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Volume 11, Number 1
January-February-March 1997

Nancy R. Morin and Judith M. Unger, co-editors

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FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA NEWS

Manuscripts are going out for regional review on a regular basis--another six groups since the last newsletter. Taxa included 5 genera of Cyperaceae, 13 sections of Carex, 24 Orchidaceae genera, and 9 Liliaceae genera. We are working on all three volumes comprising the monocots except Poaceae (old volume 11). Volume 22 consists of 31 "small" families, volume 23 includes Liliales and Orchidales, and volume 24 is Cyperaceae. We encourage regional reviewers to review their manuscripts and forward them to regional coordinators within a month. Regional reviewers with computer capability are encouraged to access their latest manuscripts electronically via the web process explained in 27 February mailing.

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Authors of treatments, still outstanding, of Monocots except Poaceae should finish their treatments as soon as possible and mail them to their taxon editor. Authors are encouraged to double check manuscripts if a descriptor is used in the key, it must also be in the description. Authors are reminded to use the blank maps that cover about 7 x 8 inches on an 8 ½ x 11 inch sheet of paper. Do not use the small maps that are about 2 X 2 in. on a page, discontinued over five years ago. Contact Keats Smith at the Organizational Center by mail or email her at smitha@fna.org to ask for more maps or if you have questions concerning the maps.

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Alan Whittemore, FNA staff botanist, began a term of office last fall as an associate editor for Systematic Botany, the research journal of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. The eight associate editors and the editor-in-chief, David Giannasi of the University of Georgia, divide up the job of reviewing incoming manuscripts and editing them for publication. The editor-in-chief has final responsibility for putting together the issues of the journal.

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Volume 3 will be out in May. The Organizational Center had about 150 requests for the order form using the 20% discount in the last newsletter. Thank you for your response. People from many plant-related sciences requested the form.

You may still purchase volume 3 for $68 (a 20% discount off of the full retail of $85) using information in the Ecology catalog from Oxford University Press (OUP). Using their 800 number (800/451-7556), you need to mention promotion I433 (that's a capital "eye", not number one). This offer is valid until 30 June 1997. You must order from OUP, not from the Organizational Center.

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The Flora of North America (FNA) project is a cooperative program to produce a Flora of the plants of North America north of Mexico. The FNA Newsletter is published quarterly by the Flora of North America Association to communicate news about the FNA project and other topics of interest to North American floristic researchers. Readers are invited to send appropriate news items to FNA Newsletter, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166, U.S.A.

 

Manuscripts received from 1 January 1997 through 31 March 1997

Volume 22  

Robert Faden

Mayacaceae
Helen Kennedy Marantaceae
Galen Smith Typhaceae

Volume 24

 

Debra Dunlop

Carex sect. Scirpinae
Galen Smith Amphiscirpus
Bolboschoenus
Isolepis

Volume 12

 
Clifford Schmidt Ceanothus (Rhamn.)

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The American Institute of Biological Sciences will have their annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec, on 3-7 August 1997. FNA will have a reception on Monday afternoon. Come to see the latest in FNA's electronic capabilities. All FNA regional reviewers and regional coordinators are encouraged to bring their comments and concerns to a special meeting. We will have an FNA booth with T-shirts available-look for new designs and colors-maybe even a return of the mugs.

PUBLICATIONS

(Reviewed by George Yatskievych) The publication of the third and final volume of Michigan Flora completes four decades of research on the state's flora by the dean of Michigan botanists, Ed Voss. As with Part 1 (gymnosperms and monocots, 1972) and Part 2 (dicots through Cornaceae, 1985), the present volume is a marvel of well-constructed keys, detailed observations, and penetrating taxonomic discussions.

Not surprisingly, Part 3 follows the same organization as the earlier volumes. Concise indented keys are supplemented with distribution maps, illustrations (borrowed from other works) of about 1/4 of the nearly 800 species in the volume, and a selection of 52 photos representing the various families. As before, species descriptions are not included, but numerous, often lengthy discussions provide additional hints for species recognition and details on a variety of topics ranging from conservation status to taxonomic and nomenclatural matters or discussions of plant uses.

