Plant Science Bulletin archive


Issue: 2014 v60 No 4 WinterActions

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P

LANT 

S

CIENCE

Bulletin

winter 2014 Volume 60 Number 4

 

In This Issue..............

Marsh Sundberg’s last issue as 

editor of the PSB......p. 187

PLANTS Grant recipients and mentors at botany 2014 

Applications accepted starting January 15!

The benefits of BSA membership.... 

p. 206

Address of BSA President Tom 

Ranker at Botany 2014......p. 207

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From the Editor

                                                                             Winter 2014 Volume 60 Number 4

PLANT SCIENCE  

BULLETIN  

Editorial Committee  

Volume 60

-

Marsh

Kathryn LeCroy  

(2018) 

Biological Sciences, Ecology and 

Evolution 

University of Pittsburgh 

4249 Fifth Avenue 

Pittsburgh, PA 15213 

kalecroy@gmail.com

Christopher Martine 

(2014) 

Department of Biology 

Bucknell University 

Lewisburg, PA 17837 

chris.martine@bucknell.edu

Lindsey K. Tuominen 

(2016) 

Warnell School of Forestry & 

Natural Resources 

The University of Georgia 

Athens, GA  30605 

lktuomin@uga.edu

Daniel K. Gladish 

(2017) 

Department of Botany &  

The Conservatory 

Miami University  

Hamilton, OH  45011 

gladisdk@muohio.edu

Carolyn M. Wetzel 

(2015) 
Biology Department 

Division of Health and  

Natural Sciences 

Holyoke Community College 

303 Homestead Ave 

Holyoke, MA 01040 

cwetzel@hcc.edu

It’s that time of year again: preparing the last issue 

(number 4) of a volume of Plant Science Bulletin. But 

what to say? It’s a special issue for me---my last as 

editor.  First, thank you to Ann Antlfinger, Jenny Ar-

chibald, Nina Baghai-Riding, Doug Darnowski, Andy 

Douglas, Norm Ellstrand, Vicky Funk, Dan Gladish, 

Root Gorelick, Sam Hammer, Kathryn LeCroy, Chris 

Martine, Jim Mickle, Mick Richardson, Beth Schussler, 

Johanne Sharpe, Lindley Tuominen, Carolyn Wetzel, 

and Andrea Wolfe who served on the PSB Editorial 

Committee during the past 15 years of my editorship.  

A lot has changed in the PSB, and the Society, during 

that time. Beginning that first year, and with help of 

Scott Russell, we began to make an HTML version of 

each PSB available online. In the last 2002 issue, PSB 

48(4), we announced that Bill Dahl was appointed as 

the first Executive Director of the Society and that he 

would be organizing the staff at a new office in St. Lou-

is.  An early project was to digitize the entire previous 

run of PSB to make it available online.  Seven years 

later, in PSB 55(4), we announced that beginning with 

the first issue of 2010, articles for publication in PSB 

would be peer-reviewed, thus providing a publication 

outlet for members to publish scholarship not typi-

cally supported by the American Journal of Botany.  

This also changed the duties of the Editorial Com-

mittee members, who assumed responsibilities as 

monitoring editors of submitted manuscripts.  A less 

noticeable change in 2010 was a subtle reduction in 

page size to better fit the format of electronic readers. 

We instituted several dramatic changes in 2011. The 

most obvious to the reader was the shift to a full-color 

cover.  More important, however, were production 

changes with the BSA office staff assuming responsi-

bility for copyediting and layout (what a change in my 

pre-publication schedule---thank you Rich, Beth, and 

Johanne!). Despite these changes, the most important 

thing about PSB has remained constant.  As I noted 

in my first editorial, the success of PSB “depends al-

most entirely on your input as [BSA] members and 

contributors,” and it 

will continue to do so. 

I intend to be a faith-

ful reader and regular 

contributor in the fu-

ture, and I hope you 

will too.

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Table of Contents

Society News

Judy Jernstedt Ends Tenure as AJB Editor-in-Chief .......................................................186

Marsh Sundberg Signs off as Plant Science Bulletin Editor ..........................................187

The

 American Journal of Botany Centennial Celebration ends…  

but its next century begins! .............................................................................................188

BSA Science Education News and Notes ....................................................

196

Editor’s Choice ............................................................................................

200

Announcements

In Memorium William A. Jensen  1927-2014 ................................................................201

Redesigned Hunt Institute Website at New URL ...........................................................203

WARF Innovation Award Winners Harness A Busy Virus,  

Help Crops Bask In The Shade .......................................................................................204

BSA Membership: There’s No Place Like Home ...........................................................205

Reports

Evolution and extinction on a volcanic hotspot: Science, conservation, and  

restoration in the endangered species capital of the world .............................................207

Book Reviews

Bryological and Lichenological ........................................................................................211

Economic Botany ...........................................................................................................213

Education ........................................................................................................................215

Systematics .....................................................................................................................217

Books Received ...........................................................................................

220

 

Shaw Convention Centre - Edmonton

July 25 - 29, 2015

Abstracts and Registration Sites open in February, 2015 

 www.botanyconference.org

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186

“The Abominable Mystery,” and others on next-

gen sequencing, plant tropisms, global biological 

change, and “Speaking of Food”: the connection 

between basic and applied plant science), and the 

successful celebration of the journal’s first 100 

years (see the AJB Centennial Reviews published 

throughout 2014, and items in the Plant Science 

Bulletin). The 100th anniversary of the BSA and the 

150th anniversary of publication of “On the Origin 

of Species” also occurred during Jernstedt’s tenure. 

It has been a good run—yet many challenges, and 

opportunities, exist now and will into the future. 

The biggest challenge has been trying to keep 

up with the rapidly changing world of scientific 

publishing and the increasing expectations of 

authors and readers,” Jernstedt said. “It has been a 

pleasure to work with the great group of thoughtful 

and extremely diligent Associate Editors on the AJB 

Editorial Board.

“I’ve been so impressed by AJB reviewers

their rigor, constructive approach, and 

conscientiousness

and the hard-working Editorial 

Office staff has been a true joy to work with all these 

years. It was gratifying to see the AJB Impact Factor 

creep slightly above 3 for 2010 (3.052), and I’m 

confident AJB is in good hands to do this again!” 

“BSA and the entire global community of 

botanists has been fortunate indeed to have had our 

flagship journal led by such an outstanding scholar 

as Judy Jernstedt,” said current BSA President 

Tom Ranker. “We are all greatly indebted for her 

dedication and professionalism.”

Dr. Pamela Diggle, Professor and Associate 

Head of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 

Department at the University of Connecticut 

as well as recent BSA President, will take over as 

Editor-in-Chief beginning in 2015.

There is no doubt that Jernstedt will remain 

active in the BSA, after having also served as BSA 

President in 2001 and Treasurer in 1997, earning 

the BSA Merit Award in 2010, and serving as a 

PlantingScience mentor. The BSA thanks Jernstedt 

for her many years of service and looks forward to 

her continued work. 

Judy Jernstedt Ends Tenure 

as AJB Editor-in-Chief

After serving as the editor-in-chief of the 

American Journal of Botany for 10 years, Dr. Judy 

Jernstedt has just completed her tenure at the end 

of 2014. 

Jernstedt, Professor 

 of  Plant Sciences  at 

the  University of California at Davis, oversaw 

many changes in scientific publishing since 

2005—including the evolution and continued 

development of online publishing and manuscript 

submission systems, the rise of Open Access 

and Open Data as issues for exploration, and the 

importance of helping authors promote their work, 

through traditional and non-traditional (e.g., social 

media) outlets. The AJB was recognized in 2009 by 

the Biomedical and Life Sciences Division (DBIO) 

of the Special Libraries Association as one of the 

top 10 most influential journals of the past 100 

years in the field of biology and medicine, which 

speaks to the strong efforts of the AJB’s authors, 

reviewers, and editors.  Her good work has led 

to higher impact factors, a greater involvement 

of the journal’s editorial board, increased reader 

commentaries and author responses within the 

journal, a number of impressive special issues 

(including one celebrating Darwin’s Bicentennial: 

Society News

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

whose proceeds go to support the PlantingScience 

online mentoring program. (Copies are available at 

www.plantingscience.org.) 

“We are all grateful for the extreme dedication 

of Marsh Sundberg in continually producing one 

of BSA’s most valuable resources,” said current BSA 

President Tom Ranker. “Under his editorship, the 

PSB has evolved into an instantly available source 

of extremely useful information for all interested in 

botany and education.”

Dr. Mackenzie Taylor, Assistant Professor, 

Plant Reproductive Biology and Development, at 

Creighton University, will serve as the new PSB 

editor beginning in 2015.

The BSA is honored to have had Sundberg steer 

the PSB over all these years and looks forward to his 

continuing work within the BSA.

Marsh Sundberg Signs off as 

Plant Science Bulletin Editor

 

Dr. Marsh Sundberg, as noted in the PSB 

Editorial in this issue, will step down as PSB Editor 

after having served for 15 years. Sundberg has 

worked diligently to keep the PSB---published since 

January 1955---relevant and interesting to readers 

looking for information in botany, from BSA news 

and awards, to peer-reviewed articles that aid in 

teaching, to helpful book reviews. He also worked 

to digitize the entire archive of the PSBs as well as 

the transition of the PSB from more than just a 

hard copy and PDF; it is also available in a flipbook 

format that works seamlessly with e-readers.

Sundberg’s passion for botanical education has 

been prominent throughout his time heading the 

PSB; in fact, readers can look forward to the fourth 

part in his ongoing series on botanical education 

in a future issue of the PSB. He also co-authored, 

along with Gordon Uno and Claire Hemingway, 

the recently released book Inquiring About Plants: 

A Practical Guide to Engaging Science Practices

Marsh Sundberg with his wife Sara.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

The

 American Journal of Botany Centennial Celebration 

ends… but its next century begins!

In planning for how to celebrate the journal’s centennial celebration in 2014, the AJB staff realized that 

the focus had to remain on the core strengths that have sustained the journal since 1914: its research and 

its contributing Society members. Throughout the year, the AJB has featured a series of AJB Centennial 

Reviews---articles that have looked at key research from the past with a revamped and updated take to 

find out where the field stands now and going forward.  The following AJB Centennial Review articles are 

already available and can be accessed for free:

•  “Neurospora crassa: Looking back and looking forward at a model microbe” by Christine M. 

Roche, Jennifer J. Loros, Kevin McCluskey, and N. Louise Glass [101(12):2022, 2014]
•  “Ever since Klekowski: Testing a set of radical hypotheses revives the genetics of ferns and 

lycophytes” by Christopher H. Haufler [101(12):2036, 2014]
•  “The plastochron index: Still useful after nearly six decades” by Roger D. Meicenheimer 

[101(11):1821, 2014]
•  “The relative and absolute frequencies of angiosperm sexual systems: Dioecy, monoecy, 

gynodioecy, and an updated online database” by Susanne S. Renner [100(10):1588, 2014]
•  “Phloem development: Current knowledge and future perspectives” by Jung-ok Heo, Pawel 

Roszak, Kaori M. Furuta, and Ykä Helariutta [101(9):1393, 2014]
•  “The role of homoploid hybridization in evolution: A century of studies synthesizing genetics 

and ecology” by Sarah B. Yakimowski and Loren H. Rieseberg [101(8):1247, 2014]
•  “The polyploidy revolution then…and now: Stebbins revisited” by Douglas E. Soltis, Clayton J. 

Visger, and Pamela S. Soltis [101(7):1057, 2014]
•  “Plant evolution at the interface of paleontology and developmental biology: An organism-

centered paradigm” by Gar W. Rothwell, Sarah E. Wyatt, and Alexandru M. F. Tomescu [101(6):899, 2014]
•  “Is gene flow the most important evolutionary force in plants?” by Norman C. Ellstrand 

[101(5):757, 2014] 
•  “Repeated evolution of tricellular (and bicellular) pollen” by Joseph H. Williams, Mackenzie L. 

Taylor, and Brian C. O’Meara [101(4):559, 2014] 
•  “The voice of American botanists: The founding and establishment of the American Journal of 

Botany,  ‘American botany,’ and the Great War (1906-1935)” by Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis [101(3):389, 2014] 
•  “The nature of serpentine endemism” by Brian L. Anacker [101(2):219, 2014] 
•  “The evolutionary-developmental origins of multicellularity” by Karl J. Niklas [101(1):6, 2014] 
•  “The  American Journal of Botany: Into the Second Century of Publication” by Judy Jernstedt 

[101(1):1, 2014] 
To celebrate the contributions of the people behind the science, the PSB, throughout 2014, has featured 

short interviews with some of the AJB’s most prolific contributors. This issue wraps up this special feature, 

but note that many of these authors are still contributing to the journal, well into 2015!

The new year---and new century for the AJB---will bring some interesting changes and new features. 

Incoming Editor-in-Chief Pam Diggle has a number of features in mind for 2015, and the journal will be 

expanding its reach and exploring a new look. We look forward to the start of the next 100 years!

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

Carol and Jerry Baskin

Carol and Jerry Baskin both joined the BSA in 1969 and have gone on to serve the Society in a variety of 

ways, from Jerry’s tenure as program director in 1990 to Carol’s tenure as president in 1998. Each of them 

earned the Society’s highest honor, the BSA Merit Award, in 2001, and they’ve contributed 28 articles thus 

far to the American Journal of Botany over the course of their careers. They recently reflected on their work 

in the AJB.

The first article you published in AJB was “Germination Ecology of Phacelia dubia Var. dubia 

(interior) in Tennessee Glades” in 1971. Please take us back to that period; what were you studying/

most interested in at the time? 

In the late 1960s-early 1970s, the main focus of our research was the ecological life histories of herbaceous 

species.  In such studies, timing of events in the life cycle such as flowering and seed germination are 

investigated in relation to environmental conditions, especially the seasonal changes in temperature and 

rainfall.   The purpose of these studies is to gain a better understanding of how the study species is adapted 

to its habitat. As we were doing life history studies, we became very interested in the seed dormancy/

germination phase of the life cycle and began to design experiments to determine what environmental 

factors were required for dormancy to be broken and for the nondormant seeds to germinate.  Thus, seed 

germination ecology, or what controls the timing of germination in nature, was becoming a focal point of 

our research when we published our first paper in the American Journal of Botany in 1971. 

You have a long history of very productive mutual collaboration. How did this come about? How 

have you sustained it over the years?

