ASPT Newsletter
July 1997
Edited by:
Kenneth R. Robertson
Illinois Natural History Survey
607 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820 USA
Phone: 217 244-2717; Fax: 217 333-4949; e-mail: krrobert@uiuc.edu
Do you look for "reasons" to justify the preservation of biodiversity, field work to collect plants, and herbaria? Every year in the plant systematics class that I co-teach with Stephen R. Downie at the University of Illinois, I use the familiar examples of Catharanthus roseus (rosy periwinkle), from which important drugs are derived to treat leukemia and Hodgkins' disease, and Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew), which contains paclitaxel (Taxol®), an antitumor and antileukemic compound. Just today I learned of another plant to add to this list -- Calophyllum lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum of the Clusiaceae (Guttiferae).
In a recent issue of Public Garden (12:3, July 1997), published by the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, is an article entitled The Value of Plant Collections and Collecting to Society by Robert Cook of the Arnold Arboretum. He relates that John Burley collected a species of Calophyllum on 5 September 1987 in northern Borneo. Tests performed at the National Cancer Institute showed that an extract from this collection provided "100% protection against the cytopathic effects of HIV-1 infection and essentially halted HIV-1 replication." A team was sent back to Borneo, only to find that the tree Burley collected had been cut down. Other Calophyllum trees in the area were collected, but subsequent tests by NCI showed only minor activity. Peter Stevens of the Arnold Arboretum was called in to carefully identify the collections and found that the Burley collection was Calophyllum lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum, while the more recent collections were C. teysmannii var. inophylloide. Once the correction identification had been made, living plants of C. lanigerum var. austrocoriaceum were located in the Singapore Botanic Garden. The active compound was then isolated. A pharmaceutical company synthesized in the compound in a laboratory in 1993, another company was licensed in 1995 to develop this into a new class of potential treatments for AIDS, clinical trials on humans began in 1997, and a product may be marketed within two years.
If readers have other examples like this, send them to the editor for possible inclusion in future issues.
Below is a list of Officers, Council Members, Editors, and Committees of ASPT for 1996-1997. The next issue of the Newsletter will have this list for 1997-1998.
The American Society of Plant Taxonomists is pleased to announce the winners of the ASPT Graduate Research Awards from the Spring 1997 competition.
Anne E. Arnold, University of Arizona, "Endophytic fungi"
C. Donovan Bailey, Cornell University, "Phylogeny and character evolution in the genus Sphaerocardamum (Brassicaceae): integrating multiple gene trees and morphological variation"
Janet Barber, University of Texas at Austin, "Origin and evolution of endemic Sideritis L. in Macaronesia"
Bonnie Crozier, University of Texas at Austin, "Systematics and origin of Mammillaria subgenus Cochemeia (Cactaceae)"
Shannon Datwyler, Ohio State University, "Potential for hybridization and gene flow in an isolated population of Penstemon (Scrophulariaceae)"
Catherine Glass, University of Illinois, "Systematic and evolutionary studies of Mexican populations of Acacia Series Vulgares (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae)"
Leslie Goertzen, University of Texas at Austin, "The role of hybridization in the evolution of the endemic genus Argyranthemum in Macaronesia"
Sami Gray, Oregon State University, "Proposal for research into genetic and morphological variation within the rare Northwest endemic, Cimicifuga elata Dum."
Simon Malcomber, Missouri Botanical Garden, "A systematic revision of Gaertnera (Rubiaceae): Using phylogenetic methods to test predictions from two alternative hypotheses for the evolution of dioecy from distyly"
Allison Miller, Colorado State University, "Systematics and biogeography of the sumac genus, Rhus subgenus Rhus (Anacardiaceae)"
Helga Ochoterena-Booth, Cornell University, "Systematics of the genus Hintonia (Rubiaceae) and related genera"
J. Chris Pires, University of Wisconsin at Madison, "Molecular systematic, character evolution and biogeography in the resurrected plant family Themidaceae"
Eugenio Santiago, University of Washington, "Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of Antillean-endemic plant genera"
Neil Sawyer, University of Connecticut, "Evolutionary patterns in the nightshade family (Solanaceae)"
Julian Starr, University of Manitoba, "The molecular systematics of the Tribe Cariceae (Cyperaceae), with special emphasis on the origin and circumpscription of the genus Carex"
Ixchel Whitcher, Colorado State University, "The systematics, biogeography, and ethnobotany of Corylus L. (Betulaceae)"
The New York Botanical Garden is pleased to announce that David S. Seigler of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the recipient of the 1996 Rupert Barneby Award from the New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Seigler will be working on the acacioid legumes of North America and Mexico. (see Award Opportunities for more information about this award.)
Stephen A. Spongberg, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, received the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society at its annual meeting, 18 February 1997. The award recognized that through his work as a horticultural taxonomist, Dr. Spongberg spans the two disciplines of botany and horticulture. Highlighted were his work with camellias, the Rosaceae, and magnolias, as well as his book A Reunion of Trees (Harvard University Press, 1990), which is an authoritative treatise on the introduction of woody ornamentals into cultivation. This award has been presented to only 15 Americans since 1873.
The Botany Department at The Field Museum of Natural History invites applications for the 1998 Timothy C. Plowman Latin American Research Award. The award of $1000 is designed to assist students and young professionals to visit the Field Museum and use our extensive economic botany and systematic collections. Individuals from Latin America and projects in the field of ethnobotany or systematics of economically important plant groups will be given special consideration. Applicants interested in the award should submit their curriculum vitae and a detailed letter describing the project for which the award is sought. The information should be forwarded to the: Timothy C. Plowman Award Committee, Department of Botany, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605 2496 USA. The date of receipt is no later than 30 September 1997. Announcement of the recipient will be made no later than 1 December 1997. Anyone wishing to contribute to The Timothy C. Plowman Latin American Research Fund, which supports this award, may send their checks, payable to The Field Museum, c/o Department of Botany, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL 60605-2496 USA. Make certain to indicate the intended fund.
The New York Botanical Garden invites applications for the 1997 Rupert Barneby Award. The award of $1,000 is to assist researchers to visit the New York Botanical Garden to study the rich collection of Leguminosae. Anyone interested in applying for the award should submit their curriculum vitae and a detailed letter describing the project for which the award is sought. Travel to NYBG should be planned for sometime in 1998. The letter should be addressed to: Dr. James L. Luteyn, Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126 USA, and received no later than 1 December 1997. Announcement of the recipient will be made by 15 December. Anyone interested in making a contribution to the Rupert Barneby Fund in Legume Systematics, which supports this award, may send their check, payable to The New York Botanical Garden, to Dr. Luteyn.
The Geneva "Societe de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle" (SPHN) is pleased to announce that in 1998 it will award a prize in Botany called the Augustin-Pyramus De Candolle Prize which will reward the author or co-author of the best monograph on a genus or family of plants. See ASPT Newsletter 10(2,3,4).
Charles E. Turner, who worked with the USDA Australian Biological Control Lab at Brisbane, died of cancer back at his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, on 15 April 1997. He received his Ph.D. in 1981 from the University of California, Berkeley, working under Herbert G. Baker. He is survived by his mother, wife Jacqueline and sons Matthew and Adam. Cards may be sent to: Jacqueline Johnson, 9934 Wellcroft Lane, Indianapolis, IN 46236.