A welcome feature is the set of master keys to families of Michigan seed plants (the keys toward the beginning of the earlier Part 1 covered only families of conifers and monocots). Voss notes that the family keys in various editions of Gleason and Cronquist's manual of northeastern plants, which have been used by generations of botany students, trace their ancestry to Gleason's initial keys in his 1918 work, Plants of Michigan, but although Voss's keys have an organization and flavor similar to Gleason's, the contents have been reworked and altered substantially.


More so even than in Parts 1 and 2, this final installment contains ample evidence of the author's gentle wit. For example, the introduced Origanum vulgare (oregano) occasionally escapes from herb gardens, but its principal habitat in the state is stated to be on pizza. Voss also notes that he never weeds all the catnip from his yard, "so that the premises will appear hospitable to visitors that purr."

Publication of the three parts of Michigan Flora has been spread over nearly 25 years. Not content to rest on his laurels, Dr. Voss (with A. A. Reznicek) promises us a one-volume "student's manual" of the Michigan flora in the future, with updated nomenclature and distributions. His energy and dedication to the study of the state's flora are amazing indeed. Those working on floristic projects in other states will be hard-pressed to measure up to the standards set by Ed Voss, and those interested in the plants of Michigan should be proud to have available such a wonderfully executed and reasonably priced manual. --George Yatskievych, Missouri Botanical Garden.

All three parts of the Flora can be ordered by sending a check in U.S. dollars, payable to University of Michigan Herbarium, to: University of Michigan Herbarium, North University Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1057. The prices quoted below include packing and postage. Sorry, but credit card orders cannot be accepted.

Part I, Gymnosperms and Monocots, $14.00 to US addresses, $16.00 to foreign addresses. Part II, Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae), $14.50 to US addresses, $16.50 to foreign addresses. Part III, Dicots Concluded, $16.50 to US addresses, $18.50 to foreign addresses. For more information, call Linda Williams in the UM Herbarium (313/764-2407, lwilliam@umich.edu) or see the herbarium's web site: http://www.herb. lsa.umich.edu/umherb.htm

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Intermountain Flora Volume 3, part A: Rosidae other than Fabales by A. Cronquist, N. H. Holmgren, and P. K. Holmgren. Filled with exceptionally fine drawings that characterize the entire series, this volume covers many of the most difficult families found in the flora of the intermountain region. The authors provide treatments of over 40 families including some of the largest families: Rosaceae, Onagraceae, Apiaceae, Saxifragaceae, and Euphorbiaceae. A list of nomenclatural innovations completes this informative volume. ISBN 0-89327-374-0, 1997, hardcover, 446 pages, 189 plates, $75.00. Postage and handling $3.50 + 5% of subtotal for U.S. orders, $4.50 + 6% of subtotal for non-U.S. orders. Enclose check, made payable to The New York Botanical Garden, or credit card information and mail to Scientific Publications Department, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-5126. Credit card orders are also possible by phone at 718/817-8721, by fax at 718/817-8842, or by email at scipubs@nybg.org

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Atlas of Tennessee Vascular Plants. Volume 2. Angiosperms: Dicots by Edward W. Chester, B. Eugene Wofford, and Robert Kral. Distribution maps by county for the 1913 taxa known to occur in Tennessee. $8.00 (includes shipping). Also still available in limited quantities is Atlas of Tennessee Vascular Plants. Volume 1: Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Monocots. Distribution maps by county for the 906 taxa known to occur in Tennessee (1993: Edward W. Chester, B. Eugene Wofford, Robert Kral, Hal DeSelm, A. Murray Evans) $6.00 (includes shipping). Send your name and full address, number of copies of each volume, along with the check (payable to Austin Peay State University) to: Publications Manager, The Center for Field Biology, P.O. Box 4718, Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee 37044.