We began to collaborate on research when we were graduate students at Vanderbilt University in the 

1960s.  We went to the University of Kentucky (UK) in August 1968, where Jerry had a job as an Assistant 

Professor in the Botany Department. Carol did not have a job, and could not find a teaching job in central 

Kentucky, so we decided to work together as a research team.  In 1999, Carol became a full Professor at 

UK, with the exact same salary as Jerry – down to the last 12 cents. Jerry retired from UK in June 2011, but 

he is still very much involved in paper-writing; Carol is still working at UK.  Thus, we are still collaborating 

and working together on manuscripts.  

Over the years, we have collaborated with our graduate students, as well as seed biologists from many 

different countries.  Since 2005, we have been to China 12 times and have become heavily involved with 

seed research there, resulting in many collaborative projects/papers.

Jerry and Carol Baskin, 1979.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

expected that our interest in seed germination 

ecology would lead to a compilation of information 

on the world biogeography of seed dormancy, and 

we certainly did not think that the information we 

acquired could be used to help us better understand 

the evolutionary origins and relationships of the 

different kinds of seed dormancy.

In looking back at all of the articles you’ve 

published in AJB, which one or two stand out 

above the others and why? 

“Germination ecophysiology of herbaceous plant 

species in a temperate region” from 1988 was an 

invited “Special Paper,” and it was the first summary-

type paper that we wrote on seed dormancy and 

germination.   In this paper, we summarized our 

own data on germination phenology (274 species) 

and dormancy breaking experiments (179 species), 

including winter annuals, summer annuals, 

monocarpic perennials and polycarpic perennials.  

From the experience of writing this paper, we 

realized the value of synthesizing information on 

seed dormancy and germination, and this was part 

of our inspiration to write a book on seeds.  

Ethylene as a possible cue for seed germination 

of  Schoenoplectus hallii (Cyperaceae), a rare 

summer annual of occasionally flooded sites” 

from 2003—Schoenoplectus hallii is a rare summer 

annual bulrush of eastern/central USA, and its 

seeds germinate in depressions (often in cultivated 

fields) in wet springs. It took 10 years to figure 

out the seed germination ecology of this species. 

Freshly matured seeds are dormant and require 

the cold moist (but not flooded) conditions of 

winter for dormancy to be broken.   In spring, 

the nondormant seeds will germinate if they are 

exposed to relatively high temperatures, light, 

flooding and ethylene (produced in the field when 

soils are flooded). If any one of these requirements 

is not met, seeds enter conditional dormancy 

and must go through another winter before they 

potentially could germinate. Thus, seeds live in 

the soil for many years and only germinate when a 

depression has water in the spring. Although seeds 

of some species will germinate under the same 

environmental conditions that break dormancy, 

those of S. hallii require one set of conditions to 

break dormancy and another set of conditions to 

promote germination.                                                               

Your latest article in the AJB was “Temperature 

regulates positively photoblastic seed 

germination in four Ficus (Moraceae) tree species 

from contrasting habitats in a seasonal tropical 

rainforest” in 2013. Please tell us how the thread 

of your research has changed over time. 

Our early studies on seed germination ecology 

were mostly conducted on herbaceous species 

that grew in temperate eastern North America, 

primarily Tennessee and Kentucky. We studied 

species that grew in a wide variety of habitats, 

including cedar glades and other rock outcrops, 

forests, roadsides, fields and pastures. Eventually, 

we worked in collaboration with people in other 

parts of the USA and from other countries on 

species outside our home range. 

In the 1980s, while writing our book “Seeds: 

Ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy 

and germination,” we undertook a survey of 

the world biogeography of seed dormancy and 

collected information from all the major vegetation 

types on earth; we had data for 3580 species. Since 

publication of our book in 1998, we have continued 

to collect information on the biogeography of 

seed dormancy and in collaboration with many 

colleagues continued studies on seed germination 

ecology of species growing in various places.  

A second edition of our book was published in 

early in 2014, and it contains information for more 

than 14,000 species. Information on the world 

biogeography of seed dormancy has stimulated 

us to have a deep interest in the evolutionary 

origins and relationships of the various kinds of 

seed dormancy (and nondormancy).  Recently, in 

collaboration with people in the National Center 

for Evolutionary Synthesis (Duke University), 

our data for about 13,000 species in 281 families 

have been analyzed from a dormancy transition 

perspective.  Thus, we have expanded our research 

interests from the timing of germination of seeds in 

the cedar glades to middle Tennessee to the world 

biogeography and evolutionary relationships of the 

different kinds of seed dormancy.

In looking back over the course of your 

research, what areas have you consistently 

explored? What areas did you not expect to 

explore? 

We have consistently been interested in seed 

dormancy/germination ecology.  We never 

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Why have you chosen AJB as one of the journals in which you’ve published throughout your career? 
We have long been members of the Botanical Society of America and think the American Journal of 

Botany is a very good journal.  Thus, when we published a paper in AJB we felt that our standing as 

scientists was increased.  

Jerry and Carol Baskin, 2012.

Tod Stuessy

Long-time BSA member Tod Stuessy (for the past 

47 years!) has contributed over 30 articles to the AJB 

in his career. Stuessy, a BSA Merit Award winner in 

1999, shared his thoughts on the research over his 

career.

The first article you published in AJB was 

Chromosome Numbers and Phylogeny in 

Melampodium (Compositae)

” in 1971. Take us 

back to that period; what were you studying/most 

interested in at the time? 

My first article in the AJB was part of my 

Ph.D. thesis at the University of Texas at Austin. I 

continued working on aspects of the genus when 

arriving at Ohio State in 1968, and in fact, we are 

now still working on the group using molecular 

methods. I remember very well the thrill of having 

this paper published in AJB. It was sole authored, 

as many papers were then, and I felt really proud to 

have it in one of the mainstream botanical journals.

Your latest article in the AJB was “

Genetic 

variation (AFLPs and nuclear microsatellites) in 

two anagenetically derived endemic species of 

Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae) on the Juan Fernández 

Islands, Chile

” in 2013. How has the thread of 

your research changed over time?   

For the past 30 years we have been working on 

the evolution and biogeography of the endemic 

plants of the Juan Fernández (Robinson Crusoe) 

Islands, off the coast of Chile. My interest in island 

biology came from reading the book “Island Life” 

by Sherwin Carlquist.  It seemed to me then, and 

still seems to me now, that these isolated land 

masses would be great places to investigate the 

process of evolution. Furthermore, there is a bit of 

adventure working in isolated places, and the Juan 

Fernández Islands are certainly that!

In looking back over the course of your 

research, what areas have you consistently 

explored?  What areas did you not expect to 

explore?

I have maintained an interest in the classification 

and evolution of Compositae, and I have chosen 

to work mainly in groups of the family in Latin 

America, beginning in Mexico, then into Central 

America, and finally in southern South America 

into Argentina and Chile. Then there is my interest 

in island biology already mentioned.   I have also 

maintained a strong interest in the principles and 

methods of biological classification and continue to 

publish on this topic.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

In looking back at all of the articles you’ve 

published in AJB, which one or two stand out 

above the others and why?    

Quite frankly, I don’t feel that any one of 

the articles I published in the AJB is more 

significant than the others. I think that this is 

because I remember the persons and places that 

accompanied these papers, and these are personal 

recollections and have little to do with the science 

in the papers themselves.  I suppose that the paper 

most cited is the one on Paeonies with Tao Sang 

and Dan Crawford (“Chloroplast DNA phylogeny, 

reticulate evolution, and biogeography of Paeonia 

(Paeoniaceae)” from 1997).

Why have you chosen AJB  as one of the 

journals in which you’ve published throughout 

your career?  

As a botanist, I value my membership in the 

Botanical Society of America.  Hence, I also 

value publishing in this journal, which has always 

maintained a high (but not unrealistic) level of 

quality.

Ruth Stockey

Oregon State University

Ruth Stockey has been a member of the BSA for 

over 40 years and was presented with the BSA Merit 

Award in 2006. She has just published her 32

nd

 AJB 

article, and she shared her thoughts on her research 

over the years.

The first article you published in AJB  was 

“Seeds and Embryos of Araucaria mirabilis” in 

1975. What were you studying/most interested in 

during that period?

I wrote this article as a part of my Master’s 

thesis. At that time, I was studying araucarian 

conifers from the Cerro Cuadrado Petrified Forest 

of Patagonia and collecting living araucarian 

specimens in Australia and New Caledonia.  My 

detailed anatomical work on permineralized fossil 

plants started during the 1970s, a theme that I have 

continued in many of my papers since. Ironically, 

in 2012 I published a paper (“Seed cone anatomy 

of Cheirolepidiaceae (Coniferales): Reinterpreting 

Pararaucaria patagonica Wieland”) with Ignacio 

Escapa and Gar Rothwell on fossils from this same 

site where we reinterpreted the material described 

my third paper (“Reproductive biology of the Cerro 

Cuadrado (Jurassic) fossil conifers: Pararaucaria 

patagonica” in 1977).  With the discovery of 

new and better preserved fossils, we were able to 

demonstrate that Pararaucaria was a member of 

the extinct conifer family Cheirolepidiaceae and 

provided the first anatomical description of cones 

from this family that has been known mostly from 

compression fossils lacking anatomical detail. 

Your latest article in the AJB was 

Hughmillerites vancouverensis sp. nov. and the 

Cretaceous diversification of Cupressaceae” in 

2014.  Tell us how the thread of your research has 

changed over time. 

My areas of research have changed considerably 

over the past 35 years.  I started with conifer 

reproductive biology.  Research on coal balls in 

the early days changed to include compression/

impression fossils and permineralized cherts 

from Alberta and British Columbia when I 

moved to Canada. Fossil plants from the Jurassic, 

Carboniferous, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene 

and  Pliocene have been investigated.  Upland 

conifer fossils gave way to aquatic flowering plants 

including Lythraceae, Araceae, Saururaceae, 

Nymphaeaceae, and Limnocharitaceae, and finally 

research on fossil ferns, bryophytes and fungi.

Dr. Tod Stuessy collecting plant specimens 

at Laguna Laja, Chile, in 1988.

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In looking back over the course of your 

research, what areas have you consistently 

explored?  What areas did you not expect to 

explore? 

I expected to explore conifer research, which 

evolved from studies of Araucariaceae to 

Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae, Cheirolepidiaceae and 

Cupressaceae. I never expected to study fossil fungi, 

which turned out to be some of the best preserved 

material in the Middle Eocene Princeton Chert 

from British Columbia and our newer site at Apple 

Bay. 

In looking back at all of the articles you’ve 

published in AJB, which one or two stand out 

above the others and why? 

A couple of papers stand out in my mind because 

of the interest they aroused, including “The role of 

Hydropteris pinnata in reconstructing cladistics of 

heterosporous ferns”  in 1994 with Gar Rothwell 

in which we demonstrated the monophylesis of 

heterosporous aquatic ferns and the parent plant 

for dispersed Parazolla spores.   The plants were 

rooted aquatic ferns with pinnate fronds that bore 

spores inside bisexual sporocarps like Marsileaceae, 

with spores like those of Salviniaceae. 

Secondly would be the papers in the 2009 

Darwin Bicentennial Special Issue that I co-edited 

with Sean Graham and Peter Crane.  For me, 

“Distinguishing angiophytesfrom angiosperms: a 

Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) fruit-

like reproductive structure” is a significant study 

that will become more important when we describe 

the entire structure (now found since the paper 

was published).  The seed containing structures 

(“cupules”) are now known to be attached to axes 

in compound cone-like structures with short 

shoots in the axils of bracts.  In turn, these short 

shoots bear two leaves that wrap around single 

tetrahedral seeds. The seeds were pollinated using 

a pollination droplet and bisaccate pollen. Doylea 

tetrahedrasperma will soon be placed into a new 

order of gymnosperms. 

Why have you chosen AJB as one of the 

journals in which you’ve published throughout 

your career? 

The journal has always been very highly regarded 

in our field and now with “impact factors,” this 

still remains true and can be quantified.  I always 

liked the quality of the illustrations, which in 

paleobotany are extremely important. In addition, 

time to publication has always been good.

Jack B. Fisher

University of British 

Columbia

Dr. Jack Fisher has been a BSA member for nearly 

50 years and earned the BSA Merit Award in 2003. 

He has published in the AJB for the past 44 years, 

and he spoke about his research and publications in 

that time.

The first article you published in AJB was 

“Development of the Intercalary Meristem of 

Cyperus alternifolius” in 1970. Take us back 

to that period; what were you studying/most 

interested in at the time? 

This was part of my PhD thesis, carried out in the 

lab of Prof. Elizabeth Cutter, who was a pioneer in 

the field of morphogenesis. It was the hot topic in 

plant development at that time. I was interested in 

the effects of plant growth regulators on monocots 

and enjoyed experimental plant anatomy. 

 

Your latest article in the AJB was “Gelatinous 

fibers and variant secondary growth related to 

stem undulation and contraction in a monkey 

ladder vine, Bauhinia glabra (Fabaceae)” in 2014.  

How has the thread of your research changed 

over time? 

Most of my career was spent as a researcher 

at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, with 

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its excellent collection of tropical plant life. My 

continuing interest was in plant development and 

structure but emphasized topics of interest to the 

Garden or in collaboration with other botanists-

--ranging from tree architecture, liana xylem 

anatomy and hydraulics, to descriptive palm 

anatomy. I always felt very lucky to be working in 

a garden surrounded by fascinating plants and by 

people who appreciated them.

In looking back over the course of your 

research, what areas have you consistently 

explored?  What areas did you not expect to 

explore?

In most of my studies, I’ve been drawn to 

understanding how a structure develops into its 

shape and what its function might be. Also, I have 

a general love of microscopes and the beauty of 

plant tissues. Perhaps my most unexpected area of 

botanical study was tree architecture and computer 

simulations of tree forms. This occurred only 

because of a chance contact and later collaboration 

with Hisao Honda, a Japanese biophysicist. We 

complemented each other with a mix of botanical 

and computer strengths.

Of all the articles you’ve published in AJB, 

which one stands out above the others and why?

I value the paper on comparing the xylem of vine 

and tree forms of Gnetum done in collaboration 

with Frank Ewers (“Vessel Dimensions in Liana 

and Tree Species of Gnetum [Gnetales]” in 1995) 

because it was recognized with the BSA’s Michael 

Cichan Award. 

Why have you chosen AJB  as one of the 

journals in which you’ve published throughout 

your career?  