John D. Freeman, former Professor of Botany and Curator of the Auburn University Herbarium, died peacefully at his home in Auburn, Alabama on Easter Sunday, 30 March 1997. He was 55 years old. He had been in declining health, especially in the past six months. Dr. Freeman, a noted Trillium expert, will be remembered by numerous students for his dedication to teaching and for his interest in preservation of threatened and endangered plants of Alabama and the Southeast. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, Hospice of Lee County, or the Alabama Wildflower Society, Route 2, Box 115, Northport, AL 35476.
William McKinnley Klein, Jr., 12 February 1997. Dr. Klein was Director of the National Tropical Garden. He received his undergraduate and Master's degrees from Colorado State University and his Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA. His professional career started at Colorado State University. A shift to administration followed, first as Assistant to the Director at the Missouri Botanical Garden and then moving on to become Director of the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia and the Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami. Below are excerpts from a letter sent to the Society by Douglas M. Kinney, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, National Tropical Botanical Garden:
"As you may be aware, our Executive Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer, William McKinley Klein, Jr., died suddenly on Wednesday, February 12. We mourn this loss. Bill had become a friend as well as a great leader for the National Tropical Botanical Garden....Dr. Klein led the Garden Trustees and staff through a comprehensive and sophisticated strategic planning process, and ensured that we had a consensus on new plans. It is a tribute to his organizational skills that he put in place systems that outline a blueprint for future progress....I know that many of you, like myself, regarded Bill as a personal friend as well as a professional colleague. For us, the loss of an extraordinary man is particularly acute. We will miss him."
Royce L. Oliver died 22 February 1997 of pancreatic cancer in College Station, Texas. Royce received his undergraduate degree from Arlington State College (now the University of Texas at Arlington). Upon returning from the Korean War, where he was with a tank unit, Royce enrolled in a masters' program at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas as the first graduate student of Walter H. Lewis. Royce finished his M.S. degree in 1962, and a paper based on his thesis, "Chromosome numbers of Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae) in North America," was published in Volume 1, Number 1 of Sida. When Walter Lewis moved to Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden, Royce was soon hired as a senior technician. In 1971, he moved on to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to work with Ray Fosberg on the Flora of Micronesia project, and Royce stayed at the Smithsonian until his retirement in 1992.
Comments by Daniel F. Austin: Although I was constantly asking Royce questions in St. Louis, I really got to know his personality when he, Bruce MacBryde and I spent some weeks in Mexico. We drove down in Royce's old car, crossed the border at El Paso, and proceeded south along the Pacific coast. Due the car's age, it had constant problems. First the muffler & tailpipe fell off. We drove without these until we realized we had to shout to hear each other. Then, we decided they had to be replaced. Because Royce grew up in Texas, Bruce and I had assumed that he spoke Spanish. He did somewhat, but not much beyond ordering beer and a "comida corrida." Neither of us knew words for car parts in Spanish. Fortunately, "muffler" works in either language, and we were soon on the road again. Some days later we were crossing the Sierra while a hurricane beat down on the eastern coast of Mexico. A landslide blocked our passage, and we spent the night in a village that apparently had never seen "gringos" before. Near there the fuel-pump died. I left Royce & Bruce in the middle of the Chihuahuan desert socializing with a goatherd while I rode into a local village where there was a mechanic. It turned out that the truckers with whom I rode were local smugglers, but they left Royce & Bruce some soft drinks to hold them over until I returned. None of these events seemed to bother Royce. While Bruce and I fidgeted and worried, Royce took everything in stride. At least, nothing bothered him outwardly; he just smoked another cigarette. The last time I spoke with Royce was a few weeks before he died. He and a Florida friend of mine had been trying to get Royce's flora project coordinated with some Belizians. Royce called me to tell me that, while undergoing treatment for the cancer, he had misplaced a telephone number. We chatted for a while about his plight and parted with our usual comments from the past 20+ years. He knew we would not talk again, but no mention of it was made.
Comments by Ken Robertson: I had the privilege of knowing Royce throughout my graduate studies at the Missouri Botanical Garden. He was quiet and dedicated to his work. But he was always willing to patiently answer grad students' dumb questions and to teach us cytological and palynological techniques. We spent a month together in Panamá, my first trip to the tropics, and perhaps his. I'll always remember our sitting at an outdoor table overlooking Bahía de Panamá at Cafe Squirt in Panamá City enjoying wonderful new food, having great conversations, and Royce savoring a bottle of Panamanian cerveza. His love of the American tropics was immediately apparent in Panama and perhaps foreshadowed his later interest in Belize. His spirit lives on as just before his death he established a trust fund at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas to study the flora of Belize.
Job descriptions have been edited to conserve space; obtain complete descriptions before applying. Listed by deadline date and/or date received. Deadlines may have already passed for some positions; these are retained in this Newsletter as a matter of interest to readers. For the latest job listings, consult the ASPT homepage (http://www. csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/aspt/aspthome.htm), select "Newsletter" and then "Current News."
Botanist, GS-430-11/12, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. The ARS is seeking a Botanist, GS-430-11/12, in the Plant Exchange Office of the National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Plant Sciences Institute, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, MD. Salary is commensurate with experience (GS-11: $38,330-49,831; GS-12: $45,939-59,725). The position involves planning and conducting national and international plant exploration and collecting trips to preserve the germplasm of agricultural and horticultural crops and crop relatives. In addition to the education and experience requirements, applicants must demonstrate the following basic knowledge, skills, and abilities: (1) knowledge of the principles, methods, techniques and procedures of botany, plant taxonomy and plant ecology, and (2) ability to plan and conduct investigations and analyses, and interpret and document results. The following selective placement factors must be addressed: (1) knowledge of agronomic and horticultural crops and (2) knowledge of germplasm collection techniques. For information pertaining to the position, contact Ned Garvey on 301 504-7511. Please call 301 344-4638 to request a copy of the vacancy announcement and any required forms. Applicants should follow the instructions on the vacancy announcement. Applications in response to this advertisement should be marked ARS-07B-149/B-7-25. Applicants must provide college transcripts and address the selective placement factors in order to receive consideration. USDA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Collection/Research Associate in Bryophytes and Lichens, Harvard
University Herbaria. Reporting to the Curator of the Farlow Library and
Herbarium, the associate will participate in curating the large collections of
bryophytes and lichens, will be involved in the renovation of these
collections, will provide supervision and guidance for a curatorial assistant
and student workers, will collect and enter bibliographic and specimen data
related to the collections, will help reorganize and revise filing of
specimens based on knowledge of current literature, will interact with Herbaria
staff, visitors, and remote users of the collections, and will undertake
research based on the collections. In cooperation with others, will plan and
participate in the installation of compact storage cabinetry in part of the
building entailing moving and refiling specimens with the assistance of
curatorial staff. This is a full-time, temporary position (up to three years)
which will be reviewed annually. Expected start date 1 October 1997.
Requirements: Ph.D. in a field related to systematics of bryophytes or lichens;
effective interpersonal and communications skills. Curatorial experience
helpful. Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs. and move specimens and equipment.
Proficiency with word-processing and databases. To apply, send
résumé, cover letter and three letters of references to: Ms. Mary
C. Reynolds, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge,
MA 02138. Closing date:
1 September 1997.
Systematics of Pteridophytes. The Institute of Systematic Botany at The New York Botanical Garden is pleased to announce an opening for a position of Associate Curator to work in collaboration with Dr. John Mickel on the systematics of pteridophytes. Qualifications are: 1) a Ph.D. in the systematics of ferns, 2) strong publication record in fern systematics, 3) an interest and ability to utilize large herbarium and library collections, 4) the ability to develop or continue an active field program in Latin America, 5) a willingness to participate in Garden activities such as scientific publication and teaching, and 6) a willingness to seek external sources of funding. Interested applicants should send their curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, reprints, and names of five colleagues willing to provide letters of recommendation to: Dr. Scott A. Mori, Director, Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, 10458-5126. Application deadline: 1 July 1997.
