August Links

Scott's Botanical Links

Leigh's Links -- August 1998

Past Links:

August 31, 1998- School Resources from www.microscopy-UK

This site's School Resources include eight image with text pages on Mammal and Plant Biology, featuring slides of Stomata, Onion Root, Marram Grass, and a Leaf Vein for the botanists. These are a section of quite a large site dedicated to the pursuit of microscopy, publishing two online magazines, Micscape and Lightscape..Documenting creatures and occurrences from the world of the highly magnified, the magazines are good reading for novice through professional microscophiles, with world news events and access to chats and forums. A free downloadable trial program of slides for biology students is available and readers with 3-D glasses will want to check out the amazing 3-D image gallery at this site by www.microscopy -UK. (Text by Alan Maude with images by M.Smith). (****)LF

August 28, 1998- A Decade of Forest Health Monitoring in Canada

Focusing on the role of atmospheric pollution in forest decline, this 1996 Ministry of Environment and Energy study of Canadian hardwood forests reports data derived through a number of dendroecological studies. Growth decline in Sugar Maple was assessed for possible effects of global warming and soil acidification, with measurement of nutrient/elemental ratios in soil and of mean atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Tree-ring analogies were used to evaluate changes in Bristlecone Pine. The Introduction contains valuable citations from similar studies of hardwood forest decline in both Europe and the United States. Anyone concerned with forest productivity studies will not want to miss this site by D. McLaughlin, Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy, Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN), Halifax, Nova Scotia.(****) LF

August 27, 1998- Gallery Foyer

The Gallery Foyer is the launch pad to P.J. Christian's 9 collections of more than 300 spectacular plant images of flowering bulbous genera desirable for cultivation. Arisaema, Hepatica, Cypripedium, and Trillium each have their own gallery, while another four galleries feature assorted genera A-T and recent Chinese introductions. Newest and most exquisite is Orchid Gallery 5, being added to daily, exhibiting European ground orchids photographed in the wild by the author over the past 25 years. For each of the wild orchids is a bit of descriptive, geographic, and cultural information- well worth a special trip to this site by Paul J. Christian, Wrexham, North Wales, UK. (****)LF

August 26, 1998- Online Glossary of Technical Terms in Plant Pathology

This handy glossary from Cornell University's Department of Plant Pathology is an excellent model particularly designed for use in text links. Each entry is in bold, followed by a reference number for the source of the definition and icons indicating when images or an audio pronunciation is available. Accessed by an alphabetical index or search engine, terms are continually added to the glossary at this actively edited site by Phil A. Arneson, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.(****)LF

August 25, 1998- Nee-How

"From individual biomolecules to whole trees, from live bacteria to extinct dinosaurs," if you "need" to know "how" to find biological information on the internet, Dr. Yao's customized bio-search of 700,000 pre-selected pages, and Dr. Hwang's 2400 Wonderful Linkings are two of the first places to look. The more specific the keyword, the faster the return from the search engine, bringing back rewards which may be otherwise obscured or diluted in a more general search facility. With heavy emphasis on cell and molecular biology, the Wonderful Linkings access lab protocols, online courses, databases, dictionaries, newsgroups- essentially the works! Possibly one of the outstanding biological bookmarks of the year, don't miss this invaluable site by Wen-hsuang (Adam) Yao and Pei-Ing Hwang, Beijing, China. (****)LF

August 24, 1998- Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Nine Nobel Prize winners have worked at this oldest of the national laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Located in Berkeley, but not to be confused with the University of California at Berkeley, the Department contracted the University of California system to manage the lab, directed by Charles V. Shank, inventor of the femtosecond laser. The Overview: Panorama of Science and Historian's View of the Lab are exciting reading beginning with its founder, Ernest Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, "which led to a Golden Age of particle physics and revolutionary discoveries about the nature of the universe." Educational pages for teachers and students offered on the website include the famous Virtual Frog Dissection Kit, the Glenn Seaborg Site, Hands-On Universe, The Particle Adventure, and Microworlds, which explores the structure of materials, for grades 9-12. A News Center includes searchable News Releases, Science Articles Archive and Research Review Magazine Copious information about the lab, its work, its staff, opportunities and many other goodies are provided at this site by Jeff Kahn and Martin Gelbaum, Berkeley, California.(****)LF