First, to support the Botanical Society 

of America as my professional society. But 

equally, to have my work seen by colleagues 

throughout the world who respect the journal. 

The fine quality of the printing lets me present 

my photomicrographs to their best quality. 

Peter Raven

Peter Raven needs very little introduction! As 

President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden 

and a noted “Hero for the Planet” by Time magazine, 

Dr. Raven has contributed nearly 30 articles to the 

AJB throughout his career. Dr. Raven has been a 

BSA member for 55 years, served as BSA President 

in 1975, and earned the BSA Merit Award in 1977. 

He spoke recently about his research in the journal.

The first article you published in AJB was 

Chromosome numbers in Compositae I. 

Astereae

” in 1960. Take us back to that period; 

where were you, what were you doing, and what 

were you studying/most interested in at the time? 

When I was a graduate student at UCLA, I was 

studying the Onagraceae, plants now referred to 

the genus Chylismia, with Harlan Lewis; Mildred 

Mathias, Daniel I. Axelrod, and Henry J. Thompson 

were among the members of my committee. I was 

busy with the group on which I was writing my 

dissertation, but starting to branch out into broader 

aspects of evolution in the family. M. Kurabayashi 

visited Harlan’s laboratory in 1959-60, my last year 

there, and we worked on the morphology of the 

chromosomes in the family, publishing an article 

describing how their morphology changed during 

the course of meiosis and revealing patterns that 

seemed to be correlated with the complex structural 

heterozygosity in the family but which have not 

yet been explained satisfactorily at a molecular 

or structural level. At the same time, we graduate 

students were counting chromosomes in the family 

Asteraceae (Compositae) and finding interesting 

Dr. Peter Raven while teaching at Stanford Univer-

sity in the 1960s.

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patterns in number and morphology. I collected all 

the species I could get my hands on, and with the 

collaboration of Don Kyhos eventually published 

a long series of articles including hundreds of new 

chromosome counts.

Your most recent article in the AJB was the 

introduction

 to the 

Special Issue on Biodiversity

 

in 2011. How has the thread of your research 

changed over time?

What we used to call biosystematics, in which the 

role of chromosome number and morphology was 

of central importance, has become less fashionable 

and fewer people know how to count chromosomes 

or bother to do so---a pity. Now nucleic acid 

analyses of sequences or even whole genomes 

are stressed, to learn more much more efficiently. 

The chromosome work is still valid, as is artificial 

hybridization, which tells so much about the nature 

of species in various groups of plants. Along the 

way I collaborated a lot with Hiroshi Tobe, recently 

retired as Chairman at the Botany Department, 

Kyoto University, and 

one of the runs of papers in 

AJB

 reflects that collaboration. 

Since I moved from Stanford to the Missouri 

Botanical Garden in 1971, I have focused more 

on floristics, producing work not suitable for 

publication in AJB, since floristics could be carried 

out efficiently with the major herbarium and library 

at MBG, and especially on conservation worldwide. 

When I published my first paper in the journal, it 

was not obvious that special efforts were needed for 

conservation, whereas now it is completely obvious.

In looking back over the course of your 

research, what areas have you consistently 

explored? What areas did you not expect to 

explore?

Plant systematics and evolution were my major 

focus from the mid-1950s to about 1980, and 

then I turned almost exclusively to floristics and 

conservation, and finding support for others. I 

had no idea until the mid-1960s that conservation 

would become such an important part of my career, 

and neither did anyone else, for the most part.

In looking back at all of the articles you’ve 

published in AJB, which one stands out above the 

others and why?

The joint article with Lewis and Kurabayashi 

on mitotic chromosomes in Onagraceae (“

Comparative Study of Mitosis in the Onagraceae

” 

from 1962) seems to me to have been the most 

important in that it began to solve a problem of 

general importance. Others in AJB have mostly 

been parts of large fields of knowledge.

Why have you chosen AJB as one of the 

journals in which you’ve published throughout 

your career?

Excellent circulation, reputation, and format, 

one of relatively few options when I began my 

career, and now better than ever.

Dr. Peter Raven.

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BSA Science Education 

News and Notes

BSA Science Education News and Notes is a quarterly update about the BSA’s education efforts and the 

broader education scene.  We invite you to submit news items or ideas for future features.  Contact:  Catrina 

Adams, Acting Director of Education, at CAdams@botany.org or Marshall Sundberg, PSB Editor, at psb@</p>

botany.org.

21

st

 Century Challenge: 

Opening Student’s Eyes to 

Plants in Their World

  —Dr. Catrina Adams, Acting Education Director, BSA

It is a warm fall day and I’m standing behind a 

booth at the Missouri Botanical Garden’s popular 

“Prairie Day” event running a classic outreach 

activity: guess the natural object based on touch 

alone. A 9-year-old gets a quizzical look on her 

face as she reaches into the “mystery box.” She 

takes the egg-shaped object in her hand, and runs 

her fingers over the papery scales. “Oh!” she says, 

“It’s an acorn!” Pulling the pinecone out of the box, 

she confirms her guess with a smile, “Definitely an 

acorn.” Now I’m the one perplexed—this is the third 

child today making the same misidentification. 

Perhaps you have noticed students arriving in 

your botany classes with very little background 

knowledge about plants. As Lena Struwe put it in 

an interview for a recent article on Plant Blindness 

in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Many times I have to 

start from scratch. This is a petal. This is a leaf. This 

is a branch.” 

The September issue of CBE Life Sciences 

Education has a special focus on plant science 

teaching and learning and is well worth a read. 

In the article “Attention ‘Blinks’ Differently for 

Plants and Animals,” authors Benjamin Balas and 

Jennifer Momsen apply the “attentional blink,” 

an established paradigm in visual cognition, to 

investigate differences in visual perception of plants 

and animals. They find that plants do not capture 

our attention in the same way as animals; it’s harder 

to notice plants. The authors offer three ways 

instructors can help students overcome perceptual 

biases against plants: 

1. Directly address plant blindness in instruction.
2. Increase opportunities for students to actively 

attend to plants in their environment.

3. Present plant images simultaneously with text 

or narration.

It’s not just students who are inattentive to plants. 

Part of the problem is that many K-12 teachers do 

not feel as prepared to teach about plants to their 

students, and favor using animal examples to 

address core concepts in biology. When surveyed 

through Horizon Research’s National Survey of 

Science and Mathematics Education about how 

well qualified they felt to teach five fundamental 

topics, high school biology teachers reported being 

least confident about plant biology. Only 59% of 

biology teachers report ever having had a course in 

botany. 

As botanists, we can make a difference by 

building bridges between levels of education, and 

by reaching out to younger audiences and their 

teachers to share our passion for plants. What can 

you do to help others pay attention to, appreciate, 

and become curious about the plants that they 

currently pass obliviously every day?  

Could you share learning activities you’ve 

developed with a broader audience through the 

PlantED Digital Library? 

Could you spare a few hours to communicate with 

middle- and high-school student teams through 

PlantingScience? Mentoring with PlantingScience 

requires a small time commitment (about an hour 

a week for 2-8 weeks when teams are active), with 

a flexible schedule.  The best part is that you don’t 

need to leave your office to make a difference in 

the lives of students and teachers from around the 

world. We’re recruiting mentors for the upcoming 

spring session until January 31.  To register as a new 

mentor, go to http://www.plantingscience.org. 

Perhaps you are already doing outreach, having 

broad impacts with your research, or volunteering 

your time to local efforts. If so, please let us know 

about your efforts so we can inspire other members 

at cadams@botany.org!

We all know how critical plants will be to facing 

this century’s global challenges. Let’s ground our 

future leaders, professionals, and citizens with a 

greener vision of the world around them and help 

open their eyes to plants.

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Youngest Gardeners Learn to 

Love Plants

Joan Hudson is passionate about bringing 

plant awareness and appreciation to the youngest 

audiences, volunteering her time to design and 

deliver garden programs for pre-K 4- and 5-year-

olds at the Gibbs Pre-K Center of the Huntsville 

Independent School District in Huntsville, TX. She 

and the other garden volunteers there involve the 

young students in experiencing the garden using all 

five senses. 
“I just love going to the preK and working with the 

many students each week. They all have a smile 

when they come to the garden… It is very rewarding 

– they are the next generation.”

Members Share Their Passion 

for Science and Plants by 

Mentoring

 “I am a very scientific-minded guy with new ideas 

everyday. I’m always interested in how things work 

and how things are put together. I am not a very 

plant oriented student and I never thought about 

planting anything in my life. I rest the future of 

plants in your hands.” – Quote from Planting-

Science student to scientist mentor

Middle- and high-school years are an important 

time to capture students’ interest in science and in 

plants, which unfortunately are underrepresented 

in many K-12 classrooms. During these years 

students are doing a lot of self-identification, 

finding their interests and beginning to think of 

themselves as “good at science” or “not good at 

science.” It’s a critical time to influence students 

and break through negative stereotypes about 

what science is and who scientists are, and give 

them a taste of what it is like to practice authentic 

science, including the creative thinking required to 

troubleshoot experimental designs and make sense 

of data.

This past summer we had the opportunity to talk 

with several PlantingScience mentors, and asked: 

“Why spend your time mentoring middle- and 

high-school students online?”

Dr. Rupesh Kariyat of the University of Wyoming 

was a mentor with Planting Science in the beginning 

years and was excited with the opportunities it 

offered not only the students, but also the science 

community. He believes the program has the ability 

to encourage students to study science. “I never had 

such an opportunity to interact with a scientist,” he 

said, “and to design and execute an experiment.”

“We get the cool science,” Kariyat said. “No other 

science gets this opportunity.”

Klara Scharnagl, a mycologist with Michigan 

State University, has been a scientist with Planting 

Science for 2½ years, and enjoys infusing an 

enthusiasm for plant science in the next generation.

She gets excited about engaging people in the 

discussion of what they grow and eat. In the context 

that people “generally don’t know the plants in 

their own backyard,” Scharnagl says the important 

discussion of loss of diversity is a long way off, 

but botanists have a good place to start when they 

can educate young people on the basics of plant 

production.

One thing PlantingScience is particularly good 

at, most of the mentors agree, is showing students 

that scientists are real people.

“Children picture a scientist,” Scharnagl said, 

“or some version of a scientist.” That image may 

be Albert Einstein or any number of caricatures of 

scientists shown in the media.  Then the student 

meets the botanist in PlantingScience via the 

mentor’s online profile and conversation or Skype 

and the image becomes more real.

“It changes what people think scientists are, 

and we become real people with families, pets and 

hobbies.”  And, students get a real look at what 

botany looks like as a career.  That, say the scientists, 

may have a real impact on whether students start 

thinking about science as a future career choice.

Dr. Emily Sessa of the University of Florida is 

enthusiastic about science outreach into all levels, 

including elementary education.  “It teaches 

important skills, including critical thinking,” she 

says. “If you give a little kid a microscope, it opens 

up a whole new world. It might change their life.  It 

is really powerful if you introduce a child to science 

at a young age.”

St. Louis University’s Dr. Allison Miller is also 

convinced that plants can be a hugely important 

vehicle for thinking about science, but even more 

important, for how we think about life on the planet.  

The connections among plants, conservation, food, 

and society, she explains, have created a perfect 

storm of information need that  botanists can fill. 

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Active young scientists like Angela Rein 

McDonnell, the new student representative 

on BSA’s Board, have stepped up to work on 

PlantingScience. “I am interested in being a better 

communicator and learning to explain complicated 

things,” she said of the program.

Talking to the middle- and high-school students 

is fun for her. “They are excited to hear what I think, 

and that makes me excited.”

The program “grows an awareness of plants and 

their value to the world,” explained McDonnell, 

who herself was inspired by her father who grew a 

large garden throughout her youth. 

The chance to change science literacy in the next 

generation is a bright beacon for botanists. Andrew 

Schnabel of Indiana University South Bend says he 

got involved in the PlantingScience program at its 

inception, believing that “participation is important 

for botany.”

“Most students coming into the university have 

little background in plants. It will help if we can 

get some younger children educated.” Part of that 

education, Schnabel said, is showing them the 

plethora of jobs that exist in botany. “There are 

thousands of jobs for plant biologists.” 

It’s just a matter of taking the opportunity to open 

the discussion with the upcoming generations, say 

these scientists.
(Thanks to Janice Dahl, Great Story!, for her help 

with this segment.)

PLANTED DIGITAL LIBRARY: WE 

NEED YOUR BEST RESOURCES

Many of you are already engaging your own 

students with plants and have phenomenal 

education resources that you’ve seen impact 

the students in your classes. Why not spend an 

afternoon polishing these stellar resources and 

share them with a broader audience online? The 

PlantED digital library is accepting submissions. 

Share your best lessons with teachers and 

professors around the world and get the satisfaction 

of knowing you are impacting many more students 

than you can reach through your own classes. 

PlantED is a peer-reviewed library of teaching 

resources. The peer-review process helps you refine 

your resource with feedback from reviewers and 

you will have a citable teaching resource when the 

materials are published online. To contribute, visit 

planted.botany.org.

Check out these recently 

published resources from the 

library:

Chemical Competition in Peatlands

Jon Swanson, Edwin O. Smith High School

Jessica Budke and Bernard Goffinet, Univer-

sity of Connecticut

These lab exercises were designed to enhance 

students’ understanding of the concept of chemical 

competition in ecology. They use the moss 

Sphagnum to illustrate the concept, which shows 

students that competition occurs between plants. 

Phylogenetic Approach to Teaching 

Plant Diversity

Phil Gibson and Joshua Cooper, University 

of Oklahoma

Educators can use this resource as an opportunity 

for students to collect structural data that can be 

used to construct phylogenies, combine structural 

and molecular data to construct phylogenies, gain 

experience in phylogeny construction, and provide 

a meaningful framework to learn the characteristics 

of major terrestrial plant groups. 

TOOLS FOR 21

st

 CENTURY 

BIOLOGY TEACHING

What is 21

st

 Century Biology? 

The Keynote Panel at the recent Life Discovery 

Conference aimed to answer that question and to 

challenge us meet 21st century biology teaching 

challenges. You can view a pdf of the presentation 

here: http://www.esa.org/ldc/wp-content/

uploads/2014/10/2014-LDC-Keynote.pdf

Panelists Janet Carlson and Susan Singer 

brought together biology education reform efforts 

from K-12 and higher education to show the 

common themes. As they demonstrate, “weaving 

meaningful connections across STEM learning is 

beginning to echo across all levels of education.” 