Forest Ecologist/Botanist, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. This is a full-time, permanent position with the GLIFWC located on the Bad River Indian Reservation in Odanah, Wisconsin. GLIFWC serves 11 Chippewa Tribes in implementation and management of treaty harvesting rights; the Biological Services Division staffs biologists with expertise in fisheries, wildlife, wild plant, and environmental issues. The Forest Ecologist/Botanist will provide technical assistance and advice to member tribes regarding management, protection, and enhancement of wild plants and their communities in the ceded territories of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota; maintain inventories and develop procedures for monitoring the status of wild plant resources, and the effects of other management activities on these resources; cooperate with land management agencies and tribes in developing systems for permitting and monitoring the treaty harvest of wild plant products; act as a liaison with agencies involved in the management of wild plants and their habitats; serve as tribal coordinator for the Wisconsin State/Tribal Wild Plant Management and Policy Committee; and assist in developing comments on state and federal forest plans. Required are an advanced degree in botany, forest ecology, or related field; knowledge of plant species and habitats of the Upper Great Lakes Region; and excellent communication skills. Experience in forestry and land management skills, computer skills, and GIS experience preferred. Salary range $24,038 - $34,605 depending upon qualifications. Fringe benefits include health insurance and retirement program. Closing date: 15 August 1997. To apply, send cover letter, résumé, and three references to: Leanne Thannum, Biological Services Division, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, P.O. Box 9, Odanah, WI 54861. All qualified applicants will be considered, but Indian Preference will be followed if all other qualifications are equal.
Manager, Las Cuevas Research Station, Belize, through The Natural History Museum, London. The Natural History Museum invites applications for the above post which is available in the Department of Botany; this is a 3-year fixed term appointment. Completed application forms should reach the Museum by 12 July 1997 (Late application may be accepted under certain conditions.) Selection will be by interview at the Museum in July 1997. The post will be available from August 1997. Below is a condensed description of the duties and qualifications. The overall purpose of the job is to manage and oversee the Museum's involvement in Belize, with particular responsibility for the Las Cuevas Research Station. Candidates for the post should have a bachelors degree, or higher qualifications, in biology or a related discipline. Experience of conducting research in systematics, ecology or other fields relevant to the Natural History Museum is essential. Experience of managing people, budgets and facilities is essential and candidates should have some experience of working in isolated, tropical situations. Experience of working in Belize is seen as a distinct advantage. Starting salary will be in the range of [sterling]20,604-[sterling]32,966. It is the Museum's policy to provide equal opportunity for employment, career development and promotion to all who are eligible, on the basis of ability, qualifications and fitness for work. Please complete an application form and provide a current curriculum vitae and outline of your previous experience. Application forms may be obtained from: Lisa Knight, Personnel Section, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD UK Telephone +44 (0) 171 938 8441; Fax +44 (0) 171 938 9009
Lecturer in Botany/Plant Ecology, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351 Australia. The School of Rural Science and Natural Resources, Faculty of the Sciences, invites applications for the position of Lecturer in Botany/Plant Ecology. This is Position No. 521, Level B (5 year fixed term) and the salary is AU$43,042 to $51,113. The successful candidate will be a member of a new multidisciplinary School which has an international reputation for high quality teaching and research in the areas of botany, ecosystem management and agriculture. He/she will contribute towards first year teaching of biology and towards higher-level teaching in plant sciences and be expected to be highly active in research including the supervision of students. Candidates must have a Ph.D. in the area of plant sciences with a substantial background in Botany and Plant Ecology. A good track record of research publications, the ability to attract research funding, a flair for teaching and the ability to work as a member of a team are essential requirements. Applications from candidates active in the study of native grasses or other native vegetation, physiological ecology or in rangeland ecology are especially welcome. For informal enquiries please contact either: Associate Professor N. Prakash, phone (067) 732323, fax (067) 733283, e-mail: nprakash @metz.une.edu.au or Associate Professor R. D. B. Whalley, (067) 732477. The closing date is 9 July 1997.
Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project. The Natural History Museum, London invites applications for a post funded by the Linnean Society of London to support the Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project. You will carry out research on Linnaean plant names, a major component of which will be collaboration with specialists worldwide in order to establish suitable type choices, as well as the review of literature for published typifications. You will also be responsible for the maintenance and development of the Project's databases. Applicants should have a degree in Botany or a related subject; research experience at higher degree level would be an advantage. A good knowledge of plant systematics and botanical nomenclature is highly desirable, as is a good knowledge of database structure and design, in particular Microsoft Access. The appointment is for a fixed term period of three years and the starting salary (in the range [sterling]16,483-18,762 per annum) is dependent on qualifications and experience. The Museum offers a comprehensive benefits package, including non-contributory pension scheme and a generous holiday entitlement. Application is by Curriculum Vitae and covering letter. For further details, please send an A5 self addressed envelope to: Lisa Knight, Personnel Section, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK The closing date for receipt of applications is 18 July 1997.
Coordinator, Flora of China Checklist, Missouri Botanical Garden. An exceptional opportunity exists for an individual to join the Research Division at the Missouri Botanical Garden as Coordinator, Flora of China Checklist. The Flora of China project is the first internationally based English language treatment of the rich flora of China. The checklist, currently under development as an aid for the Flora project, is a computerized synopsis of almost 30,000 species of Chinese plants. The selected individual will acquire information on the plants of China, supervise data input and data entry personnel, and collate and edit information necessary for the completion of the checklist. The coordinator will also prepare manuscripts for paper and electronic publication, oversee production of a computer-generated checklist of Chinese plants, and generate project production and progress reports. Minimum qualifications include a Master's degree in Botany or Biology plus one year related experience. Must have a working knowledge of word processing and database management software programs. Knowledge of nomenclature, taxonomy, and botanical literature required. We offer outstanding benefits, including health, dental, vision, and life insurance and retirement and tax deferred annuity programs. To apply, please submit curriculum vitae to: Missouri Botanical Garden, Human Resource Management, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299; fax (314) 577-9597; e-mail: rland@admin. mobot.org; Web site: http://www. mobot.org; Equal Opportunity Employer.
Job descriptions have been edited to conserve space; obtain complete descriptions before applying.
Graduate Studies In Systematic Biology, Instituto de Ecológia AC at Xalapa, Veracruz. The Graduate program in Ecology and Systematics of the Instituto de Ecológia AC at Xalapa, Veracruz, México announces the availability of fellowships for graduate studies in Systematic Biology. Applicants may apply for a M.Sc. or a Ph.D. degree. Applications must be received by 14 July 1997. Graduate students are normally admitted for the fall semester. Applicants are encouraged to correspond directly with Faculty members whose work is of particular interest. Dissertation projects can be undertaken with any animal or plant group. For further information on Faculty members, research areas or for application to the graduate program in Systematic Biology visit our web site at: http://maestria.ieco.conacyt.mx/maestria/ or contact: Dr. Victoria Sosa, Instituto de Ecologia, A.C., Apartado Postal 63, Km. 2.5 antigua carretera a Coatepec, 91000 Xalapa, Veracruz, México; phone: (+52) 28/ 42 1803; 42 1824; fax: (+52) 28/ 18 7809; e-mail: victoria@sun.ieco.conacyt.mx.
