95) 858 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011. - If you are like me, your original 'Mabberley' is probably pretty worn out and you may wish to replace it. Now would be a good time. The new edition, published ten years after the original, contains almost 2,500 additional new entries and the systems of classification have also changed, largely to reflect recent treatments edited by Kubitzki. The system of Crabbe, Jermy and Mickel for the ferns and other basal vascular plants has been abandoned, as have large parts of Cronquist's 1981 system. A synopsis of the taxonomic arrangement (pages 771-781) is a useful 'time slice' of a mid-1990s classification. Curiously, the new edition has hard covers with squared corners and the pages now have crudely-rounded comers, versus the original soft and rounded covers with squared pages. The book weighs less than the original despite being 150 pages longer, becoming that little bit more portable. Send your congratulations to Mabberley by purchasing a copy. It may encourage him to produce a third edition. - P. Mick Richardson, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
Books Received
If you would like to review a book or books for PSB, contact the Editor, stating the book of interest and the date by which it would be reviewed (15 February, 15 May, 15 August or 15 November of the appropriate year). Send e-mail to <leverich@slu.edu>, call or write as soon as you notice the book of interest in this list, because they go quickly! - Ed.
* = book in review or declined for review
** = book reviewed in this issue
Biological Indicators of Soil Health Pankhurst, C., Doube, B., and V. Gupta, eds., 1997. ISBN 085199-158-0 (cloth US$110.00) 464 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
The Brown Algal Origin of Land Plants and The Algal Origin of Life on Earth and in the Universe Miklausen, A.J., 1997. ISBN 1-57249-0950 (cloth US$ 60.00) 199 pp. Ragged Edge Press, White Mane Publishing Co., P.O. Box 152, Shippensburg PA 17257.
Carnations and Pinks for Garden and Greenhouse: Their True History and Complete Cultivation Galbally, John, and Eileen Galbally, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-382-6 (cloth US$34.95) 104 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Vol. 10. 1862 Burkhardt, F. D. M. Porter, J. Harvey, and J. T. Topham, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-59032-9 (cloth US$74.95) 976 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011.
Differentially Expressed Genes in Plants Hansen, and G. Harper, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-7484-042 1 (cloth, no price given) 233 pp. Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007.
Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs Dirr, Michael A., 1997. ISBN 0-88192-404-0 (cloth US$69.95) 493 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
The European Garden Flora: A Manual for the Identification of Plants in Europe, both Out-of-Doors and Under Glass. Vol. 5: Dicotyledons (Part 111): Limnanthaceae to Oleaceae. Cullen, J., et al., eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-42096-2 (cloth US$155.00) 646 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
The Ferns and Fern Allies of New England Tryon, Alice F., and Robbin C. Moran, 1997. ISBN 0932691-23-4 (cloth US$49.95) 325 pp. Massachusetts Audubon Society, 208 South Great Road, Linclon MA 01773.
*Ferns of Britain and Ireland Page, C. N., 1997. ISBN 0-521-58385-2 (cloth US$125.00) 0-52158658-5 (paper US$64.95) Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011.
Flora of North America, Vol 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed., 1997. ISBN 019-511246-6 (cloth US$85-00) 590 pp. - Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
*Foliage Plant Diseases: Diagnosis and Control Chase, A.R., 1997. ISBN 0-089054-179-5 (cloth US$69.00) 168 pp. APS Press, 2240 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul MN 55121-2097.
*The Gardener's Guide to Growing Peonies Page, Martin, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-388-5 (cloth US$29.95) 160 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
Gardening With Climbers Grey-Wilson, Christopher, and Victoria Matthews, 1997. ISBN 088192-399-0 (cloth US$27.95) 160 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
The Gene-for-Gene Relationship in Plant-Parasite Interactions Crute, I.R., E.B. Holub, and J.J. Burdon, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-164-5 (cloth US $115.00) 427 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
Green Space, Green Time: The Way of Science Barlow, C. 1997. ISBN 0-387-94794-9 (cloth US$ 25.00) 329 pp. Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Ave., New York NY 10010.
A Guide to Species Irises: Their Identification and Cultivation The Species Group of the British Iris Society, (ed.), 1997. ISBN 0-521-44074 (cloth US$105.00) 386 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Horticultural Reviews, Vol. 20 Janick, J., ed., 1997. ISBN 0-471-18906-5 (cloth US$145.00) 341 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave. New York NY 10158.
Horticultural Reviews, Vol. 21 Janick, J., ed., 1997. ISBN 0-471-18906-5 (cloth US$145.00) 274 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605'Mird Ave. New York NY 10158.
**The Identification of Flowering Plant Families Cullen, J. 1997. ISBN 0-521-58485-X (cloth US$59.95) 0-521-58550-3 (paper US$21.95) 227 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011.
Induced Responses to Herbivory Harban, R., and I.T. Baldwin, 1997. ISBN 0-226-42495-2 (cloth US44.00) 0-226-42496-0 (paper US$19.75) 330 pp. University of Chicago Press, 5801 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637.
John Wurdack Festschrift. BioLlania, Edición Especial No. 6 Dorr, L.J. and B. Stergios, eds. 1997. ISBN 980-231-131-6 (cloth US$10.00) 571 pp. Universidad Nacional Experimental de Los Llanos Occidentales, Venezuela; orders to L.J.. Dorr, Dept. of Botany, MRC-166, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 20560-0166.