The panelists challenged us to see STEM focus not 

as content-specific, but rather as epistemic – “the 

sources, strategies, or practices from which science 

knowledge comes and, in turn, is shared.” In other 

words, we should be focused on communicating 

the “how” of biology, not the “what.”

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The Keynote ended with a call to action. You can 

be an agent of change by: 

1. Crossing boundaries between K-12 and 

institutions of higher education, talking with each 

other and respecting each other’s strengths.

2.  Being ready for students coming from a Next-

Generation Science Standards background who are 

primed to understand cross-cutting themes and the 

practices of science.

3. Thinking differently about undergraduate 

biology: revisit core ideas in increasing depth, 

build connections between ideas and disciplines, 

carefully construct a storyline and help learners 

construct and build explanations using evidence.

A Pedagogical Framework for 

Screencasting

Some of you may have participated in the 

Coursera MOOC “An Introduction to Evidence-

Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching,” a seven-

week course this fall that explored effective 

teaching strategies for college STEM classrooms. If 

you missed the course, this video series by Robert 

Talbert of Grand Valley State University, developed 

as a part of the course, describes the pedagogical 

framework for screencasting as part of a flipped-

instruction model. If you’ve considered presenting 

lectures outside of your classroom for any reason, 

you may find this video a helpful resource: http://

tinyurl.com/k3efayr.

Inquiring About Plants

Don’t miss Uno, Sundberg and Hemingway’s 

“Inquiring About Plants: A Practical Guide 

to Engaging Science Practices,” which offers 

classroom-tested “tricks of the trade” for drawing 

students into the practice of science. All proceeds 

from the sale of the $10.95 e-book will benefit the 

PlantingScience program. Print copies are available 

with a donation. For details or to get your copy, see 

http://www.plantingscience.org.

www.plantingscience.org  

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Editor’s Choice

What Does Online Mentorship of Secondary Science Students Look Like?

By Adams, Catrina T. and Claire A. Hemingway.

 2014. BioScience 64(11): 1042-1051.

Abstract: 

Mentorship by scientists can enrich learning opportunities for secondary science students, 

but how scientists perform these roles is poorly documented. We examine a partnership in which plant 

scientists served as online mentors to teams conducting plant investigations. In our content analysis of 

170 conversations, the mentors employed an array of scaffolding techniques (encouraging; helping clarify 

goals, ideas, and procedures; and supporting reflection), with social discourse centrally embedded and 

fundamental to the mentoring relationship. The interplay of techniques illustrates that scientist mentors 

harmonize multiple dimensions of learning and model the integration of science content and practice. The 

mentors fulfilled self-identified motivation to promote their students’ interest and to enculturate students 

to the science community through online discourse. The patterns of this discourse varied with the mentors’ 

gender, career stage, and team–mentor engagement. These findings address research gaps about the roles, 

functions, and conceptions of scientists as online mentors; they can be used to guide program facilitation 

and new research directions.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Personalia

In 

Memorium

William A. Jensen

1927-2014

Dr. William August “Bill” Jensen, Ph.D., 87, 

passed away quietly on September 9, 2014 at the 

Sanctuary Facility in Dublin, Ohio after a long 

illness. 

Bill led a very distinguished and full 

professional life. He received his Ph.B. (1948), 

M.S. (1950) and Ph.D. (1953) all from the 

University of Chicago. During his Ph.D. he held 

Atomic Energy and Public Health predoctoral 

fellowships at the University of Chicago and 

Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark.  

 

Just before he began his undergraduate program at 

the University of Chicago, Bill was drafted into the 

service at the end of the World War II. He never 

saw active duty but worked in an army hospital lab. 

He continued in the reserves during his schooling 

and returned to Europe to the Carlsberg Lab (with 

Prof. Heinz Holter) in Copenhagen where he 

completed his Ph.D. research. During his graduate 

work he married his first wife Joan Sell and they 

explored Europe and this set the stage for his future 

love for travelling to many places in the world.  

 

Upon returning from Europe, he carried out 

postdoctoral work at the California Institute of 

Technology (with Profs. Arthur Galston and 

James Bonner) (1953-55) and in the laboratory 

of Prof. Jean Brachet in Brussels, Belgium (1955-

56). He then accepted an Assistant Professorship 

at the University of Virginia (1956-57) and then 

the same at the University of California, Berkeley 

(1957) where he quickly rose through the ranks 

to Professor of Botany. During his tenure at UC-

Berkeley, he held positions of Chairman of the 

Department of Botany and also of Instruction in 

Biology, as well as Assistant and Associate Dean 

of the College of Letters and Science. In 1973-

74, he was Program Director of Developmental 

Biology at the National Science Foundation. Bill 

was invited to move to Ohio State University, 

Columbus in 1984 where he became Dean of 

Biological Sciences (1984-1999) and Professor 

of Plant Biology until his retirement in 2009.  

 

Bill was a man of many talents and interests. His 

early professional interests were in the areas of 

cell differentiation associated with plant embryos 

and embryo sac development which led him to 

combine techniques of histochemistry and electron 

microscopy, pioneering approaches at that time. 

From this work he became a sole author of the 

still popular book Botanical Histochemistry (1962). 

He mentored numerous graduate students and 

postdoctoral fellows who hold and have held major 

teaching and research positions at institutions of 

higher learning in the United States, Canada and 

Europe. His research has been published in over 100 

articles in a variety of excellent journals, including 

14 articles in the American Journal of Botany

 

Throughout his career, he developed a passion for 

teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate 

levels and received several important awards for 

these efforts from the University of California and 

the Ohio State University and the Charles E. Bessey 

Award from the Botanical Society of America. At 

the Ohio State University in his later years he taught 

very popular large classes to non-science majors 

that enjoyed his portrayals of famous scientists 

and his multimedia presentations. His authoring 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

of entry-level texts in General Botany and 

General Biology supported this love for making 

botany and biology fun and understandable. 

 

 

Bill gave generously to professional societies such 

as AAAS, the Botanical Society of America, and 

the American Institute of Biological Sciences. 

He was a Fellow of AAAS and the California 

Academy of Sciences, and received the Merit 

Award (Distinguished Fellow) from the Botanical 

Society of America where he served in a variety 

of capacities including its President in 1978. 

 

 

From an early age when he joined the high 

school science club because of his interests 

in biology, botany and microscopes, as well 

as playing the clarinet, to his adult life where 

biology, botany and microscopes continued to 

be focal points, Bill was always enthusiastic, 

curious, questioning, and pushing-the-envelope 

kind of person who loved challenges and always 

expected the best from himself and others. 

 

 

His insatiable curiosity and talent for creating 

beautiful, abstract, color pen drawings of images 

he had studied with his electron microscope 

became his passion in later years. He loved doing 

them, displayed them at art shows, sold them and 

sometimes gave them away as gifts. Prof. Jensen, ‘Bill’, 

you lived a full life, trained, mentored and taught 

countless young people to love botany and biology.  

 

You did this with dignity, humor, humbly and with 

a deep-seated love for humankind. Such a legacy 

will live on through your dear wife Beverly, your 

family, friends and colleagues for many years to 

come. We will miss you. 
---Dr. Jack Horner

Dr. and Mrs. Jensen exhibiting his artwork at Botany 2013 in New Orleans.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

Redesigned Hunt Institute 

Website at New URL

PITTSBURGH, PA—All things must come to 

an end. Although huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu has 

served the Hunt Institute well since 1997, it is time 

for a change. With our redesigned and reorganized 

website, we are migrating to a new URL (www.

huntbotanical.org).

We conducted a site-wide content review and 

reorganization and turned to Mizrahi, Inc. (www.

mizrahionline.com) of Pittsburgh for a new look 

and a better way to maintain and update the site. 

Most of the content from our old site has been 

incorporated into the new one. The reorganization 

and new design just make it more accessible. Also, 

we have augmented the new site with exciting, 

additional content. All issues of Huntia, our journal 

of botanical history, and the Bulletin, our newsletter, 

are now available online as PDFs. Other relevant, 

out-of-print publications will be added soon. 

Descriptions are available for every exhibition since 

our first public one in 1963. Publicity images and 

checklists will be added to these Past Exhibitions 

pages in the coming months. We added Virtues and 

Pleasures of Herbs through History to the Exhibitions 

Online section and revamped Botanists’ ArtOrder 

from Chaos will be undergoing a content review 

and redesign in the future. Our existing databases 

have been upgraded. We are pleased to announce 

the launch of the long-awaited Archives’ database, 

Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography. 

We continue to add thumbnail images to the 

Catalogue of the Botanical Art Collection at the 

Hunt Institute database. The public domain images 

will soon be available in a separate database to speed 

downloading. Our marketing information has been 

collected in an aptly named section where we invite 

everyone to “Get Involved” with the Institute.

About the Institute

The Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, 

a research division of Carnegie Mellon University, 

specializes in the history of botany and all aspects of 

plant science and serves the international scientific 

community through research and documentation. 

To this end, the Institute acquires and maintains 

authoritative collections of books, plant images, 

manuscripts, portraits and data files, and provides 

publications and other modes of information 

service. The Institute meets the reference needs of 

botanists, biologists, historians, conservationists, 

librarians, bibliographers and the public at large, 

especially those concerned with any aspect of the 

North American flora.

Hunt Institute was dedicated in 1961 as the 

Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Botanical Library, 

an international center for bibliographical 

research and service in the interests of botany 

and horticulture, as well as a center for the study 

of all aspects of the history of the plant sciences. 

By 1971 the Library’s activities had so diversified 

that the name was changed to Hunt Institute for 

Botanical Documentation. Growth in collections 

and research projects led to the establishment 

of four programmatic departments: Archives, 

Art, Bibliography and the Library. The current 

collections include approximately 24,000+ 

portraits; 200+ archival collections; 29,504 

watercolors, drawings and prints; 243,000+ data 

files; and 30,429 book and serial titles. The Archives 

specializes in biographical information about, and 

portraits of, scientists, illustrators and all others in 

the plant sciences and houses over 200 collections 

of correspondence, field notes, manuscripts and 

other writings. Including artworks dating from 

the Renaissance, the Art Department’s collection 

now focuses on contemporary botanical art and 

illustration, where the coverage is unmatched. The 

Art Department organizes and stages exhibitions, 

including the triennial International Exhibition 

of Botanical Art & Illustration. The Bibliography 

Department maintains comprehensive data files on 

the history and bibliography of botanical literature. 

Known for its collection of historical works on 

botany dating from the late 1400s to the present, the 

Library’s collection focuses on the development of 

botany as a science and also includes herbals (eight 

are incunabula), gardening manuals and florilegia, 

many of them pre-Linnaean. Modern taxonomic 

monographs, floristic works and serials as well as 

selected works in medical botany, economic botany, 

landscape architecture and a number of other 

plant-related topics are also represented.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

WARF Innovation Award 

Winners Harness A Busy Virus, 

Help Crops Bask In The Shade

Plant research reigns at the 

annual prize ceremony

MADISON, Wis. – A discovery that could 

transform drug production and a fresh strategy for 

feeding a hungry world have claimed top honors 

from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation 

(WARF). The winning teams are led by professors 

Aurelie Rakotondrafara and Richard Vierstra.

 “We give these awards to recognize the creativity 

and dedication that spark breakthroughs on 

campus,” says Carl Gulbrandsen, managing director 

of WARF.

 This year’s prizewinners included a special 

genetic sequence that could enable researchers to 

produce multiple proteins from a single strand of 

mRNA. The sequence, a type of internal ribosome 

entry site (IRES), was discovered in a wheat virus 

by UW–Madison plant pathologist Rakotondrafara 

and collaborator Jincan Zhang.

 “The new IRES is the first of its kind that can 

be exploited in plant systems, with far-reaching 

implications,” says Rakotondrafara. “The power to 

express multiple genes at once could lead to better 

biofuel crops and new drugs.”

 The researchers found the special sequence 

in the Triticum mosaic virus, which can express 

its protein at a higher efficiency from its single 

mRNA strand. Their discovery could change how 

biopharmaceuticals are made, like the antibody 

cocktail produced in tobacco plants currently being 

used to treat Ebola victims.

 A team led by genetics professor Vierstra also 

received accolades for its work on light-sensing 

plant proteins called phytochromes. These 

photoreceptors play a key role in how plants 

respond to shade, triggering developments such as 

lanky stalks and immature fruit.

 But phytochrome mutations created by Vierstra, 

Ernest Burgie, Adam Bussell and Joseph Walker may 

alter how plants react to their environment. That 

could mean smaller crops capable of flourishing 

in dense, low-light conditions, or making plants 

flower and produce fruits and seeds at times of the 

year when the weather might be better.

 “To feed a surging world population, we’ll have 

to rethink how we grow food,” says Vierstra. “This 

research could be a major boon to agricultural 

productivity.”

 An independent panel of judges selected the 

winners from a field of six finalists. These finalists 

were drawn from among more than 400 invention 

disclosures submitted to WARF over the past 12 

months. The winning inventions each receive an 

JOB OPENING 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR: BOTANY

Nine-month, tenure-track position, Department 

of Biological Sciences, Emporia State University, 

Emporia, KS. Ph.D. required by time of hire. Teach 

plant taxonomy and lab, general biology, and 

specialty courses that complement our existing 

offerings at the undergraduate and graduate 

level. Successful applicants will have experience 

in plant systematics, plant community ecology, 

or biogeography. Teaching experience desirable; 

post-doctoral research experience desirable but not 

required. Development of active research program 

involving undergraduates and master’s-level 

graduate students expected. Faculty typically teach 

12 contact hours (or equivalent). 

Starting date August 2015; Salary range: $50,000-

$53,000. Screening will begin January 13, 2015, and 

continue until position is filled. 

Send letter of application with separate statements 

of teaching philosophy and research interests, CV, 

unofficial transcripts, and four references including 

address, telephone number, and e-mail address 

to: Dr. Brenda Koerner, Search Committee Chair, 

Department of Biological Sciences, Campus Box 

4050, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS 

66801-5415. Telephone: 620-341-5606; FAX: 620-

341-5607; e-mail: bkoerner@emporia.edu; website: 

http://biology.emporia.edu. 

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity 

Employer Institution, Emporia State University 

encourages minorities and women to apply.

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205

Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

BSA Membership: There’s No 

Place Like Home

There’s no place like home if you’re a botanist.  