Descriptions may have been edited to conserve space; obtain complete descriptions before applying. Listed in order received. Deadlines may have already passed for some opportunities; these are retained in this Newsletter as a matter of interest to readers.
The American Philosophical Society makes grants towards the cost of scholarly research in all areas of knowledge except those where support by government or corporate enterprise is more appropriate. Projects likely to culminate in scholarly publications are preferred; projects in the creative or performing arts, for the general readership, and educational materials for classroom use are not eligible. Grants cover travel to the objects of research, purchase of photoreproductions of documents, and consumable professional supplies not available at the applicant's institution. The Society makes no grants for study, salary replacement, travel to conferences, consultation with other scholars, assistance with data entry, publication or translation, or the purchase of permanent equipment, telephone calls, or stationery. Eligibility: Applicants are expected to have held the doctorate for at least one year. Foreign nationals applying from abroad must state precisely what objects of research, only available in the United States, need to be consulted. Amount of award: averages $3,000; $6,000 maximum. In accordance with federal regulations, a 1099 miscellaneous income form will be issued for all grants that exceed $600. Deadlines: 1 March for decision by mid-June; 1 October for decision by mid-January; 1 December for decision by mid-March. Obtaining forms: Written requests for forms must indicate eligibility, specify the area of research, and state the proposed use of grant funds. Include a self-addressed mailing label. Telephone requests for forms cannot be honored. Our premises have not changed, but either of two addresses is valid: Committee on Research, American Philosophical Society, 104 S. 5th Street OR 150 S. Independence Mall East, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3387. Questions concerning the eligibility of a project or applicant are accepted at 215 440-3429 (M, Tu, Th, F 9-5, W 9-1) or via e-mail to eroach@amphilsoc.org.
Mellon Awards for Workshops in Tropical Biology. The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) invite proposals for two workshops focused on synthesizing research objectives for tropical forest ecology in Costa Rica and Panama. Funding is up to $15,000 for each workshop. Proposals should describe the general topic, the specific objectives, the venue and projected products (i.e., publications, etc.) of the workshop, as well as list the participants and their special contributions to the workshop. The deadline for applications is 2 September 1997. For further information, contact: Bill Wcislo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Unit 0948, APO AA 34002-0948; Fax: 507 232-5978; e-mail: wcislow@ic.si.edu.
The Missouri Botanical Garden has received a variety of grants and contracts. Some include: Flora of North America -- National Science Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Alice C. Tyler Perpetual Trust; Flora of China -- National Science Foundation, Starr Foundation, and the Luce Foundation; Flora Meso Americana -- Lounsbery Foundation; Botanical research for Bolivia and Peru, discretionary uses, and computing -- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Compactors for Herbarium -- National Science Foundation; Integrated Botanical Training Program in Tanzania -- Clairborne Ortenberg Foundation; Conspectus of the Vascular Flora of Madagascar -- National Science Foundation; Various Botanical Studies in Central America and Vietnam -- National Geographic Society; Moss Floras of China (English version) and Colombia -- National Science Foundation; and the Center for Botanical Informatics -- Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In addition, the Garden received $3.1 million from the U.S. Agriculture Appropriations Bill for its new Research Center.
Both the Missouri Botanical Garden and Rancho Ana Botanic Garden received grants of $600,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support graduate education in plant systematics and evolutionary botany.
The Botanical Research Institution of Texas (BRIT) received funding of $50,000 per year from the Liz Clairborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation to support for up to four years a program in Training in Conservation Biology and Infrastructure Improvement, with Documentation of Plant Diversity and Ethnobotany in Papua New Guinea. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded BRIT a grant to assist with the first year of studies in Papua New Guinea. BRIT also received a grant of $18,000 from the Beneficia Foundation to help process plant specimens from the Philippine Plant Inventory project.
The New York Botanical Garden received a grant of $6 million from the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust to complete funding their library, now named the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. The library will be part of a building project that includes a new herbarium along with the library in a Plant Studies Center.
Listed in chronological order. Descriptions may have been edited for space considerations, contact appropriate sources for complete information. Notices published in ASPT Newsletter Vol. 10 (2,3,4) are not repeated here.
1997
Summer Courses on Biodiversity and Systematics, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, 9-13 July and 14 July - 7 August 1997. Module I: Seeing the Big Picture (9-13 July); Module II: Exploring the Details (14 July-7 Aug.). This short course provides participants from professional and academic sectors with an introduction to the key issues and concepts of biodiversity and systematics. It will not be limited to the biological sciences but will explore the interaction between academic inquiry in these areas and the wide variety of human endeavor and values. Students learn how the current assemblage of life arose, is maintained, and might be conserved in the future. The course will also challenge students to view the phenomenon of nature from perspectives other than the number, distribution, and classification of organisms. For further information on this course, see the web site (http://biology.queensu. ca/~biodiv) or please contact: Dr. Stephen Lougheed, Director, Workshop on Biodiversity & Systematics, Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6; phone: 613 545-6128; fax: 613 545-6617; e-mail: biodiv@biology.queensu.ca.
Informal Lunch Meeting on Systematics of Rosaceae, AIBS Meetings, Montreal, 6 August 1997. For anyone interested in systematics of the Rosaceae, an informal lunch meeting will be held on Wednesday, 6 August 1997 at the AIBS meeting in Montreal. Let's get acquainted and share our research interests and activities. If you wish to join us, please contact: Elizabeth E. Dickson, 6 Wolf Crescent, Redwood Meadows, Alberta T3Z 1A3, Canada; phone: 403 949-2051; e-mail: eedickso@acs.ucalgary.ca.
Amaranth Institute Meeting. "Amaranth Industry and Research Connections" is the title of the next meeting of the Amaranth Institute Meeting, which will be held Friday, 8 August 1997, at the USDA/ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station farm, Ames, Iowa. Visit our web site at: http://www.ars-grin.gov/ars/MidWest/Ames. The meeting will feature: 1) Tour of field plantings, 2) Amaranth Institute business meeting, 3) Report on the Amaranth Growers Cooperative, 4) Report on Amaranth plant breeding in Nebraska, 5) Report on Amaranth starch research in Hong Kong, and 6) Brainstorming about problems and solutions. If you would like to make a presentation or wish further information about the meeting, contact David Brenner at 515 294-6786; e-mail: nc7db@ars-grin.gov. Registration $10 (late registration of $15, after 25 July 1997 you may register at the door). Please make your check payable to the Amaranth Institute.
The Systematics Association--First Biennial Conference, St. Anne's College, Oxford University, 19-21 August 1997. The Systematics Association is pleased to announce a new biennial series of conferences to provide a forum where students, amateurs and professional systematists can present their research and discuss topics of interest. The first conference will include both an open programme and a more focused, thematic programme. For the open programme, 15 minute talks and posters on any branch of systematics will be welcome, and students are particularly encouraged to come and present their work. Some topics at this symposium include: Phylogeny Reconstruction, Alpha Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics, Systematics and Ecology, Ancient and Modern Biodiversity, Microbial Systematics, Character Conceptualization, Primary Homology, and Systematic Solutions, Analysing Large Molecular Datasets, and Communicating Systematic Information. Registration fees are as follows: Systematics Association members - [sterling]45; Non-members - [sterling]60. For further details, contact: Dr. Toby Pennington, Systematics 97, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, U.K; e-mail: system97@ rbge.org.uk.