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The Flora of the Yukon Territory by William J. Cody is available for purchase: hardcover is $79.95 and softcover $49.95. In Canada, add 7% GST and in Quebec add an additional 6.5% when ordering books from Monograph Orders, NRC Research Press, M-55, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6; phone 613/993-0151, fax 613/952-7656. All others, USA included, the above hardcover and softcover price still holds but add US$6.39 for shipping and handling from Aubrey Books International Ltd.; phone 301/ 587-3950 or email aubrey@access.digex.com.

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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 ChunSheng Xiang, from the U.W. Biology Series, Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 - A monograph presenting a revised treatment of the asters of Ontario. Various classifications of all asters are discussed and a new scheme is presented based on previously published studies on morphology, cytology, and chloroplast DNA analyses. Species occurring in the province are placed in four distantly related genera within the tribe Astereae.

Partial synonomy and detailed illustrations of 32 species and their infraspecific taxa. Updated distribution dot maps. Generic and subgeneric descriptions and revised discussions of species. Six new names and combinations. 94 pp.; 39 figures; 4 tables; dichotomous key to all taxa. Price: Can$10.00 plus S & H. Canadian buyers add GST. Make cheques payable to University of Waterloo-Biology Series.

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The California Native Plant Society Press (CNPS) has published Rare Lilies of California, by Peggy Lee Fiedler, with 34 four-color original illustrations by Catherine M. Watters. This book provides the first account of the state's rare lilies, and it is the first book to look at all of the rare species, subspecies, and varieties within a large and broadly circumscribed family of California's plants.

Rare Lilies of California clearly shows that many native lilies in California are rare, most have no state or federal protection, and virtually all are threatened with local extirpation or extinction. The author and illustrator use the Liliaceae to show the many complex and contextual facets of rarity. The lily family stands alone in the western United States in its long evolutionary history, morphologic diversity, phylogenetic complexity, potential economic value, and its singular beauty.

The Rare Lilies of California will interest lay and professional botanists, undergraduate and graduate students, and anyone interested in wildflowers and botanical art. Chapters include: introducing California lilies, with descriptions of the 34 native genera and morphologic illustrations; patterns of rarity of California's lilies, with discussions of the causes of rarity and protection of rare plants; patterns of lily evolution and ecology in California, with discussions of patterns of floral evolution, and pollination ecology; description of four-color original illustrations of 38 of the state's most rare and beautiful lilies; appendices, including tables of morphologic variations in Liliaceae and related families, liliaceous genera in California, rare, threatened, and endangered California lilies and their protected status, and seven forms of rarity, illustrated by California Liliaceae.

Hardcover: $100 ISBN 0-943469-31-X; softcover: $24.95 ISBN 0-943460-31-X. 154pp, including appendix, references, and glossary, 38 illustrations on color plates. Order from: CNPS, 1722 J St., Ste. 17, Sacramento, CA 95814; Phone: 916/447-2677; fax: 916/447-2727.


NEWS AND NOTES

Celebrating Wildflowers, a year of activities, will be officially launched in conjunction with National Wildflower Week, 18-24 May. Originally developed in the Pacific Northwest by the Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers has expanded to include festivals, seminars, workshops, and other native wildflower events on all public lands. The Celebrating Wildflowers campaign includes: a professionally printed 1997 calendar of wildflower events nationwide; a professionally printed general information brochure; a toll-free Wild Hot Line, listing wildflower events nationwide; a webpage featuring the calendar of events.

Cooperators who wish to publicize their wildflower events through the webpage and the hotline should provide the following information: name of activity, event, or publication (must be available to the public); brief description of the activity, event, or publication; name(s) of sponsors or partners; time, date, and location; contact name and phone number; admission fee, if any (If not provided, event will be listed as free.). Fax your submissions to Margaret Sotham, NPCI outreach coordinator, at 202/ 208-4620 or email it to margaret_sotham. @nps.gov.

RECENT DEATHS

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. 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.