And if you’re a botanist, there’s no place quite as 

comfortable as the Botanical Society of America—

at least that’s what the scientists at Botany 2014 in 

Boise, Idaho, had to say. 

“I love BSA and the Botany Conference. It really 

feels like family,” said Klara Scharnagl, a mycologist 

from Michigan State University. “It is friendly, 

open and people are willing to talk about ideas.”  

She talked about the interesting mix of relaxed 

professionalism, and the focus of BSA on building 

up young scientists.  

Dr. Marian Chau of the University of Hawai‘i 

at Manoa Lyon Arboretum first got involved as 

a student and said the welcoming atmosphere 

hooked her.  “You can walk up to anyone, even the 

big names, and they will talk to you about their 

research and yours,” she said. That genuine interest 

in all kinds of botanical science and in scientists 

at all career levels are things many BSA members 

believe is unique about the Society.

“Plants are my life,” said Dr. Uromi Goodale of 

Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, Chinese 

Academy of Sciences. “I couldn’t think of a better 

conference to attend.” She’s been a member of BSA 

and attending the conferences throughout her 

career, focusing on development, networking and 

training.

“I think it’s my responsibility, not only as a 

scientist, but as a human being to mentor young 

people willing to conserve and preserve what I call 

‘green gold,’ the plants and water,” she says.  Like 

so many of her fellow scientists in BSA, she takes 

that feeling to heart, spending every moment of the 

Botany Conference talking and mentoring, hoping 

to help take science to the next level through the 

emotional connections made with people.

Dr. Kyra Krakos, Maryville University, sees BSA 

as a way to turn science up a notch, from the student 

right on up. She brings her own students to the 

conferences to “introduce them to a broader world 

of science without terrifying them.  Attending (the 

conference),” she says, “is when students decide 

whether to go on into science or not.” Or even, she 

explains, exactly where in science they might want 

to go.

Krakos talks passionately about the effect BSA 

has on its young people. “They speak science 

better” after they come to a meeting. “They make 

connections and contacts, and they make decisions 

about their careers and course of study.” 

For Dr. Emily Sessa of the University of Florida, 

BSA is a fantastic place to find plant scientists with 

different backgrounds and fields of scientific study.  

“From the moment I leave one Botany Conference, 

I am counting down the minutes to the next Botany 

meeting,” she said with a laugh. “It’s a contagious 

sort of environment.”

Why contagious?  It’s a combination, she 

says, of taking into account the education and 

camaraderie.  Sessa first came to BSA on a research 

award as a graduate student, and talks about all the 

opportunities that exist at all levels for scientists. 

Dr. Allison Miller of St. Louis University’s 

Biology Department echoes that sentiment, 

coming to BSA as the winner of the Young 

Botanist award as an undergraduate. Today, she 

has a network built of friends from those first years, 

with new friends added each and every year.  “It 

is a friendly, supportive and honest environment, 

not competitive,” she said. “It becomes a place of 

support, not only professionally, but personally. “

BSA member Kyra Krakos, University of Maryville-

St. Louis (top row, second from left) enjoying time 

with some of her undergraduate students at Botany 

2014: Adam Hoeft, Audra DeMariano, Adam Rork, 

Ryan Hulsey, and Rebecca Girresch.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

Miller, like others, talked about the culture of 

support and mentoring in the Society. “We all have 

a huge responsibility to encourage a support people 

through the rocky times and all the way through 

their careers,” she said. “I have scientists here I seek 

out even now. It is my responsibility to mentor 

young scientists and my desire to seek out mentors.”

Networking is one way to start finding the people 

who will impact your career, said Dr. Stacey Smith 

of the University of Colorado, Boulder. “I always tell 

my students, ‘The interview starts now.’ And it does. 

As soon as you start connecting, all the foundations 

you need through your career are right here at the 

meeting,” she said.

“This is the group of people I am most comfortable 

with,” Smith says. It has put her in contact with 

some of the leading botanical scientists. As a result, 

she has plotted her own career track to mirror 

theirs and inspire high achievement for herself. 

“You have to have a goal to aim for. All these people 

had something they started with and made some 

unique contributions… I can see how that path 

could go. 

“Having that community is hugely important,” 

Smith says. “I encourage my students to go out into 

that community and I can be confident they will 

be well-received.” The community is broad-based, 

including other students and scientists at every 

stage of their careers. 

Morgan Gostel, the past student representative 

on the BSA Board from George Mason University, 

also talked about the important role the community 

plays. “There are other professionals I can network 

with to share, collaborate and learn from. That 

provides me an outlet for presenting and sharing 

my research.”  As a young scientist, that has meant 

the ability to be part of a professional network, and 

feeling tied-in to something important.” 

If you have a colleague who isn’t a BSA member 

at this point, direct him or her to http://botany.

org/membership/ or simply e-mail Heather 

Cacanindin, Membership & Subscriptions Director, 

at hcacanindin@botany.org. 
—By Janice Dahl, Great Story!

Membership to the Society and attendance at annual Botany conferences---like this gathering at the final 

night of Botany 2014 in Boise---open doors to future collaborations and even enduring friendships. 

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what can be done here and on other islands to, 

hopefully, reverse habitat loss and stop the further 

extinction of species.

Origins of the Hawaiian Islands 

and their unique biota

The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated, 

large group of islands on Earth. North America 

is the closest continent at about 4,000 km away. 

The Marquesas Islands are the closest large group 

of islands at a distance of about 3500 km from 

Hawai‘i. The Hawaiian Islands are produced by a 

nearly stationary volcanic hotspot that subtends the 

Pacific tectonic plate and that is currently adding 

fresh lava to the Island of Hawai‘i (aka: the Big 

Island). As the Pacific plate moves to the northwest 

at ca. 9 cm/year, the formation of each island ceases 

and it slowly erodes into the sea over the course 

of millennia. This hotspot has been active for at 

least 80 million years and has produced what we 

recognize today as the main Hawaiian Islands (i.e., 

from youngest to oldest: Hawai‘i, Kaho‘olawe, Maui, 

Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, O‘ahu, Ni‘ihau, and Kaua‘i; 0 to ca. 

5 million years old), the northwestern Hawaiian 

Islands, and the Emperor Chain. The latter two 

chains of islands represent former high islands that 

are currently either just above sea level or below sea 

level.

The interplay of two critical, environmental 

factors has facilitated the evolution and 

diversification of the Hawaiian biota: (1) Most of the 

main islands reach elevations of at least 1000 m and 

as high is 4200 m, and (2) at 19 to 20 degrees North 

latitude, these high islands are within the northern 

trade winds belt. This combination of nearly 

constant easterly/northeasterly tropical winds with 

middle to high elevations creates dramatic rainfall 

gradients on both sides of mountains, including 

drastic rain shadows, that present opportunities for 

ecological and biotic evolution and diversification. 

The known or estimated numbers of native 

terrestrial species of all groups of organisms on the 

Hawaiian Islands are low compared to similarly 

sized regions in comparable habitats in mainland 

tropical regions. The known number of flowering 

plants is nearly 1100 species (W. L. Wagner, pers. 

comm.), ferns and lycophytes 159 species (Vernon 

& Ranker, 2013), and mosses 159 species (Staples 

et al. 2004). By contrast, for example, the Mexican 

state of Chiapas is about 1.7 times larger than the 

Evolution and extinction on 

a volcanic hotspot: Science, 

conservation, and restoration 

in the endangered species 

capital of the world

Address of the BSA President

From Botany 2014

Tom A. Ranker

University of Hawai‘i

The theme chosen for the 2014 International 

Day for Biological Diversity, sponsored by the 

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), was 

Island Biodiversity, which coincided with the 

designation by the United Nations General Assembly 

of 2014 as the International Year of Small Island 

Developing Nations. The CBD website provides a 

succinct summary of the importance of biodiversity 

on islands: “

Islands and their surrounding near-

shore marine areas constitute unique ecosystems 

often comprising many plant and animal species 

that are endemic—found nowhere else on Earth. 

The legacy of a unique evolutionary history these 

ecosystems are irreplaceable treasures” (

http://

www.cbd.int/idb/2014/). Not only do islands 

present “irreplaceable treasures” of diversity, 

unfortunately, they also present dramatic examples 

of our current human-caused extinction crisis with 

many islands experiencing some of the highest 

rates of the loss of species due to direct or indirect 

human activity. Fortunately, however, there is an 

increasing awareness of the need for conservation 

and restoration efforts on oceanic islands globally. 

I have been conducting research on the flora 

of the Hawaiian Islands for over 25 years. In 

this presentation, I will summarize the primary 

attributes of this archipelago that have both led to 

the evolution and diversification of its unique biota 

and to its massive loss of native ecosystems and 

native species of plants and animals. The examples 

provided by the Hawaiian Islands are reflective of 

similar patterns and processes that have occurred 

on many oceanic islands worldwide.

Lastly, I will highlight several examples of 

conservation and restoration efforts and programs 

present in the Hawaiian Islands to give a hint of 

Reports

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

entirety of the Hawaiian Islands (simple.wikipedia.

org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_area) with a 

broadly similar range of habitats but possesses 

about 8000 species of vascular plants alone (Smith, 

1981). 

Certainly one of the most spectacular attributes 

of the native Hawaiian biota is the high level of 

species endemism. Here are some endemism 

values: angiosperms, 89%; ferns and lycophytes, 

74%; mosses, 51%; liverworts, 74%; arthropods, 

99%; mollusks, 99%; birds, 81%. These are the 

highest or among the highest of any place on the 

planet. In addition, the Hawaiian Islands are home 

to some of our most striking cases of adaptive 

radiations. Among plants, the most species-rich 

radiations from single colonizing ancestors include 

the Silversword alliance (30 species, 3 endemic 

genera; Asteraceae), the lobelioids (ca. 130 species, 

6 endemic genera; Campanulaceae), and the 

mallows (20 endemic species, 2 endemic genera; 

Malvaceae) with each clade showing species with a 

diversity of life forms and habits (e.g., see Wagner 

et al., 1999). 

Environmental destruction and 

species extinctions

Humans first arrived in the Hawaiian Islands 

approximately 1500 years ago. Since human 

settlement, about 90% of the native dry forest has 

been lost, 60% of mesic forest, and 40% of wet forest. 

Before European contact (1778), 35 bird species 

had been driven to extinction (e.g., see Armstrong, 

1983) and the continued loss and degradation of 

natural landscapes has led to numerous extinctions 

in most groups of organisms with many additional 

species currently on the brink of extinction. Over 

half of vascular plant taxa are considered at risk 

(Palmer, 2003; Sakai et al., 2002; Vernon & Ranker, 

2013; Wagner et al., 1999), 10% of the native flora 

has gone extinct since human arrival (Wagner et al., 

1999), and over 30% is federally listed as threatened 

or endangered (www.fws.org). Over 40% of the 

plant species listed as threatened or endangered in 

the United States are native to the Hawaiian Islands 

(www.fws.gov), which comprise only 0.2% of the 

country’s land surface area.

Other than direct landscape modification by 

human activity, the introduction of alien organisms 

(accidentally or on purpose) has caused massive 

changes to native ecosystems and has introduced 

major threats to native species. More than 5000 

introduced species have become established in 

the Hawaiian Islands, many of them aggressive. 

For example, 46% of vascular plants now common 

on Hawaiian landscapes are introduced aliens; 

43% of other terrestrial plant groups; 20–25% of 

arthropods; 48% of other invertebrates; 27% of 

birds; 95% of mammals; and, 100% of reptiles and 

amphibians (i.e., Hawai‘i has no native reptiles or 

amphibians but now has 33 species naturalized) 

(see Juvik & Juvik, 1998).

Conservation and restoration

Numerous individuals, organizations, and 

governmental agencies are engaged in conservation 

and restoration efforts in the Hawaiian Islands 

at both the level of individual species and at 

landscape/ecosystem levels. Here I will highlight a 

few examples.

Auwahi Dryland Forest Restoration on Mau‘i. 

Tropical dry forests in the Hawaiian Islands 

and other oceanic islands worldwide have been 

disproportionately impacted by human activity and 

are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems 

(see Medeiros et al., 2014, and references 

therein). In the Hawaiian Islands, less than 10% 

Dr. Thomas Ranker delivers his address at Botany 

2014 in Boise.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

the initiation of protection, the ecosystem was 

severely damaged by off-road vehicle activity. 

Vehicles were prohibited shortly after the NAR was 

established and the vegetation began to recover, but 

the ground-nesting seabird populations were still 

severely impacted by invasive mammals including 

rats, mice, dogs, cats, and mongoose. In addition, 

endangered plants were unable to reproduce due to 

seed predation (see Young et al. 2012 and references 

therein; see link to download a PDF of this report 

in the Literature Cited section).

A large-scale restoration effort of the Ka‘ena Point 

NAR was begun in 2010 with the construction of a 

2-m tall predator-proof fence, blocking off 20 ha, 

and the removal of all predators via trapping. The 

fence was completed in 2011. Details of the project 

and a report of the initial impact of the project 

on native species can be found in Young et al. 

(2012). Surveys indicate that seabird populations 

are recovering quickly; e.g., the average number 

of Wedge-tailed Shearwater chicks observed per 

year have increased from about 614 to 2359 and 

the average number of pairs of adults attempting 

to nest has increased from an average of 3265 to 

4726. Laysan Albatrosses are showing similar signs 

of recovery. Ongoing surveys will assess the impact 

of restoration on the endangered plant populations.

Examples of conservation and 

restoration programs

There are numerous programs and initiatives in 

the State of Hawai‘i that focus on various aspects 

of biological conservation and restoration. These 

include private foundations, private companies, 

botanical gardens, museums, and local, state, and 

federal agencies. I will provide two examples here.