Plant Evolution and Domestication, Indiana University, 26-27 September 1997. Indiana University will hold a weekend symposium in honor of Dr. Charles Heiser's prominent contributions to Botany during his 50 years at IU. The symposium is entitled "Plant Evolution and Domestication" and will take place Friday evening, 26 September, and all day Saturday, 27 September. Speakers include: Greg Anderson, John Doebley, Jeff Doyle, Don Levin, Barbara Pickersgill, Charles Rick, Loren Rieseberg, Doug Soltis, and Herb Wagner. Registration fees are $75.00 for regular participants and $25.00 for students. For further information, contact: Angi Bailey or Jennifer Jones, Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405-6801; phone: 812 855-6283; fax 812 855-6705; e-mail: abailey@bio.indiana.edu.
44th Annual Systematics Symposium to be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 17 and 18 October 1997. This year's topic is "The Origin of Modern Terrestrial Ecosystems: Fossils, Phylogeny and Biogeography." The past few years have seen many new developments in the study of paleontology, and many of our ideas of past life forms are subject to change. The symposium will consist of an exciting set of presentations on diverse subjects, ranging from early flowering plants and their insect pollinators, the effect of climate change on plants and animals, and the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. Registration must be accompanied by a $50.00 registration fee ($40.00 for students), which includes refreshments at the Friday mixer and lunch, dinner, and cocktails on Saturday. No refunds will be granted after 30 September. For further information, contact: P. Mick Richardson, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299; phone: 314 577 5176; fax: 314 577 9596; e-mail: mrichardson@lehmann.mobot.org, or access the homepage which includes a registration form: http:// www.mobot.org/MOBOT/symposium/.
1998
Third International Symposium on the Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants to be held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Scotland, 20-26 July 1998. See ASPT Newsletter 10(2,3,4).
International Organization of Plant Biosystematics VIIth International Symposium: "Evolution in Man-Made Habitats," University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 10-15 August 1998. The symposium will have five non-concurrent topics in seven half-day sessions (invited and contributed papers) and posters including a specially scheduled poster session: 1) Evolution in disturbed habitats, 2) Evolution of man made plants, 3) Evolution of crop-wild relative complexes, 4) Evolution of invasive plant species: adaptation and life cycle, and 5) Evolution of invasive plant species. Fees range in the order of DFL 400-500 (c. US$ 230-300), depending on IOPB membership status and time of payment. Details will be given in the First Circular, available from early May 1997. Anyone interested in receiving the First Circular, in attending the Symposium or in learning more is invited to contact: VIIth IOPB Symposium, Dr. Hans den Nijs, SEP - UvA - Hugo de Vries Laboratory, Kruislaan 318, NL-1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands; phone: +31-20-525-7660; fax +31-20-525-7715; e-mail: iopb98@bio.uva.nl.
III Symposium on the Fauna and Flora of the Atlantic Islands, Ponta Delgada, Island of São Miguel, Azores, 21-25 September 1998. See ASPT Newsletter 10(2,3,4) or the homepage at http://www.uac.pt/nova/ infgpt/eventos/congres.htm. A second circular is now available.
Monocots II. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, week beginning 28 September 1998. The 2nd International Conference on the Comparative Biology of the Monocotyledons and 3rd International Symposium on Grass Systematics and Evolution - Monocots II -will be held at the University of New South Wales. It follows the successful 1993 conference Monocotyledons: classification and evolution held at Kew. Aspects of comparative biology will be covered, including implications for both higher level classification of the monocots and classification within particular groups such as the grasses. Sessions will generally be a mixture of invited and offered papers. To obtain more information and request a copy of the Second Circular, contact: Karen Wilson, Monocots II, Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia; phone: 61-2-9231.8137; fax: 61-2-9251.7231 or 9251.4403; e-mail: karen@rbgsyd.gov.au.
1999
XVI International Botanical Congress, St. Louis, Missouri U.S.A. August 1999. The First Circular for the XVI International Botanical Congress has been issued. This circular contains a Pre-Registration form and general information about the Congress. Copies of this circular may be obtained from the address below. All prospective participants in the XVI International Botanical Congress in St. Louis in 1999 are invited to submit a proposal for a General Symposium on any topic in the plant sciences, construed broadly to include botany, mycology, plant ecology, horticulture, agriculture, and related fields often underrepresented in botany. Most of the scientific program of the Congress will be devoted to these Symposia, which will be presented in numerous concurrent sessions on all days of the Congress. Each symposium will consist of seven 20-minute presentations and a concluding 10-minute discussion period. See the First Circular or the Congress web site for more details on submitting symposia. Correspondence concerning general matters of the Congress should be addressed to: Secretary General, XVI IBC, Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299 U.S.A.; phone: 01-314-577-5175; fax: 01-314-577-9589; e-mail: ibc16@mobot.org. For more information, also refer to the homepage http://www.ibc99.org.
On 25-27 October 1996, an international group of scholars, professionals, and activists came together at the University of California, Berkeley for the working conference "Endangered Languages, Endangered Knowledge, Endangered Environments." This event was the first joint meeting of experts from an array of disciplines in the social, behavioral, and biological sciences ranging from linguistics to anthropology, ethnobiology, cultural geography, economics, cognitive psychology, biology, and ecology, along with natural resource conservationists, cultural advocates, and representatives of indigenous peoples. The meeting was called to explore the complex connections between cultural and biological diversity, the interrelated causes and consequences of loss of both forms of diversity, and the role of indigenous and minority languages and of traditional knowledge in biocultural diversity maintenance and the promotion of sustainable human-environment relationships. Participants also discussed plans for integrated research, training, and action in this domain. For a detailed report on this conference, see Luisa Maffi, Language, Knowledge, and the Environment: Threats to the World's Biocultural Diversity. Anthropology Newsletter, February 1997. For additional information, please contact Dr. Luisa Maffi, Institute of Cognitive Studies, 608 Barrows Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; phone: 510 643-1728; fax: 510 6435688; e-mail: maffi@cogsci.berkeley.edu or this web site: http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/Endangered_Lang_Conf/ Endangered_Lang.html.
A Mini-Symposium on Rosaceae subfamily Maloideae was held at Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 12-13 January 1997. Collaborators on the Maloideae (Rosaceae) for the Flora of China presented highlights of their past, present, and future research on the Maloideae and discussed topics relevant to the preparation of revisionary treatments for the English edition of the Flora. Participants included Gu Cuizhi (PE), Elizabeth E. Dickson (Calgary), Lu Lingdi (PE), Bao Bojian (PE), David E. Boufford (A, GH), Anthony R. Brach (MO but located at A, GH), Crinan Alexander (E), James B. Phipps (UWO), Christopher S. Campbell (MAINE), Stephen A. Spongberg (A), Andrew C. Bell (A), Hugh McAllister (Ness), and Kenneth Robertson (ILLS). See the homepage at: http://flora.harvard.edu/ china/editors/maloidj97.htm.
Castanea -- Back issues of the journal Castanea are available at $1 per volume (or portion thereof), plus postage, for volumes before 1990. We have almost a whole run back to the beginning, but some numbers are missing. For information on availability, contact the Secretary of Southern Appalachian Botanical Society: Dr. Charles Horn, Department of Biology, Newberry College, Newberry, SC 29108; phone: 803 321-5257; fax: 803 321-5232; e-mail: chorn@newberry.edu.