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Harold A. Senn died on 22 January 1997 in Victoria, B.C. He was born on 12 January 1912 in Caledonia, Ontario. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and went to the University of Virginia to complete his Doctorate of Philosophy in Plant Genetics in 1937. After postdoctoral work at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum, he joined the Canadian Department of Agriculture (now Agriculture Canada) in Ottawa as a botanist. From 1960-1978, he was Director of the Biotron at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He and his wife retired to Victoria, B.C., where he pursued his lifelong love of gardening, developing a special interest in rhododendrons from around the world. Failing health caused him to give up his cherished gardens, which were then transplanted to the University of Victoria's Finnerty Gardens, under the direction of fellow rhododendron enthusiast, Dr. Herman Vaartnou. Dr. Senn was a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a life member of the Agriculture Institute of Canada. Donations in memory of Dr. Senn may be sent to University of Victoria Finnerty Gardens, c/o UVIC Development Office, P.O. Box 3060, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3R4 CANADA.

MEETINGS

The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) will hold its Annual International Conference in Salt Lake City from 23-26 July 1997. The extensive technical program and exhibition will be held at the new Salt Palace Convention Center. ASHS-97 will provide numerous educational, networking, and career-placement opportunities for attendees. A number of special events, tours, and social functions have also been planned that allow participants to enjoy Salt Lake City during its Sesquicentennial Celebration.

Approximately 750 oral-contributed and poster presentations will be given throughout the week. Seed companies and nurseries, showing the latest varieties and rootstocks, will be on hand, and publishers of horticultural plant science publications will be present. For more information on the meeting schedule and registration, contact ASHS headquarters by telephone: 703/836-4606; by fax: 703/836-2024; or by Internet: meetings@ashs.org. Interested participants may register for the full meeting or for one day only.

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The Society for Economic Botany annual meeting, entitled the Ethnobotanical Richness of the Mississippi River Basin, Past, Present, and Future, will be held at Washington University (WU) and the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) in St. Louis, Missouri from 5-8 June.

The meeting will open on Thursday, 5 June, with an address by the year's Distinguished Economic Botanist, Dr. Carlos Ochoa of the International Potato Center, Lima, Peru, and will be followed by a morning session on the theme The Impact of Ethnobotany on New and Evolving Crop, featuring a keynote address Tapping into Biodiversity using Transgenic Approaches, followed by contributed papers on the subject. The afternoon symposium Missouri: A State of Economic Botanical Uniqueness, will feature speakers discussing the Control of Wild Crafted herbs, Growing Allergens for Medical Use, Commercializing Plants for Science and Industry, Homeopathy the Science and Industry Worldwide, and the evolving Wine Industry, followed by a sponsored wine-tasting of Missouri wines.

Friday will feature the business meeting and a special session on the theme The Mississippi River Basin Culture and Their Rich Ethnobotany. The Society Banquet will be at Cahokia Mound Museum in Illinois, including an orientation program and tour of the archeological sites, and a unique menu based on a local Amerindian theme. Events on Saturday will be held at the Missouri Botanical Garden with workshops on Intellectual Property, Student Education, and Resource Management, self-guided tours, lectures by MBG staff and a Medicinal Plant Walk by herbalist, Cathy Crandall. Sunday field trips will be available according to subscription and will include 1) WU Ecological Facility at Tyson and MBG Shaw Arboretum and Wetland at Gray Summit, 2) 10th-12th century Amerindian petroglyphs at Washington State Park, and 3) historic St. Charles.

Abstracts are still welcome by mail to Memory Elvin-Lewis, SEB Conference, Department of Biology, Campus Box 1137, One Brookings Drive, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 or by email to SEBCONF@wustlb.wustl.edu or by fax at 314/935-4422. Due date for abstracts is May 5. Registration for members through May 20 is $150 for both the meeting and the banquet. Other options are available. For more information, check http://www.science.siu.edu/seb/ also Ugent@siu.edu or inquire at WU at SEBCONF@wustlb.uwstl.edu

The Society is organized to foster and encourage scientific research on the past, present, and future uses of plants and to make the results of such research available to the scientific community through meetings and publications. Regular membership is $40, which includes the journal Economic Botany; other categories are available. For more information or to register for the conference, send your name, address, title, and employer to Don Ugent, treasurer, The Society for Economic Botany, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901 or call 618/453-3218.