Hawaiian Rare Plant Program (HRPP) at 

Harold L. Lyon Arboretum at the University of 

Hawai‘i at Mānoa. The goals of the HRPP are (1) 

prevent further extinction of native Hawaiian plant 

species and Polynesian introduced crop plants, (2) 

propagate plants for approved restoration projects 

and garden use, and (3) initiate and maintain an 

in vitro and seed germplasm collection of critically 

endangered plants. The program consists of two 

units. The Micropropagation Laboratory conducts 

research on the best ways to propagate the species 

of concern via micropagation (aka: tissue culture) 

and to produce large numbers of plants for 

ecological restoration projects. The lab is currently 

growing about 17,500 individual plants from 228 

plant taxa, 141 of which are listed as threatened or 

endangered. The Seed Conservation Laboratory 

of the pre-Polynesian contact area of dry forests 

remains. The original dry forests of east Mau‘i 

were destroyed by over-grazing and burning and 

have mostly been replaced by large stands of an 

aggressive invasive shrub Ageratina adenophora 

(Spreng.) Kind & Robinson (Asteraceae), along 

with a massive population of the invasive grass 

Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone 

(“kikuyu grass”; Poaceae). The spread of these and 

other invasive species, along with the activities of 

domestic cattle and feral ungulates, has caused 

massive declines in populations of native species. In 

1997 a long-term restoration project of dry forest 

was initiated on the western slope of Haleakala on 

east Mau‘i in an area called Auwahi. The work has 

been conducted by a partnership between the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS)/Biological Resources 

Division (BRD)/Pacific Island Ecosystems Research 

Center (PIERC) and the Leeward Haleakala 

Watershed Restoration Partnership (see: http://

www.hear.org/usgs-brd-pierc-hfs/; http://www.

lhwrp.org/). Details of this project and initial results 

as of 2012 can be found in Medeiros et al. (2014). 

Broadly speaking, the project involved delineating a 

4 ha ungulate-proof exclosure, suppressing kikuyu 

grass with an herbicide, and planting seedlings 

of the formerly common native shrub Dodonaea 

viscosa Jacq. (Sapindaceae). By 2012, native shrub 

cover had increased from 3.1% to 81.9% and cover 

of nonnative grasses had declined from 75.4% 

to 3.3%. In addition, nonplanted seedlings of 14 

native tree species and six native shrub species 

were observed in the restoration area. Stem counts 

of native woody plants increased from 12.4 to 

135.0/100 m

2

 and native species diversity increased 

from 2.4 to 6.6/100 m

2

. New exclosures are being 

constructed nearby to expand this restoration 

effort. 

Restoration of Ka‘ena Point Natural Area 

Reserve, O‘ahu. The Natural Area Reserve (NAR) 

system of the State of Hawai‘i consists of 20 reserves 

on five islands and encompasses 50,000 ha of the 

State’s most unique ecosystems (http://dlnr.hawaii.

gov/ecosystems/nars/). The Ka‘ena Point area on 

westernmost O‘ahu is a remnant dune system 

and was established as a NAR in 1983. The area 

harbors one of the largest seabird colonies in the 

main Hawaiian Islands, is home to populations of 

three endangered species of flowering plants, and is 

an important pupping ground for the endangered 

Hawaiian monk seal. The primary nesting 

seabirds include the Wedge-tailed Shearwater 

and the Laysan Albatross. For decades prior to 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

conducts research on the best ways to achieve 

long-term storage of seeds of both common and 

rare, threatened, or endangered native Hawaiian 

plant taxa. The lab has about 4.6 million seeds and 

ca. 200,000 spores of ferns from about 475 native 

Hawaiian plant species, 168 of which are listed as 

threatened or endangered. More information about 

the HRPP can be found on their website: http://

manoa.hawaii.edu/lyonarboretum/conservation/

hrpp/.

O‘ahu Army Natural Resources Program 

(OANRP). The OANRP was established about 

15 years ago and currently has a staff of over 

60. It implements conservation actions for the 

stabilization of 51 federally listed threatened or 

endangered plant species that occur on U.S. Army 

lands and surrounding areas on the Island of O‘ahu. 

The general goals of OANRP are to establish and 

maintain stable populations of the 51 species, 

manage threats (i.e., weed control, predator 

control), and to collect germplasm for storage 

of genetic materials and for ex situ propagation 

for restoration projects. More information about 

OANRP can be found on their website: http://

www.garrison.hawaii.army.mil/sustainability/

NaturalResources.aspx. 

There are numerous useful online resources that 

will provide valuable gateways to conservation and 

restoration activities in the Hawaiian Islands, for 

example:

http://www.hawaiiconservation.org/
http://www.conservehi.org/
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/

northamerica/unitedstates/hawaii/

Literature Cited

Armstrong, R. W. (ed.). 1983. Atlas of Hawaii, 2

nd

 

Edition. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu.

Juvik, S. P. and J. O. Juvik (eds.). 1998. Atlas of 

Hawai‘i, 3

rd

 Edition. University of Hawai‘i Press, 

Honolulu.

Medeiros, A. C., E. I. von Allmen, and C. G. 

Chimera. 2014. Dry forest restoration and 

unassisted native tree seedling recruitment at 

Auwahi, Maui. Pacific Science 68: 33–45.

Palmer, D. D. 2003. Hawaii’s Ferns and Fern Allies

University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu.

Sakai, A. K., W. L. Wagner, and L. A. Mehrhoff. 

2002. Patterns of endangerment in the Hawaiian 

flora. Systematic Biology 51: 276–302.

Smith, A. R. 1981. Flora of Chiapas. In D. E. 

Breedlove, ed., Flora of Chiapas, Part 2. pp. 

1–370. San Francisco: California Academy of 

Sciences.

Staples, G. W., C. T. Imada, W. J. Hoe, and C. W. 

Smith. A revised checklist of Hawaiian mosses. 

Tropical Bryology 25: 35–69.

Vernon, A. L. and T. A. Ranker. 2013. Current status 

of the ferns and lycophytes of the Hawaiian 

Islands. American Fern Journal 103: 59–111.

Wagner, W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer 

(eds.) 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of 

Hawai‘i. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu.

Young, L. C., E. A. Vanderwerf, C. Mitchell, E. 

Yeun, C. J. Miller, D. G. Smith, and C. Swenson. 

2012. The use of predator proof fencing as a 

management tool in the Hawaiian Islands: a 

case study of Ka‘ena Point Natural Area Reserve. 

Technical Report 180. Pacific Cooperative 

Studies Unit, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. 

http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hpicesu/techr/180/

v180.pdf.

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211

Book Reviews

Bryological and Lichenological

A Field Guide to California Lichens ..............................................................................211

Economic Botany

The World as a Garden: The Life and Writings of David Fairchild  ..............................213

Plant Biographies (or Plant’s Eye View of the Planet and Man) ....................................214

Education

Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the Discovery  

of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin ..............................................................................215

Systematics

Trees Of Western North America ...................................................................................217

Field Guide to Wisconsin Grasses ..................................................................................217

Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve .............................................................218

Bryological and Lichenological

A Field Guide to California Lichens

Stephen Sharnoff

2014. ISBN-13: 978-0-300-19500-2

Flexibound, US$32.50. 405 pp.  

Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecti-

cut, USA

The eagerly awaited new guide to California lichens 

is now available. The author, Stephen Sharnoff, 

was a co-author with Dr. Irwin M. Brodo on the 

monumental  Lichens of North America, a more 

definitive volume with an abundance of color 

photographs, but not a field guide. This compact 

new book (9.25 × 5.5 inches) is a handy size to take 

in the field. It describes 707 of the 1500-plus species 

of lichens reported in California, with about 500 

color illustrations. 
The foreword by Peter Raven provides an excellent 

introduction to lichenology and to the wide range 

of habitats found in the state. He also points out the 

threats to survival of many lichen species, one of 

many reasons to collect and study these organisms.
An introductory chapter by the author describes the 

complexity of habitats in the state, their symbiotic 

physiology, asexual reproduction, internal structure 

including sexual reproduction, terminology, and 

collecting methods.
The guide organizes lichens by form in three 

groups: foliose, fruticose, and crustose genera, 

and alphabetically within each group. Under each 

genus, the more common species are described and 

pictured.  Spores, chemistry, substrates, frequency, 

and geographic distribution in California are given, 

where relevant, for each species. Comparisons are 

made with similar-appearing lichens. Common 

names are given, as in Lichens of North America

these names are not “common” among collectors 

in my experience, but they often add a visual clue 

to particular lichens, such as “firedot lichens” for 

species of the brilliant orange Caloplaca species. 
The California lichen flora deserves its own 

book, because the state is so ecologically diverse, 

its lichen flora is huge (over 1500 species), and 

because it includes many unique lichens restricted 

to the Pacific coast,  Baja California, and the 

California Channel Islands. Habitats include ocean 

cliffs, mountains, alpine environments, deserts, 

chaparral, hardwood forests, conifer forests, 

and sand dunes. The California Channel Islands 

offer an almost pristine array of lichens that once 

occupied the adjacent mainland but are now mostly 

extirpated by urbanization, farming, ranching, and 

fire. Genera in this group include Dendrographa, 

Dirina, Lecanographa, Niebla, PhyllopsoraRoccella, 

Schizopelte,  and Thelomma. Desert genera, found 

in California but rare elsewhere, include Heppia, 

Lichinella and other Lichinaceae, Peltula,  and 

Texosporium
Sharnoff tackles some difficult genera such as 

Caloplaca (35 species), Lecanora (28 pictured), and 

Usnea (22 species). Color photographs are often the 

easiest way to tentatively identify some crustose 

forms. Inclusion of common but difficult crustose 

genera on rock will be especially helpful; examples 

are six species of Acarospora, seven of Aspicilia

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

seven of Buellia, and eight of Ochrolechia.  All are 

very common genera, but species identification 

requires specialized keys and diligence.
Sharnoff clearly is aware of the current status 

of various lichens, and the names given are 

all up to date. The book includes first reports 

of several species for California:  Caloplaca 

arizonica,  Enterographa oregonensis,  Roccella 

gracilisSphaerellothecium subtile (a lichenicole on 

Seirophora), and for the basidiolichen Multiclavula 

corynoides; the latter is also pictured for the first 

time. An intriguing pair of photographs (p. 174) 

compares  Dendrographa leucophaea, a coastal 

fruticose lichen, in the unparasitized form with 

the same species parasitized by a third fungus or 

lichenicole,  Trimmatothele dendrographae, which 

changes its morphology dramatically.
Two appendices discuss chemical spot tests and 

recent name changes. The latter is a constant 

problem in lichenology, because numerous generic 

names have been changed in the past 20 years or so. 

Hence referring to older books, articles, or species 

lists can be confusing. A glossary, bibliography, and 

index complete the book.
Drawbacks are minimal: scale bars are missing on 

the photographs, but accompanying descriptions 

usually give dimensions. No authorities are given 

for the scientific names.  One factual error is on p. 

300; Lecidea brodoana is not endemic to California 

as it also occurs in Arizona and Mexico. There 

are a few misspellings: I noticed “asahinea” (p. 

162), “Hafelia” (p. 373), “shizidia” (p. 402), and 

“walrothii” (p. 403).
No key is included; the author states that he 

preferred to include more species, rather than 

devote space to keys. The author also notes that 

when the reader finds a lichen not included in 

this book, other lichen books with keys can be 

consulted. Other important sources with keys and 

a wider coverage of species include Lichens of North 

America and the three volumes of the Lichen Flora 

of the Greater Sonoran Desert Region edited by T. 

H. Nash and colleagues. Another lapse is the failure 

to include the old synonyms from Appendix 2 in 

the index.  If one knows a lichen as Fuscopannaria 

leucophaea, there is nothing in the index to help 

one know it is now called Vahliella leucophaea.
I recommend this lichen guide, with its stunning 

photographs and modest price, to all field biologists, 

amateur or professional, in California. It would 

be excellent for an introductory lichen course, 

particularly one aimed at field identification. It 

requires only a hand lens, and does not depend 

on use of a compound microscope, for most of 

the species included.  The book will be essential 

to amateurs wanting to learn the common lichens 

in the state, and will also introduce them to many 

rare or unusual lichens, as well as some essentials 

on lichen biology.
–Shirley C. Tucker, Research Botanist, Santa Bar-

bara Botanic Garden, and Lichen Curator, Cheadle 

Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, 

University of California, Santa Barbara, California, 

USA. tucker@liifesci.ucsb.edu

LITERATURE CITED

Brodo, I. M., S. D. Sharnoff, and S. Sharnoff. 2001. 

Lichens of North America. Yale University 

Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.

Nash, T. H., III, B. D. Ryan, C. Gries, and F. 

Bungartz  [eds.].  2002.  Lichen  flora  of 

the  Greater  Sonoran  Desert  region,  Vol. 

1.  Lichens  Unlimited,  Arizona  State 

University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.

Nash, T. H., III, B. D. Ryan, P. Diederich, C. 

Gries, and F. Bungartz [eds.]. 2004.  Lichen 

flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert region, 

Vol.  2.  Lichens  Unlimited,  Arizona  State 

University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.

Nash, T. H., III, C. Gries, and F. Bungartz [eds.]. 

2007. Lichen flora of the Greater Sonoran Desert 

region, Vol. 3. Lichens Unlimited, Arizona State 

University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

economic Botany

The World as a Garden: The Life 

and Writings of David Fairchild

David W. Lee, editor 

2013. ISBN-13: 978-1-4937-6523-2 

Paperback, US$12.68. xvi + 335 pp. 

Createspace, West Charleston, South Caro-

lina, USA

David Fairchild (1869–1954) had a great impact on 

American agriculture and horticulture in the first 

half of the twentieth century. During those years, 

he published five popular books (now long out of 

print) on plant exploration and travels in tropical 

lands and on insects under the microscope. At the 

very end of the nineteenth century, he started and 

directed the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction 

(S.P.I.) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

which eventually expanded into the present-day 

Agricultural Research Service. Thus, he initiated 

the government-supported exploration and 

collection of new foreign crops and ornamental 

plants in a systematic way. In his later years, David 

Fairchild championed tropical fruits and palms 

for Florida, where he was directly involved in the 

creation of four present-day botanical institutions: 

USDA Subtropical Horticultural Station, Fairchild 

Tropical Botanic Garden, The Kampong of the 

National Tropical Garden, and Montgomery 

Botanical Center. With his name associated with 

these centers of gardening, botanical research, 

and education, Fairchild is still recognized and 

appreciated in South Florida, but he is less known 

elsewhere in America. We can now be reacquainted 

with his enthusiasm and love of plants and with his 

influence on the variety of plants growing in our 

farms and gardens. 
David Lee has collected an anthology of Fairchild’s 

writings that are selected from chapters of his books, 

published essays, articles from National Geographic 

and professional journals, and unpublished letters. 

These excepts follow Fairchild’s life from his birth 

at the new Michigan State University, where his 

father was a professor, to his childhood on the 

new campus of Kansas State University, to his final 

years in Miami. Taken as a whole, the writings 

give a fascinating picture of Fairchild’s life and 

accomplishments. They paint a portrait of a humble 

man who loved plants, travel, and the company of 

fellow plant enthusiasts and his extended family. 