August 21, 1998- Fitoterapia y Natura

Offering more than 100 megs of information about natural medicine, this site is particularly handy for the author's index of medicinal plants compiled from 17 years of studying and cultivating medicinal plants of Spain. The alphabetical index lists common names of Spanish origin, each followed by the botanical name linked to a page listing synonyms in Portuquese, Basque, Castillan, Italian, English, German, and French. Of course, visitors well-versed in Spanish will likely derive the maximum benefit here, but neat organization make navigation possible across language barriers while there are also many links to valuable medicinal plant pages in English at this site by Juan Sisa Sentís, Ibiza, Baleares, Espana. (****)LF

August 20, 1998- Biological Foundations- Botany Quarter

Biol 112 web pages offer readers 38 incredible plant lectures from "Biological Foundations," the botany section of a three quarter sequence in general biology for biology majors and pre-professional students at PUC. The supporting glossary is full of photographs, photomicrographs, diagrams, animations, video clips, a self test and references. Teachers and students seeking materials for studying plant anatomy, morphology, physiology, diversity, and habitats will want to bookmark this site by Gilbert J. Muth, Pacific Union College, Angwin, California. (****)LF

August 19, 1998- Botany for the Next Millenium

The future of botany, as reports the Botanical Society of America, is clearly in the hands of botanists who each in their way must be committed to garnering public enthusiasm for the earth's primary producers. Three chapters online cover the intellectual, the practical, and professional outlook for the future, with a Table of Goals and Actions, Executive Summary Section Reports, and Survey Results obtained as part of the report's research. Among numerous participants listed in Acknowledgements are: research and writing by Christine Mlot; Susan E. Eichhorn, Survey Coordinator; and editing by Elizabeth Lawson and Karl J. Niklas. Site by the Botanical Society of America, Columbus, Ohio.(****)LF

August 18, 1998- Biology Safety Information

While published in reference to the safety procedures required for work in York University's Department of Biology, this online manual contains oodles of important information of interest to biologists working in any lab, from safely using a PC to "Disposing of nasties." Essentially all aspects of the working academic laboratory are addressed with "Good laboratory practice,"Good microbiology practice," "Good field work practice,"and "Good working practices for the use of radioisotopes" available in a format easily downloadable into any word processor. Before washing hands in benzene, be sure and visit this site by Richard D. Firn, University of York, Heslington, York, Great Britain.(****)LF

August 17, 1998- Biology Lessons for Prospective and Practicing Teachers

In a carefully charted course to instill concepts of biology in the young, this set of lessons for elementary education is organized in two parts- I. Cells and Molecules, and 2. Population Biology. Science teachers in the making will find ample guidance here for introducing the ideas of atoms, elements, water, osmosis, organic molecules, and mitosis; as applied to plant growth, food chain dynamics, species interaction, diversity, reproduction, population growth and change. This online service is being provided for teachers in the San Diego area and elsewhere with support from the National Science Foundation and from San Diego State University (SDSU) College of Sciences. Site by Kathleen M. Fisher with Stacy Gomes, Susan Levine, Rebecca Smith, and Robert Weeks, San Diego State University, San Diego, California.(****)LF

August 14, 1998- Mary's Gardens Home Page

Sometime in 1932 the first public Mary Garden in the United States was established at the Angelus Tower of St. Joseph's Church, Woods Hole, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Reviving this medieval tradition in horticulture has produced some extensively researched lists of plants named for Mary, Jesus, and the Saints. A Mary's Gardens organization, inspired of Mrs. Lillie's parish garden of fifty Mary flowers of the medieval English countryside, was formed in 1951 to disseminate information about Mary Gardens and to provide materials resources for their construction. The botanical lists, historical progress of the organization and every aspect of the Mary-plant are thoroughly documented at this unique site by Mary's Gardens, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.(****)LF

August 13, 1998- Why Owens Lake is Red!

Revealing what heretofore only a handful of desert ecologists have known for sure, Professor of Botany Wayne Armstrong explains the occurrence of red coloration in salt lakes and playas in this fascinating natural history article written for the online magazine Desert USA. The role of the halophilic species Halobacterium and algae Dunaliella and Dangeardinella is discussed in a manner which distinguishes their differing mechanisms of salt tolerancy. Mention is made of other instances of coloration found in the natural world originating from pigments of microorganisms, and a bibliography is provided. Article and photos by Wayne P. Armstrong, Palomar College, San Marcos, California. Site by Digital West Media, Inc, San Diego, California. (****)LF

August 12, 1998- Botanique

Botanique specializes in horticulture of the bog plant, and anyone embarked on the project of a bog garden or other cultivation of carnivorous plants will want to visit this informative site. Photos by Robert Sacilotto are lovely, representing members of Sarracenia, Nepenthes, Dionaea, Drosera, Pinguicula, with a few other non-carnivorous wetlands species. The Blue Ridge Mountains nursery provides online Care Sheets for the carnivorous species (all nursery-propagated), based on twenty years of experimentation and research with bog plants for the home garden. Site by Botanique, Stanardsville, Virginia. (****)LF