CODON, The Campanulales Newsletter -- A news-letter dedicated to the Campanulales is in preparation. It will cover those families traditionally included in the Campanulales (Campanulaceae, Lobeliaceae, Goodeniaceae, Stylidiaceae, Brunoniaceae, Donatiaceae, Sphenocleaceae, Pentaphragmataceae, Nemacladaceae, Cyphiaceae and Cyphocarpaceae). It will be updated at least twice a year and is intended to keep workers on these groups informed about current research world-wide. In addition it is planned to start a homepage to initially include bibliographies, images, delta descriptions, nomenclature, etc. The Newsletter and homepage will probably be accessed via the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh web site. Notice will be given when it will be available. If you are interested in any aspect of the Campanulales and would like to have your name, research interests, e-mail address, etc. included in the home page (and you haven't already contacted me) please send details to Bill Eddie, Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Daniel Rutherford Building, Edinburgh EH9 3JH, Scotland, UK; e-mail: weddie@srv0.bio.ed.ac.uk.
Book reviews are now published in Systematic Botany. The following information on books received was provided by Janet R. Sullivan, Book Review Editor.
An Almanac of Botanical Trivia by Richard A. Howard. 1996. 52 pp. $7.00 (paper). Published by the author, 4 Jefferson Drive, Acton, MA 01720. -- A highly entertaining collection of trivia accumulated over the author's long career. What is the significance of Reid Moran's publication of Cneoridium demosum? What famous plant was discovered on 1 January 1823? How did Edward Tuckerman acquire some specimens collected by Lewis and Clark? Who probably tripped over Ipomoea pescapre on 13 October 1492? When did Peter Stevens clean his office? An appendix lists generic anagrams. There is something here to enliven any class lecture or an evening of reading.
The Anther: Form, Function, and Phylogeny edited by William G. D'Arcy and Richard C. Keating. 1996. xii + 351 pp. photographs and line drawings. ISBN 0-521-48063-9 $80.00 (cloth). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Apomixis and Taxonomy edited by A. John Richards, Jan Kirschner, Jan Stepanek, and Karol Marhold. 1996. 154 pp. illus. ISBN 91-88716-20-1 300 SEK (paper). Uppsala: Opulus Press [Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 31: 281-426] -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
The Asters of Ontario (Compositae: Astereae): Diplactis Raf., Oclemena E. L. Greene, Doellingeria Nees and Aster L. (including Canadanthus Nesom, Symphyotrichum Nees, and Virgulus Raf.) by John C. Semple, Stephen B. Heard, and Chun Sheng Xiang. 1996. viii + 94 pp. line drawings, dot maps, and black & white photographs. $10.00 (paper). University of Waterloo Biology Series 38. -- A key to all taxa, detailed description of each species, discussions of infraspecific taxa, and detailed illustrations of all taxa are included. Tables summarizing classification, distributional data, and frequency of ploidy levels are also included.
Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledoneae) edited by Fernando O. Zuloaga and Osvaldo Morrone. 1996. xviii + 323 pp. ISBN 0-915279-40-1 $30.00 (cloth). Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Number 60. -- Prior to this, the most recent publications documenting the phanaerograms of Argentina dated from 1916 and 1923. Now, with the publication of this volume, the work is continued for ferns, gymnosperms, and monocots. The third and last volume in the series, treating dicots, is in progress. Each taxon is critically evaluated based on literature and new data. Authors, relevant synonymy, references, distribution, and vouchers are given for each species. The book concludes with a bibliography and an appendix. In Spanish, with introductions in Spanish and English.
The Conservation of Plant Biodiversity by O. H. Frankel, A. H. D. Brown, and J. J. Burdon. 1995. 299 pp. ISBN 0-521-46165-0 $54.95 (cloth), 05-521-46731-4 $27.95 (paper). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Contemporary Plant Systematics, 2nd edition by Dennis W. Woodland. 1997. xiv + 619 pp. black & white drawings and photographs. ISBN 1-883925-14-2 (paper). Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press. -- This has been written for the undergraduate and serious amateur. Chapters cover naming of plants and taxonomic literature, collecting and identifying plants, history of classification, contemporary methods, and endangered species, as well as characteristics of families of pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. The book comes with a CD-ROM Photo Atlas of 264 families.
The Dicotyledonae of Ohio, Part 2: Linaceae Through Campanulaceae by Tom S. Cooperrider. 1995. xxii + 656 pp. illus. ISBN 0-8142-0628-X $65.00 (cloth). Columbus: Ohio State University Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Diversity and Evolutionary Biology of Tropical Flowers by Peter K. Endress. 1996. 511 pp. illus. ISBN 0-521-42088-1 $84.95 (cloth), ISBN 0-521-56510-3 $37.95 (paper). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Ecology of the Southern Conifers edited by Neal J. Enright and Robert S. Hill. 1995. x + 342 pp. Black & white photographs, line drawings, and maps. ISBN 1-56098-617-4 (cloth). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. -- Twelve chapters cover the history and ecology of the southern hemisphere conifers, emphasizing their importance in understanding the evolution and ecological dynamics of southern vegetation. Contributors draw on research from South African fynbos, New Caledonian rainforests, the Argentine steppe, and inland Australia.
The Ecology of a Tropical Forest. Seasonal Rhythms and Long-Term Changes, 2nd edition edited by Egbert G. Leigh, Jr., A. Stanley Rand, and Donald M. Windsor. 1996. 503 pp. black & white illus. ISBN 1-56098-642-5 (paper). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. -- This book remains unchanged from the first edition, except for an additional chapter, an epilogue describing relevant research published since 1979, and corrections.
Experiments in Ecology. Their Logical Design and Interpretation Using Analysis Of Variance by A. J. Underwood. 1997. xviii + 504 pp. illus. ISBN 0-521-55329-6 $80.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-521-55696-1 $34.95 (paper). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- This book describes how to design ecological experiments from a statistical basis using variance. Procedures that lead to a need for experiments are described, followed by an introduction to simple statistical tests. This is followed by a detailed account of analysis of variance, looking at procedures, assumptions, and problems. Examples of ecological experiments are used to illustrate the procedures and examine problems.
Flora of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 5, Butomaceae--Orchidaceae by Peter Sell and Gina Murrell. 1996. xxix + 410 pp. line drawings and maps. ISBN 0-521-55339-3 $100.00 (cloth). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- One of five planned volumes providing a definitive account of the native and naturalized species and garden escapes found in the British Isles. Includes keys, descriptions, and synonymy. Detailed descriptions provide information on flowering period, pollination, chromosome number, status, ecology, and distribution.
Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands by P. Acevedo-Rodríguez and collaborators. 1996. 581 pp. 242 illus. ISBN 0-89327-402-X $49.95 (cloth). Bronx: New York Botanical Garden [Memoirs Volume 78] . -- Keys and descriptions of all native and naturalized species and persistent or common exotics found on the island. A botanical history of the island is provided, along with a listing of prominent plant collectors.
Flora y Vegetacíon del Estado Táchira Venezuela by G. Bono. 1996. 951 pp. maps. ISBN 88-86041-15-2 L.200.000 (cloth). Torino (Italy): Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali [Monografia XX]. -- The book includes descriptions of the environment and floristic affinities, and treats 4076 species and infraspecific taxa of the Tachira region of southwestern Venezuela.