The introductory commentaries by David Lee are 

in italic font and are clearly distinguished from 

Fairchild’s own words, which are printed without 

italics. Lee has also selected many black-and-white 

photographs, dating from the 1870s to the 1950s, 

of Fairchild’s family, botanical friends, and locales 

throughout his life that parallel the text. Many of 

the photos are printed here for the first time from 

archival material. Lee’s commentaries place the 

excerpts in context with the events of the times and 

with Fairchild’s life. Often, Lee discusses Fairchild’s 

actions and opinions in terms of the understanding 

at the time compared to what we know today about 

the ecology of weeds and invasive plants, or about 

genetics and eugenics. 
I recommend this book for any botanist who enjoys 

reading about plant exploration in “the old days,” 

for horticulturists keen to learn more about how the 

diversity of garden plants were introduced to this 

country, and for biologists curious to know what it 

was like to be a young American biologist studying 

at the great German universities under famous 

professors of the nineteenth century. Read how the 

Japanese cherry trees in Washington, D.C., were 

originally burned on arrival due to contamination 

and had to be reshipped with better quarantine 

controls. Fairchild writes about his father-in-law, 

Alexander Graham Bell, and his association with 

other botanical personalities of the twentieth 

century, including L. H. Bailey, W. Swingle, and E. 

D. Merrill. He describes the rugged adventures of 

Frank Meyers and Joseph Rock, who he employed 

as field collectors. History buffs will find the first-

person accounts of Fairchild’s involvement with 

so many aspects of American agriculture and 

horticulture fascinating. He writes about the need 

to establish an Everglades National Park and to 

develop new crops, especially tropical fruits, in 

Florida. I read the book at intervals without losing 

my place in Fairchild’s life story or losing interest in 

the fascinating life of a true plant lover. For a very 

modest price, I got hours of reading enjoyment and 

experienced some of the thrill of plant exploration.
–Jack B. Fisher, Department of Botany, University 

of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, 

Canada

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

genus, then give selected species. Synonyms are 

listed, then one common name is chosen and put 

in bold capitals. The plant is very briefly described: 

“SAFFRON is a bulbous perennial. Native to Asia 

Minor and southern Europe, it has crocus-like blue, 

lilac or white flowers with protruding, orange-red 

‘stamen-like spikes.’”
Although dozens of common names are given in the 

Biography, one is chosen and then used throughout 

the Biography (above, saffron). It is not clear how 

the chosen common names were selected. Some are 

British---reedmace for cattails (Typha latifolia). Of 

course there is no easy answer in choosing common 

names, but it will help users around the world if the 

author explains her reasoning.
Following the brief description is a list of common 

names, which may include dozens of languages. This 

section often ends with “in flower language it is said 

to symbolize….” Next the entry explains the species 

epithet “Sativus means ‘cultivated’” and the (chosen) 

common name: “The common name Saffron 

comes from an Arabic word for ‘yellow’ assfar.…” 

A generally historically arranged discussion of the 

plant’s uses follows, full of interesting facts about its 

relation to humans, including literary quotes. Often 

information on commercial uses, current sources, 

and medicinal uses in several cultures are included. 

Also included for saffron is that “it is the birthday 

flower of April 16th.”
Overall the nomenclature is excellent. 

Apocynaceae replaces Asclepiadaceae, Morus 

tinctoria sends you to Maclura tinctoria and 

Mahonia aquifolium is referred to Berberis 

aquifolium. Some changes are not recognized in 

the list: acacias are still one huge genus, and the 

chrysanthemums listed are two European species 

while garden Asian chrysanthemums, for which 

there are no biographies, are given as the genus 

Dendranthema
There are a number of botanical errors. The 

discussion of bracken explains that “the seeds 

of some [ferns] cannot be seen with the naked 

eye.” Plant family names are italicized. Asteraceae 

is described as a “previous family name” for 

Compositae. Capitalization is somewhat 

inconsistent but common names are capitalized 

most of the time.
Seriously lacking are references within the entries. 

With medicinal and culinary uses taking up much 

of the entry, it is important to be able to determine 

who is being quoted and seek further information. 

Plant Biographies (or Plant’s Eye 

View of the Planet and Man)

Sue Eland

2014. ISBN-13: 978-0-9576539-0-0 

CD-ROM £59.99, US$100.00  

http://www.plantlives.com

 Complete Plant Biographies is a CD that contains 

a 5506-page PDF file. A “Plant Biography” is a 

compendium of published information about a 

particular species or variety. The goal is to provide 

‘an entertaining and fascinating insight into 

the plant world’s participation in the life of the 

planet…” The author’s introduction emphasizes 

her enthusiasm for reconnecting people to plants. 

She clearly has a solid grasp on what is being called 

“plant blindness.”
The CD begins with a variety of introductory 

material, including a statement of the philosophy 

underlying making a huge database about plants 

for a popular audience. However, the closest the CD 

comes to delimiting the project is a rather vague 

statement that it “already embraces some of the 

most obvious plants met with in day-to-day life…” 

and that “… it [will] never be possible to include 

every species…” A more specific overview of which 

plants are currently included and which have not 

yet been added would make it easier to use the CD. 

What does an omission mean, if anything? What 

groups are well covered, and what groups await 

future work? Despite organizing the plants by genus, 

the list does not indicate how many species are in a 

genus or what portion are described at this time. 

Since it is written for a popular audience, I think 

that is important. In my experience people tend to 

underestimate botanical diversity and think that 

if a reference lists only one species, say, of Cleome 

hassleriana, then if the plant they are looking at is a 

Cleome, it must be Cleome hassleriana.
The main work is an immense file containing the 

“Biographies.” I estimate that there are 10,465 

Biographies. A few ferns and fungi (truffles) are 

included. Even so, since the author has gone to 

great lengths to get names in many languages, 

alternate English common names, and botanical 

synonyms, most lines in the Biographies are cross-

references, such as: 

Cubeno physic see Veronicastrum virginicum 

Cubeun’s root see Veronicastrum virginicum 

Cubibe see Piper cubeba 

The Plant Biographies range from a paragraph 

to several pages in length. Entries begin with the 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

The bibliography includes 791 entries, almost 

entirely books; the journals included are The Herbal 

Review and Economic Botany, and the websites 

are  The Plant List, Tropicos and Multilingual 

Multiscript Plant Name Database. The publication 

date is 2013 but there are no references after 2010, 

except the websites. The majority of the references 

were published 1970-1994 (495, 61%), only 3.5% 

(37) since 2000. Rydberg’s Flora of the Prairies 

and Plains (1971) is in the bibliography but not 

the  Flora of North America (1993+). Also not in 

the bibliography or the entries are references to 

German Commission E’s work on herbal medicine 

or  The Physician’s Desk Reference for Herbal 

Medicine, sources that I use to check information 

on medicinal plants. The result is that I do not know 

whether I can trust the information presented. Old 

isn’t necessarily inaccurate, but the lack of recent 

information is worrisome. Without citations within 

the entries and 741 references, the source of the 

information cannot be readily identified.
This is an amazing piece of work, compiling an 

enormous array of popular facts about important 

plants. There are wonderful pieces of information 

included and the entries often give a good review 

of the plant’s role in human history. However, with 

old references and no internal citations, the quality 

of particular facts is impossible to evaluate. Plant 

Biographies is described as the first edition of an 

ongoing project, so perhaps these problems will be 

remedied in future editions.
---Kathy Keeler, A Wandering Botanist (http://awa-

nderingbotanist.com)

Education

Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage 

in the Malay Archipelago and the 

Discovery of Evolution by Wallace 

and Darwin

John van Wyhe

2013. ISBN-13: 978-981-4458-79-5

Cloth, US$75.00. 405 pp. 

World Scientific Publishing Co. Ltd., Singa-

pore.

Alfred Russel (yes, one “l”) Wallace has variously 

been described as forgotten, neglected, obscure, 

brilliant, “the greatest field biologist of the 

nineteenth century,” co-discoverer with Darwin 

of evolution, the first to write down the theory of 

evolution, famous for being forgotten, as being 

robbed by Darwin and Victorian society of his 

priority of discovery, as having forced Darwin to 

publish his theory when he did, an outsider, “more 

myth than man” (p. 3), and in many additional 

terms. Some have even gone so far as to suggest 

that Darwin received Wallace’s essay on evolution 

(the one read together with two essays by Darwin 

at the Linnean Society of London meeting on 1 July 

1858) weeks or even months before admitting that 

he had and either borrowed from it or plagiarized 

it. A few have described Wallace as a hanger-on 

and others have described him as the man who 

discovered evolution. Many books and essays have 

been written on the subject, and together they have 

created or, as this book states, helped “to reinforce 

the image of a legendary Wallace who is very 

different from the historical Wallace” (p. 5).
This books aims to set the record straight, and 

few historians of biology are better equipped and 

more qualified to write such a tome than John 

van Wyhe, founder and editor of Darwin Online 

(http://darwin-online.org.uk/) and Wallace Online 

(http://wallace-online.org/) as well as editor or 

author of a number of other books on Darwin 

(full disclosure: I know van Wyhe; we lectured in 

the same symposium on Darwin and Orchids in 

Singapore in 2011). 
The first chapter sets the scene of the times and 

provides brief outlines of Darwin’s and Wallace’s 

backgrounds and some of the people and writings 

that may have influenced them (e.g., Malthus, 

Lamarck, Ida Laura Pfeiffer, Charles Lyell). It makes 

clear that Wallace came from a middle-class English 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

published in 2013; see Literature Cited). This may 

not be the last book those interested in Wallace may 

read, but my view is that it will be one the best.
And, an explanation: My interest in Wallace was 

generated by his essay and comments (Wallace, 

1867a, 1867b) in support of Darwin’s suggestion 

(Darwin, 1862a, 1862b) that Angraecum 

sesquipedale is pollinated by a moth that has a very 

long proboscis (Arditti et al., 2012). 
–Joseph Arditti, University of California, Irvine, 

California, USA

LITERATURE CITED

Arditti, J., J. Elliott, I. J. Kitching, and L. T. 

Wasserthall. 2012. “Good Heavens what insect 

can suck it”—Charles Darwin, Angraecum 

sesquipedale and Xanthopan morganii praedicta. 

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 169: 

403–432.

Darwin, C. E. 1862a. The various contrivances by 

which British and foreign orchids are fertilized by 

insects and on the good effects intercrossing. John 

Murray, London, United Kingdom. 

Darwin, C. E. 1862b. Letter 3411–Darwin, C. R. 

to Hooker, J. D. 25 January 1862. Available at 

http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-3411 

[downloaded and read in April–May 2011].

van Wyhe, J. 2013. Dispelling the Darkness: Voyage 

in the Malay Archipelago and the 

Discovery of Evolution by Wallace and Darwin 

[paperback]. World Scientific Publishing Co. 

Ltd., Singapore.

Wallace, A. R. 1867a. Creation by law. The Quarterly 

Journal of Science 4: 471–488.

Wallace, A. R. 1867b. Letter 5637–Wallace, R. R. 

to Darwin, C. R. 1 October 1867. Available at 

http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/entry-5637 

[downloaded and read in April–May 2011].

family. His father was a solicitor who inherited 

property that could generate a good income, but 

lost it in bad investments and subsequently moved 

from London to the Welsh border. Thus, reports that 

Wallace came from a working-class Welsh family 

are incorrect. In those days this made a difference. 

At present, rising from poverty would make Wallace 

look good. The Darwins were made wealthier due 

to intermarriage with the Wedgwoods (dinnerware 

china fame). That is why “Darwin never had a job, 

unlike Wallace who would have so many” (p. 11).
Chapters 3–9 deal in great detail with Wallace’s 

travels, the ships he sailed on, the locales he visited, 

collecting methods, dwellings in the places he 

visited, illnesses, individuals he employed, his 

notes and notebooks, the start of his writings, 

and even durians—the fruit famed for an odor 

offensive to westerners and a taste that led Wallace 

to describe it as the “king of fruits” and “a food of 

the most exquisite flavor” (p. 91), and certainly a 

fruit I greatly enjoy and eagerly seek out when in 

Southeast Asia. What I find very impressive in these 

chapters is the careful dating of events, references to 

port records regarding the movement of ships, and 

great attention to details. These chapters convert 

Wallace from a myth to a man and explain how a 

surveyor became a great naturalist.
Chapter 10 is a detective story. Did he (Darwin) 

or didn’t he? Did Darwin delay publication of his 

theory of evolution after formulating in ca. 1838 

and if he did, why? The chapter addresses the 

questions methodically and concludes that there 

was... Well, those interested in the answer should 

read the book. All I can say here is that van Wyhe 

is convincing. 
Then there is the question of when did Darwin 

receive Wallace’s essay. Was it on 18 June 1858 

or much earlier? Van Wyhe suggests that it was 

received on 18 June 1858 on the basis of careful 

reconstruction of Wallace’s movements, places and 

dates of posting of mail, arrivals and departures 

of five ships, and overland travel from Suez to 

Alexandria (p. 225). His argument is constructed 

very well and leaves no place for the suggestion that 

Darwin plagiarized Wallace and/or robbed him of 

fame.
Van Wyhe’s style is clear and easy to read. His facts 

are carefully substantiated. He approaches all issues 

even handedly. The book is well illustrated even if 

the printing of a few illustrations leaves something 

to be desired (but some of this was improved 

and illustrations were added to a paperback also 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

Systematics

Trees of Western North America

Richard Spellenberg, Christopher J. Earle, 

and Gil Nelson

2014. ISBN-13: 978-0-691-14580-8

Flexibound, US$29.95. 560 pp. 

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New 

Jersey, USA

This is a companion volume to Trees of Eastern 

North America by the same authors (in a different 

order of priority). The dividing line is the 100th 

meridian, deviating slightly in southeastern Texas; 

if you are working in the tier of states from North 

Dakota to Texas, you’ll need to buy both volumes.
If one searches for Trees of North America at amazon.

com, there are 4501 titles returned. A great many of 

these are not tree books at all; nonetheless, there are 

dozens, if not hundreds, of such titles in print. This 

volume stands out because its coverage includes 

not only the native species, both common and rare, 

but also a goodly number of cultivated species. In 

this latter category are Ginkgo and several species 

of Araucaria, none of which escape cultivation but 

which attract attention wherever they are planted.
The authors well recognize there is no firm line 

between a tree and a shrub, and therefore are 

generous in their choices of what to include. 