A Laboratory Guide to Glycoconjugate Analysis Jackson, P, and J.T. Gallagher, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-7643-5210-8 (cloth US$98.50) 405 pp. Birkhiiuser Boston, 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139.
Malesian Seed Plants. Vol. 1: Spot-characters. An aid for identification of families and genera. van Balgooy, M.M.J., 1997. ISBN 90-71236-31-5 (paper Dfl.50.00) 154 pp. Backhuys Publishers, P.O. Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, the Netherlands.
The Mango Lttz, R. E., ed., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-1270 (cloth US$135.00) 587 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
Methods for Risk Assessment of Transgenic Plants Kjellsson, G., V. Simonsen, and K Ammann, eds., 1997. ISBN 3-7643-5696-0 (cloth US$74.50) 308 pp. Birkhiiuser Boston, 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139.
A Molecular Approach to Primary Metabolism in Higher Plants Foyer, C.H., and W.P. Quick, eds., 1997. ISBN 0-7484-0419-8 (paper, no price given) 347 pp. Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007.
Mushrooms of Northeastern North America Bessette, A.E., A.R. Bessette, and D.W. Fischer, 1997. ISBN 0-8156-2707-6 (cloth US$95.00) 08156-0388-6 (paper US$45.00) 602 pp. Syracuse University Press, 1600 Jamesville Ave., Syracuse, NY 13244-5160.
The Natural History of the Long Expedition to the Rocky Mountains (1819-1820) Evans, Howard Ensign, 1997. ISBN 0-19-511184-2 (cloth US$30.00) 0-19-511185-0 (paper US$15.95) 288 pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
*Nematode Vectors of Plant Viruses Taylor, C. E., and D. J. F.Brown, 1997. ISBN 0-85199-159-9 (cloth US$80.00) 286 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
*The New Oxford Book of Food Plants Vaughan, J. G., and C. A. Geisler, 1997. ISBN 0-19-854825-7 (cloth US$39.95) 260 pp. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
North American Range Plants, 5th Ed. Stubbendieck, J., S.L. Hatch, and C.H. Butterfield, 1997. ISBN 0-8032-4260-3 (cloth US$45.00) 08032-9243-0 (paper US$25.00) 499 pp. University of Nebraska Press, 312 North 14th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0484.
*The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study Kenrick, P., and P.R. Crane, 1997. ISBN 1-56098-730-8 (cloth US$55.00) 1-56098-729-4 (paper US$27.50) 441 pp. Smithsonian Institution Press, 470 L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7100, Washington, D.C. 20560.
**The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants Mabberly, D. J. 1997. ISBN 0521-41421-0 (cloth US$49.95) 858 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011.
Plant Breeding Reviews, Vol. 15 Janick, J., ed., 1997. ISBN 0-471-18904-9 (cloth US$145.00) 395 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave. New York NY 10158.
Plant Functional Types: Their Relevance to Ecosystem Properties and Global Change Smith, T.M., Shugart, H.H. and Woodward, F.I., eds., 1997. International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme Book Series 1. ISBN 0-521-48231-3 (cloth US$80.00) 0-521-56643-6 (paper US$44.95) 383 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 1001 1.
Plants and UV-B: Responses to Environmental Change Lumsden, Peter, ed.,, 1997. ISBN 0521-57222-3 (cloth US$105.00) 375 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011.
Protologues in seed catalogues from Botanic Garden Copenhagen 1843-1875 Hansen, B., K. Larsen, and S.-E. S. Olsen, 1997. ISBN 87-7304-285-4 (paper DKK90.00) 53 pp. The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, H.C. Andersens Blvd. 35, DK-1553 Copenhagen V. Denmark.
Shakespeare's Flowers Kerr, J. 1969; reprinted 1977. ISBN 1-55566-202-1 (paper US$14.00) 86 pp. Johnson Books, 1880 South 57th Court, Boulder, CO 80301.
Spirutinaplatensis (Arthrospira): Physiology, Cell-Biology, and Biotechnology Vonshak, A., ed., 1997. ISBN 0-7484-0674-3 (cloth, no price given) 233 pp. Taylor & Francis Inc., 1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol PA 19007.
The Sustainability of Rice Farniing Greenland, D. J., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-163-7 (cloth US$105.00) 273 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
The Succulent Garden: A Practical Gardening Guide Cave, Yvonne, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-3788 (paper US$19.95) 104 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
Vanda: Their Botany, History, and Culture Motes, Martin, 1997. ISBN 0-88192-376-1 (cloth US$32.95) 188 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
*Vegetation of Southern Africa Cowling, R.M., Richardson, D.M. and Pierce, S.M., eds., 1997. ISBN 0-521-57142-1 (cloth US$225.00) 680 pp. Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Streeet, New York, NY 10011.
Vireyas: A Practical Gardening Guide Kenyon, John, and Jacqueline Walker, 1997. ISBN 088192-402-4 (paper US$19.95) 96 pp. Timber Press, Inc. 133 SW Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527.
Wheat Production and Utilization: Systems, Quality, and the Environment Gooding, M. J., and Davies, W. P., 1997. ISBN 0-85199-155-6 (cloth US$90.00) 355 pp. CAB International, 198 Madison Ave., New York NY 10016.
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