Flora of the Yukon Territory by William J. Cody. 1996. xvii + 643 pp. illus. with line drawings and dot maps. ISBN 0-660-16406-X $79.95 (US) (cloth), ISBN 0-660-15898-1 $49.95 (US) (paper). Ottawa: National Research Council of Canada. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Floral Biology: Studies on Floral Evolution in Animal-Pollinated Plants edited by David G. Lloyd and Spencer C. H. Barrett. 1995. ISBN 0-412-04341-6 $75.00 (cloth) New York: Chapman and Hall. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
The Food Web of a Tropical Rain Forest edited by Douglas P. Reagan and Robert B. Waide. 1996. xi + 616 pp. black & white illus. ISBN 0-226-70600-1 $39.95 (paper). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. -- This volume presents a comprehensive description and analysis of the tropical rain forest at El Verde, Puerto Rico. It is the most complete and detailed description of a food web ever attempted. It is a valuable contribution to the ecological literature, both for its analysis of this particular ecosystem and for its examination of general principles of food web dynamics.
Hawaiian Biogeography. Evolution on a Hot Spot Archipelago edited by W. L. Wagner and V. A. Funk. 1995. 467 pp. illus. ISBN 1-56098-462-7 $45.00 (cloth), ISBN 1-56098-463-5 $25.00 (paper). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Historical Biogeography of the Southeast Asian Genus Spatholobus (Legum.-Papilionoideae) and its allies by Jeannette W. A. Ridder-Numan. 1996. 144 pp. black & white photographs, line drawings, and maps. ISBN 90-71236-30-7 Dfl. 80,00 (paper). Leiden: Rijksherbarium/ Hortus Botanicua [Blumea: Supplement Volume 10] -- Chapters cover a phylogenetic analysis, overview of the geological history of Southeast Asia, and the historical biogeography and summary of relationships of Spatholobus.
Icones Pleurothallidinarum XIV: Systematics of Draconanthes, Lepanthes subgenus Marsipanthes and subgenus Lepanthes of Ecuador (Orchidaceae) by Carlyle A. Luer. 1996. 255 + 8 pp. 266 line drawings, color frontispiece. ISBN 0-915279-42-8 $35.00 (paper). Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Number 61. -- This latest Icones is devoted to the genus Lepanthes, a neotropical genus of about 800 intricately flowered species. Because of the large number of species, only the 266 species found in Ecuador are treated in this volume. Includes descriptions, citation of specimens, and line drawings.
A Manual of California Vegetation by John O. Sawyer and Todd Keeler-Wolf. 1995. 471 pp. +32 color plates ISBN 0-943460-26-2 $39.00 (paper). Sacramento: California Native Plant Society. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Michigan Flora, Part III, Dicots (Pyrolaceae--Compositae) by Edward G. Voss. 1996. xix + 622 pp. illus. ISBN 87737-040-0 $15.00 (cloth). Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science Bulletin 61 and Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Herbarium. Michigan Flora is now complete and is the bargain of the century! Parts I and II are still available for only $12.50 each! -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Molecular Evolution by Wen-Hsiung Li. 1997. 487 pp. 249 illus. ISBN 0-87893-463-4 $52.95 (cloth). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc. -- This book is a synthesis describing the dynamics of evolutionary change at the molecular level, the forces behind the evolutionary process, the effects of molecular mechanisms on the structure of genes and genomes, and methodology involved in using molecular data in evolutionary analysis.
The Nature of Disease in Plants by Robert P. Scheffer. 1996. ix + 325 pp. black & white drawings and photographs. ISBN 0-521-48247-X $64.95 (cloth). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- The purpose of this book is to give a broad general understanding of how plant diseases develop, especially with respect to the effects of human activities.
Palms Throughout The World by David L. Jones. 1995. 410 pp. illus. ISBN 1-56098-616-6 $49.00 (cloth). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Plants in Changing Environments. Linking Physiological, Population and Community Ecology by F. A. Bazzaz. 1996. ix + 320 pp. ISBN 0-521-39190-3 $74.95 (cloth), ISBN 0-521-39843-6 $29.95 (paper). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- This book integrates information on how disturbance changes the environment, how species function, coexist, and share or compete for resources, and how species replace one another over time. Uses illustrations from research integrating physiological, population, and community ecology.
Plant Microbe Symbiosis: Molecular Approaches edited by A. H. Fitter and D. P. Stribley. 1997. 197 pp. illus. ISBN 0-521-58718-2 $29.95 (paper). New York: Cambridge University Press. -- This is a selection of papers presented at the first in a series of annual symposia sponsored by the Trustees of The New Phytologist.
Pomona's Harvest. An Illustrated Chronicle of Antiquarian Fruit Literature by H. Frederic Janson. 1996. 436 pp. 9 color photos, 139 line drawings. ISBN 0-88192-336-2 $59.95 (cloth) Portland, OR: Timber Press. -- This unusual book is an illustrated in-depth review of the literature dealing with fruit from antiquity to the Industrial Revolution. With chapter titles like "Beginnings in Parchment and Papyrus" and "Britannia Courts Pomono," the author places his subject against the background of history, showing the connections among pomology, social history, and the history of ideas.
Progress in Botany, Volume 56 edited by H.-D. Behnke, U. Luttge, K. Esser, J. W. Kadereit, and M. Runge. 1995. xviii + 490 pp. illus. ISBN 3-540-58407-2 $214.00 (cloth). New York: Springer-Verlag. -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
Rare Lilies of California by Peggy Lee Fiedler. 1996. xiii + 153 pp. black & white drawings and 38 color plates. $24.95 (paper). Sacramento: California Native Plant Society. -- After introducing California's lilies, chapters describe patterns of rarity in California's lilies and lily evolution and ecology in California. The last section of the book treats each of California's rare lilies, including a color plate and a brief discussion covering characteristics, taxonomic status and relationships, extant populations, and state and federal status.
Silk Tree, Guanacaste, Monkey's Earring. A Generic System for the Synandrous Mimosaceae of the Americas, Part I. Abarema, Albizia, and Allies by R. C. Barneby and J. W. Grimes. 1996. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 74, Part I: 1-292. illus. ISBN 0-89327-395-3 $45.00 (cloth). -- Review to appear in an upcoming issue of Systematic Botany.
The Tropical Rainforest: An Ecological Study, 2nd edition, by P. W. Richards. 1996. xxiii + 575 pp. black & white photographs and line drawings. ISBN 0-521-42054-7 $125.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-521-42194-2 $49.95 (paper), New York: Cambridge University Press. -- A new and completely rewritten version of Dr. Richards' 1952 book. New chapters have been added on climate and microclimate, soils of the humid tropics, and an appendix on numerical methods.
If you have a new or revised Web site that may be of interest to the membership of ASPT, please send the URL address to the editor of the Newsletter. This section is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all sites useful to plant taxonomists. For the latest links, consult the ASPT homepage, select "Newsletter" and then "Current News." (http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/aspt/aspthome.htm)
Many new features have been added to the ASPT home-page (http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/aspt/ aspthome.htm) thanks to the diligent efforts of Hugh Wilson. The ASPT Membership Directory now includes browsing by last name, alphabetical listing of keywords for research interests, indexed lists by country, and free form query. Homepage URLs of members can now be included in the electronic directory.
The "Systematic Botany" part of the ASPT homepage has been expanded to include editors, members of the editorial board, instructions for authors, and a checklist for the preparation of manuscripts. A prototype system has been developed under an experimental ASPT-ICC/TAMU-GWB/BIOSIS project. This allows electronic searches for all issues of Systematic Botany currently indexed by BIOSIS and all issues of Brittonia published under the auspices of ASPT. The full texts of abstracts for articles published in Systematic Botany from 1996 onward are available electronically through this project.