There are no dichotomous keys. The general-

interest person has somehow to intuit Celastraceae 

versus Anacardiaceae; by the same token, it is my 

experience that non-botanists have little patience 

with keys—“Just tell me what the name is.”
The nomenclature follows the current Flora of 

North America (FNA), to the extent available. The 

binomials are given with scientific authorities, 

which lends a greater degree of precision; however, 

the names of the authorities are often abbreviated, 

a practice that FNA eschews. As is always true, 

the authors of this book had to make choices: 

for example, in the treatment of the Chinese 

tallow tree, Sapium sebiferum is adopted here, 

with Triadica sebifera cited at the end of the text 

segment. It appears that FNA volume 12, to include 

the Euphorbiaceae, will adopt Triadica. Fortunately, 

the thorough index at the back of the volume 

includes entries for both the common name (as 

“Tallow Tree, Chinese”) and the two binomials by 

which this weedy adventive is known.
The colorful illustrations by David More are an 

important feature of this book. Bark, flowers, fruits, 

leaves—whatever bears on identification—are 

illustrated. The illustrations (and the range maps) 

are identified by the common name of the plant 

concerned, which makes for a bit of glancing back 

and forth to the accompanying text.
There is no Literature Cited, nor is there a suggested 

list of further reading or selected websites. Perhaps 

it is intended that the book will be a stand-alone 

reference and guide; one can only wish the authors 

and their readers every success.
–Neil A. Harriman, Biology Department, University 

of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA; 

harriman@uwosh.edu

Field Guide to Wisconsin Grasses

Emmet J. Judziewicz, Robert W. Freckmann, 

Lynn G. Clark, and Merel R. Black

2014. ISBN-13: 978-0-299-30134-7

Paperback, US$30. ix + 346 pp. 

University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 

Wisconsin, USA

The authors have impressive credentials in 

agrostology: Judziewicz is author of the Poaceae 

treatment  in  Flora of the Guianas, of American 

Bamboos (with Lynn Clark and others), and of 

dozens of papers in the refereed literature. In 

addition to American Bamboos, Professor Clark 

has published widely on grass phylogeny and allied 

subjects. Retired Professor Freckmann authored 

the treatment of Dichanthelium for Flora of North 

America, along with numerous other papers on 

grasses. Ms. Black is a computer expert, responsible 

for the herbarium websites maintained by 

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and UW–
Madison.
The color frontispiece opposite the title page is 

Zizania aquatica, southern wild rice; the photograph 

is repeated (and labeled) on pp. 21 and 319. 
The first chapter, on morphology, is a first-rate 

primer on the terminology of grasses, including 

how to distinguish them from sedges and rushes. 

The pages are adorned with excellent color 

photographs, with everything cleanly labeled. The 

subject of modern classification of the Poaceae 

is treated but briefly—as is appropriate in a field 

manual, the genera and species are arranged 

alphabetically.

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

The history of agrostology in Wisconsin is a 

welcome chapter on local botanical history. The 

subject has little to do with field identification of 

grasses, but it does put the whole enterprise into 

perspective.
The keys to genera work. I tested with several 

specimens. The decision was taken (wisely, I think) 

to include all grasses ever collected outside of 

cultivation in Wisconsin. A goodly number of these 

are waifs that have not become established as part 

of the Wisconsin flora; but if they showed up once, 

they will probably show up again, and the book will 

be of maximum usefulness if they are all there. The 

authors included a segment on cultivated grasses, 

which have become popular in horticulture; they 

are not included in the keys.
There are no descriptions of the species, but the 

drawings and photographs are very well done. 

The generic names and the specific epithets are all 

translated or explained. This is an unusual feature 

in a field guide, but most welcome. It does much 

to demystify the whole subject, for the beginner. 

Where an accepted name differs from a common 

reference, such as Flora of North America (2003 

and 2007) or Fassett’s Grasses of Wisconsin (1951), 

it is indicated. However, another major source of 

Wisconsin information is the online herbarium 

of UW–Madison, where some problems arise: 

for example, buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides

is now treated as a species of Bouteloua, but there 

is no hint of that at the Madison website. This 

kind of disconnect in the information stream 

is unavoidable; it is not mentioned in the book, 

because the “problem” might well disappear 

minutes from now with a few keystrokes. 
The glossary is a model of clarity and plain English. 

The concluding index is labeled as “Taxonomic 

Index,” which is entirely appropriate, because it 

includes only Latin and common names of grasses. 

If you want to re-read the history of Wisconsin 

agrostology, you will have to find it by other means 

(pp. 26–29).
University presses typically keep their books in 

print for decades. Fassett’s Grasses of Wisconsin is 

still in print; the present field guide certainly merits 

a similar record for longevity.
–Neil A. Harriman, Biology Department, University 

of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA. 

harriman@uwosh.edu

Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of 

the Algarve

Chris Thorogood and Simon Hiscock. 

2014. ISBN 978-184246-497-7 

Cloth US$60.00, 272 pp. 

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Sur-

rey, United Kingdom, distributed in US by 

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 

USA.

Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve is a 

delightful addition to the library of field botanists, 

ecologists, conservationists, nature enthusiasts and 

hikers. Several features make this book exceptional 

for those interested in the natural world: beautiful 

photography, excellent notes on identification 

and natural history, and a focus on a distinctive 

geographical and diverse floristic domain that 

stretches across the southernmost

 region of 

mainland

Portugal

, and it

s least developed region-

--the western  Algarve where there are nationally 

protected nature reserves.
A most noteworthy aspect of this new guide is 

that it is among the first on any Mediterranean 

flora based on the relatively new APG 

phylogenetic arrangement. Another valuable 

quality is that each family named opens with a 

brief description of its unique characteristics. 

 

The book is the result of 10 years of effort by Chris 

Thorogood, a field botanist who has documented 

the flora of the region and who has a particular 

interest in parasitic plant speciation, and Simon 

Hiscock, Professor of Botany in the Biological 

Sciences Department, University of Bristol and 

Director of the University Botanic Garden, who 

has lead botanical field courses in the Algarve 

since 2002. Prior to that, Peter Placito and David 

Mabberley established a field course which for a 

number of years brought students to the Algarve 

to learn about the region’s rich biodiversity and 

traditional agricultural practices, and who also had 

established a field course for students from Oxford 

which ran from 1987 to 1997. The authors brought 

students from Bristol University for an annual 

field botany trip to the west coast of Portugal. 

These study trips, and the students involved, have 

contributed to the enormous amount of work 

and research required to produce this invaluable 

resource dedicated to the wildflowers of this region.
Of particular interest to author Thorogood are 

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Plant Science Bulletin 60(4) 2014

the parasitic plants that the Algarve holds, such 

as the spectacular halophytic Cistanche phelypaea 

which inhabits salt marshes around Faro, Lagos 

and Alvor, and the distinctive halophytic fungus 

Cynomorium coccineum, which grows on just a 

few sea cliffs in the region. A section on endemic 

plants also highlights the extremely rare perennial 

Silene rothmaleri, previously believed to be extinct 

but observed by the authors on a few remote shale 

slopes of Cape St. Vincent, as well as the endemic 

spurge  Euphorbia monchiquensis and rock rose 

Cistus palhinae. From the 50 species of endemic 

plants of the entire Iberian Peninsula, 12 are found 

only in the Algarve.
The guide introduces readers to three broad 

geographical regions of Algarve: litoral [coastal], 

barrocal  [rolling limestone hills, Cretaceous 

and Jurassic] and serra [mountainous, mainly 

Carboniferous rock]. Plants of particular interest 

to the authors were parasites, carnivorous plants, 

orchids, and Arum. The habitats as defined feature 

halophytes, xerophytes, salt marsh plants, and 

matos, i.e., sclerophyllous plants.
Hardbound and well-bound, as one would wish 

for a serviceable field guide, the photographs and 

illustrations that delineate how to differentiate 

taxa are of excellent quality. The guide concludes 

with a 5-page glossary, an 8-page index of English 

names, and a 14-page index of scientific names, 

with the page indicated with bold font if it contains 

a photograph (an error is observed for Silene 

rothmaleri, pg. 9 in the index). Containing over 

1000 species descriptions, the book is profusely 

illustrated on every page with over 650 stunning 

color photographs, and 780 line drawings and 

distribution maps.
-Dorothea Bedigian, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. 

Louis, MO

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220

Ancient Plants and People: Contemporary Trends in Archaeobotany. 2014. Marco 

Madella, Carla Lancelotti, and Manon Savard. ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-2710-6 (Cloth, 

US$70.00) 328 pp. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, USA.

CITES and Cacti: A User’s Guide. 2014. Maurizio Sajeva, H. Noel McGough, Lucy 

Garrett, Jonas Lüthy, Maurice Tse-Laurence, Catherine Rutherford, and Guilia Sajeva. 

ISBN-13: 978-1-84246-485-4 (Paperback, US$50.00). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; 

distributed by University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Contemporary and Future Studies in Plant Speciation, Morphological/Floral 

Evolution and Polyploidy: Honouring the Scientific Contributions of Leslie D. Gottlieb 

to Plant Evolutionary Biology. 2014. Daniel J. Crawford, Jeffrey J. Doyle, Douglas 

E. Soltis, Pamela S. Soltis, and Jonathan F. Wendel (eds.). ISBN-13: 978-1-78252-

077-1 (print issue £35.00). Special theme issue of Philosophical Transactions of the 

Royal Society B. Biological Sciences, vol. 369(1648). Portland Customer Services, 

Commerce Way, Colchester CO2 8HP, United Kingdom. sales@portland-serices.com.

Darwin’s Orchids: Then and Now. 2014. Retha Edens-Meier and Peter Bernhardt 

(eds.). ISBN-13: 978-0-226-04491-0 (Cloth, US$55.00) 419 pp. University of Chicago 

Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Fossil Fungi. 2014. Thomas N. Taylor, Michael Krings, and Edith L. Taylor. ISBN-13: 

978-0-12-387731-4, ISBN-13 (eBook): 978-0-12-387754-3 (Cloth, US$150.00) 398 

pp. Academic Press/Elsevier, London, United Kingdom. 

The Genus Erythronium. 2014. Chris Clennett. ISBN-13: 978-1-84246-492-2 (Cloth, 

US$85.00) 158 pp. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; distributed by University of Chicago 

Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Haws: A Guide to Hawthorns of the Southeastern United States. 2014. Ron Lance. 

ISBN-13: 978-0-9903689-0-8 (Paperback, US$29.95). 518 pp. Published by the 

author, Mill River, North Carolina, USA. Available at www.floramontivaga.com.

How the Earth Turned Green: A Brief 3.8-Billion-Year History of Plants. 2014. 

Joseph E. Armstrong. ISBN-13: 978-0-226-06977-7 (Paperback, US$45.00) 563 pp. 

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Plant Behaviour and Intelligence. 2014. Anthony Trewavas. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-

953954-3 (Cloth, US$94.95) 291 pp. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, USA.

Soil Remediation and Plants: Prospects and Challenges. 2014. Khalid Rehman 

Hakeem, Muhammad Sabir, Munir Ozturk, and Ahmet Ruhi Mermut. ISBN-13: 978-

0-12-799937-1, ISBN-13 (eBook): 978-0-12-799913-5 (Cloth, US$130.00) 752 pp. 

Academic Press/Elsevier, London, United Kingdom.

Weeds of North America. 2014. Richard Dickinson and France Royer. ISBN-13: 978-

0-226-07644-7 (Paperback, US$35.00) 797 pp. The University of Chicago Press, 

Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Books Received

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America is a membership 

society whose mission  is to: 

promote botany, the field of 

basic science dealing with the 

study & inquiry into the form, 

function, development, diversity, 

reproduction, evolution, & uses 

of plants & their interactions 

within the biosphere.

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Plant Science 

Bulletin

                                                                               Winter 2014 Volume 60 Number 4

PLANTS Grants—Applications Accepted  

Beginning January 15

 

Program helps increase number of 

undergraduates from underrepresented 

groups to attend BOTANY meetings

 

For the past five years, the Botanical Society of America, with funding as-

sistance from the National Science Foundation, has offered the PLANTS 

program and awards (Preparing Leaders and Nurturing Tomorrow’s Sci-

entists: Increasing the diversity of plant scientists).  Over 55 talented and 

enthusiastic undergrads have participated in this program.  The goal 

of the PLANTS program is to increase the number of undergraduates 

from underrepresented groups who attend the BOTANY meetings,  and 

to increase their level of academic excellence and motivation to pursue 

advanced degrees in the plant sciences. PLANTS alumni leave the pro-

gram better prepared for a future career in the plant sciences.   The ma-

jority of alumni are pursuing careers in academia.  Others have begun 

careers in government, industry and non-profit work related to botany.   

Science will not thrive unless it is equally accessible to students from 

all backgrounds, including those from groups that are currently un-

derrepresented.  Therefore, the Society encourages you to consider 

contacting talented and diverse undergraduates who may be eligi-

ble for this award. This is truly an amazing opportunity for students! 

The PLANTS program will fund up to 12 undergraduates from through-

out the U.S. to attend the BOTANY 2015 meeting on July 25-29, 2015 in 

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. At the meeting, the students will receive 

mentoring from graduate students, postdocs and faculty, and participate in 

networking events including the Diversity Luncheon and career-oriented 

activities.   The program covers the normal costs of travel, registration, 

and food and accommodation at the meeting. An overview of the scien-

tific conference will be available January 1 at www.botanyconference.org

Applications are accepted beginning January 15 and due by March 2, 2015 

and include completion of an online form providing a statement of inter-

est, a letter of recommendation, and unofficial transcripts. Applications 

are welcome from all undergraduates who have interest in plant science; 

the admissions goal is to create a diverse pool of students. The application 

form will be located online at botany.org under the AWARDS tab. Any 

questions should be sent directly to BSA Membership and Marketing Direc-

tor Heather Cacanindin at hcacanindin@botany.org.

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July 25 - 29, 2015  

Shaw Conference Centre

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 

The Premier Scientific Conference  

of the Summer!

18 Symposia and Colloquia 

Field Trips and Workshops

Posters and Exhibits

Networking and Awards

Botany 2015 Plenary Speaker

Jonathan Silvertown

Professor of Evolutionary Ecology 

University of Edinburgh

Sunday July 26, 2014  - 7:30 PM

Accepting Abstracts for Contributed Papers and Posters  

February 2015

 

www.botanyconference.org

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