August 11, 1998- Phytoremediation Home Page

Defining phytoremediation simply as "using plants and grasses to clean our environment," the Army Corps of Engineers Innovative Technologies pages publish a variety of experimental briefs on the agency's use of treatment wetlands for contaminated groundwaters. TNT and other wastes of munitions production are among the major contaminants the Army must deal with, while work with phytoremedial technology as a whole holds promise for the clean-up of organic solvents, PCBs, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, explosives and energetics, or nutrients. Links to other phytoremediation resources include centers at Kansas State University, Utah State, Rutgers, and the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center, as well as a long list of USGS ecology projects Site by the United States Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Division, Directorate of Military Programs, Washington, D.C. (****)LF

August 10, 1998- Internet Directory for Botany

The IDB has a new url whose page accesses the Alphabetical List (Brach), Subject List (Lampinen) and all the various mirrors of this comprehensive index to botany information on the internet. It has also been announced that Shunguo Liu is working on a new search script which will be available soon. This massive work is compiled by Anthony R. Brach (Harvard University Herbarium, Cambridge / Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA, www page), Raino Lampinen (Botanical Museum, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Finland; www page), Shunguo Liu (G.F Ledingham Herbarium, University of Regina, Canada; www page) and Keith McCree (Oakridge, Oregon; www page). (****)LF

August 7, 1998- Botanical Index to the Journal of Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau's extensive botanizing through the Concord, Massachusetts woods is for the first time given scientific consideration in an index to his Journal prepared by the curator of the flora of the New England Botanical Club. The alphabetical index of common and scientific names provides the volume and page number where the plant is described while Thoreau's 1906 nomenclature has been updated and cross-referenced where necessary. In the works for two decades, this is an important reference significant to studies in historical ecology, studies on Thoreau, the naturalist, and highly useful to writers seeking a "Thoreauvian gem " for a particular plant subject. Site by Ray Angelo, Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts.(****)LF

August 6, 1998- Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference on
Hazardous Waste Research

The focus of this 1995 conference at Kansas State University was phytoremediation, bioremediation, and environmental issues on Native American lands, and this site publishes the meeting's index to various papers (downloadable) or abstracts. Available in full and of particular interests to botanists are " Removal of Copper Ions from Solution by Silica-Immobilized Medicago sativa," "Bioremediation of TNT Wastes by Higher Plants," and "Copper Adsorption by Peat Moss and Its Humic Fractions." Follow the link to the Research Center Homepage for additional information on the 1998 Conference and a page of phytoremediation links with a bibliography. Site by the Great Plains-Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas.(****)LF

August 5, 1998- Piperaceae Home Page

This is a short, informative page organized by a PhD candidate working in natural products chemistry, specifically pharmacological properties of some Piperaceae species of Rio de Janeiro. Along with weblinks to botany, genera, researchers, and taxonomists, the author summarizes the various chemicals that have been isolated and provides a table of ethnopharmacological uses of Piperaceae species. Site by Davyson de Lima Moreira, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.(****)LF

August 4, 1998- Southern Regional Research Center

For fifty-seven years, the ARS-USDA Southern Regional Research Center has made significant contributions to the quality of American living with agricultural products of the southern states. Cotton research produced fabric to protect WWII soldiers from liquid nerve gas, later in time turning to flame-retardant fabrics and Permanent Press. Orange juice concentrate, superior rubber, outdoor fabrics, cocoa-butter, and currently in the works, carbonated beverages designed to get Americans to consume more calcium, may all be credited to this agency. The feature "Cotton Up Close" offers a microscopic look at cotton fibers and cellulose, and there is new information on the National Formosan Subterranean Termite Program. Read the History of Agricultural research in the U.S. at this site by the Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.(****)LF

August 3, 1998- Marine Botany

Teachers of this Stanford University course in Marine Botany had students present information on the plant of their choosing to create an introduction to the algal and benthic plant communities of Monterey Bay. Included along with discussion of the Bay's main habitats of the Rocky Intertidal zone, Subtidal Rocks and Kelp Forests, is a brief mention of Tropical Caribbean Habitats, regrettably not part of the course field excursions! The focus is on divisions of the algae, offset by a romantic perspective (not likely to be encountered in the everyday botany text ) of Phyllospadix, a Pacific sea grass. Find also a Glossary of frequently employed terminology at this site by Judith Connor and Ben Hale, Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California. (****)LF