Information on Systematic Botany Monographs is also available from the ASPT homepage. Included are a catalogue of published monographs, an order form, and a guide for authors.
The ASPT Membership electronic directory is included in the Directories of Biologists page from BIOSIS, the publisher of Biological Abstracts and Zoological Record. The Directories page includes links to over 60 electronic directories. The URL is: http://www.york.biosis.org/ zrdocs/desktop/biol_dir.htm
Indices of Vascular Plant Families and Authors of Plant Names from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are now available via the www. The URL is: http://www. rbgkew.org.uk/web.dbs/webdbsintro.html.
The South Carolina Vascular Plant Atlas is available electronically at: http://cricket.biol.sc.edu/herb/. This version of the Atlas represents a preliminary treatment of the data that will appear in an upcoming hard copy. Comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please send them to: John B. Nelson, Curator of the Herbarium (USCH), Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 29208; voice: 803 777-8196; fax: 803 777-4002; e-mail: nelson@biol.sc.edu
Cartographic Links for Botanists, Compiled by Raino Lampinen, Botanical Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History. This site has 1) links to Internet sites with online plant distribution maps, and/or information on plant distribution mapping projects, 2) links to computerized mapping in general. Additions to the Plant Distribution Mapping section are most welcome, as well as additions to the Coordinate conversion software chapter. The URL is: http://www.helsinki.fi/kmus/ cartogr.html.
Announcing the availability of Flora of China Crosstalk, which encourages the sharing of news and discussions of general and expert taxonomic interest related to the plants of China. For more information about browsing the mailbox and archives, and submitting e-mail items to Crosstalk at this URL: http://flora.harvard.edu/china/mss/crosstalk.htm or click on the "post it" icon on the main pages of the Flora of China Web site (http://flora.harvard.edu/ china/).
The Botanical Society of America has a newly designed homepage at: http://www.botany.org/. Information available includes abstracts and tables of contents for recent issues of American Journal of Botany.
Isoëtes in the Southeastern U.S. Although still under construction, there is a new homepage devoted to the Isoëtes species of the Southeastern United States at http://www.odu.edu/~isoetes/.
Wood Collection, U.S. National Herbarium. Label information associated with this herbarium (USw) is now available electronically. The Wood Collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History contains approximately 42,500 specimens representing almost 3,000 genera. In addition, approximately 5,000 microscope slices are associated with the Collection. The label information associated with these collections has been WAIS indexed, and interested parties are encouraged to access this information electronically at the following URL: gopher://nmnhgoph.si.edu, where they should first select "Botany at the Smithsonian Institution" and then "Wood Collection (U.S. National Herbarium, US)". This will give them a choice to read either more information about the collection or to initiate a search of the database. The "about" file also provides information regarding formal requests for material for sectioning.
IABIN (The Inter-American Biodiversity Information Network) is an intergovernmental initiative intended to promote greater coordination among Western Hemisphere countries in collection, sharing, and use of environmental information. The proposal to develop IABIN was an element of the final "Hemispheric Plan of Action" adopted by the leaders of South, Central, and North American nations in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in December 1996 at the Summit on Sustainable Development. The URL is: http://biology.usgs.gov/ nbii/iabin/.
The Internet Directory for Botany - Subject Category List (http://www.helsinki.fi/kmus/botmenu.html). This very useful list has links to many different topics: Arboreta and Botanical Gardens; Biologists' Addresses; Botanical Museums, Herbaria, Natural History Museums; Botanical Societies, International Botanical Organizations; Checklists and Floras, Taxonomic Databases, Vegetation; Conservation, Threatened Plants; Economic Botany, Ethnobotany; Gardening; Images; Journals, Books, Literature Databases, Publishers; Link Collections, Resource Guides; List servers and Newsgroups; Lower Plants; Other Resources; Paleobotany, Pollen; Software; University Departments, Other Institutes; Vascular Plant Families.
Checklist of Software for Field Biologists (http:// www.euronet.nl/users/mbleeker/prog/soflis_e.html). This Checklist contains a list of software products that could be of interest to biologists who do fieldwork--ecology, statistics, mapping, taxonomy, identification, management of collections: it's all there. Short info and/or links to further information, sometimes freely downloadable programs. Major topic areas are: Ecology, Taxonomy (species), Collections (specimen), Education, For Programmers, Other Software, and Other Biosoftware Lists.
Bishop Museum's Hawaii Biological Survey is pleased to announce "Hawaii's Endangered and Threatened Species" web site at: http://www.bishop.hawaii.org/ bishop/HBS/endangered/. "Hawaii is the Endangered Species Capital of the World. With 100s of plants and animals listed as Endangered or Threatened, there are more endangered species per square mile on these islands than any other place on the planet." This web site includes information about many of these fascinating species as well as photographic images.
The Global Plant Checklist project of the International Organization for Plant Information has a provisional checklist prototype available at: http://iopi.csu.edu.au/ iopi/. So far, it contains datasets contributed from four regions (Australia, Europe, North America north of Mexico, and Peru) as well as two edited datasets for the Casuarinaceae and Magnoliaceae.
An interesting concept in the use of the world-wide-web is the electronic adaptation and update to an out-of-print monograph of a group of fungi The original publication is Halling, R. E. 1983. The genus Collybia (Agaricales) in the Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Mycologia Memoirs 8: 1-148. 1983. Originally printed by J. Cramer, and (c) by The New York Botanical Garden in collaboration with the Mycological Society of America. The revised electronic version is available through the homepage of the New York Botanical Garden at this URL: http://www.nybg. org/bsci/res/col/colintro.html. The site includes an online key, updated nomenclature, an index to taxa in Collybia, Rhodocollybia, and Gymnopus, as well as color images of the mushrooms and images of microscopic characters.
This announcement was received after the Final Layout for this issue of the Newsletter was completed.
University of Florida Herbarium (FLAS) Address Change. The vascular plant collection of the University of Florida Herbarium (FLAS), a unit in the Department of Natural Sciences of the Florida Museum of Natural History, is moving from its present location in Rolfs Hall to Dickinson Hall on the campus of the University of Florida. The move is planned to begin in early September 1997 and the actual move will be completed by 1 December 1997. Unpacking should be completed by 1 March 1998. This move impacts only the vascular plant collection at this time.
Because of the move, the herbarium will be closed from 1 September 1997 to approximately 1 March 1998. For the most part, we will not be able to accept loan shipments to the herbarium during this time period, nor will we be able to ship loans out of the herbarium. We regret any inconvenience that this might cause the botanical community.
Progress on our move will be posted on our Web page at: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herbarium/.
Please direct any inquiries to either the Keeper or the Collection Manager listed below at the Rolfs Hall address until 15 October 1997. After 15 October 1997, please use the new address at Dickinson Hall:
Dr. Norris H. Williams, Keeper OR
Kent D. Perkins, Manager of the Collection
University of Florida Herbarium
209 Rolfs Hall
PO Box 110530
Gainesville FL 32611-0530
University of Florida Herbarium
Florida Museum of Natural History
Dickinson Hall
PO Box 117800
Gainesville FL 32611-7800
Telephone: (352) 392-1767
FAX: (352)-392-1777
Email: herb@flmnh.ufl.edu
28 July 1997