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The Natural Areas Association will hold its 24th Annual Conference on 27-30 August 1997 in Portland, Oregon. The theme of "Bridging Natural and Social Landscapes" will challenge us to find areas of common ground and to form linkages between the natural and the cultural/socioeconomic values of landscapes. We plan to re-assess the role of all kinds of natural areas in today's society and examine the role they may play in the future.

The conference will include symposia, contributed papers, and poster sessions, field trips, social events, and business meetings. This year's conference will be co-hosted by the Exotic Pest Plant Councils of the Pacific Northwest, California, Florida, and Tennessee. The call for papers went out in early February. For information about the conference and/or the call for papers, please send your name and address to: Natural Areas Association, ATTN: 1997 Conference Information, P.O. Box 23712, Tigard, OR 97281-3712. Questions may be directed to Kathleen Bergquist, Conference Coordinator. Phone: 503/579-2920; fax: 503/579-0468; email: kbconner@ix. netcom.com.

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The National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) will hold their National Convention and Exhibition entitled "Focus on the Study of


Life" from 8-11 October 1997 at the Hyatt Regency on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More than 250 educational sessions and an extensive exhibit hall will be featured. Presentations will be given by Neal Lane, Director of the National Science Foundation; Donald Kennedy, Stanford University; Eugene Rice, Director of the American Association for Higher Education Forum on Faculty Roles and Rewards; and other invited speakers are sure to be highlights of the convention. Register before May 31 to get the following reduces rates: members--$65, nonmembers--$95. For more information or to register, contact NABT at 11250 Roger Bacon Drive, #19, Reston, VA 20190-5202; phone 703/471-1134, 800/406-0775; fax 703/435-5582; email NABTer@aol.com The National Association of Biology Teachers international membership is comprised of biology educators, scientists, and administrators. Nearly 8000 NABT members teach more than one million students each year.

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The International Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), entitled Ecological Restoration and Regional Conservation Strategies, will be held 12-15 November 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The 1997 Conference will be devoted to exploring ecosystem restoration as a key element in regional conservation strategies. Many bioregions have networks of large and small protected areas separated by expanses of agricultural, commercial, and urbanized land. These individual protected areas are often disconnected, modified remnants of the original ecological landscape, and thus require connectivity and management in order to serve their vital ecological functions. Regional conservation strategies are emerging in land-use planning as a means of weaving together such networks of protected areas. They offer a larger context for the practice of restoration beyond the individual site, thus providing a long-term vision to guide individual projects.

SER invites submission of abstracts and posters in areas relevant to the conference theme and symposium topics. Submissions are welcomed from scientists, staff of public agencies and private conservation groups, consulting firms, teachers and educators, designers, restoration practitioners and volunteers. In addition to submitted paper proposals, a number of invited talks will be featured at the conference. Abstracts need to have a summary text of up to 250 works, and are due by May 12. Contact George Gann at phone: 305/247-1132; fax: 305/245-9797; or email at: ser1997@netrunner.net for more information to summit an abstract or to register to attend the conference. Field trips are planned for both before and after the conference.

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE

The Getty Grant Program has awarded Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden funds for two paid multicultural undergraduate summer internships. The purpose of the Getty Internships is to increase the ethnic diversity of professionals working in the museum field, and is intended for individuals of African-American, Asian, Latino-Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander descent. Each ten-week Getty Internship will provide a $3000 stipend and will provide training in museum work. One intern will gain experience in basic collection management of the Botanic Garden's one million specimen herbarium, and the other will work in the Garden's public education program. As part of the internship, they will participate with other Getty interns in the Los Angeles area in several seminars designed to introduce them to the museum profession. At the end of the ten weeks, they will write a report on the value and effectiveness of the experience.

Criteria for selection of the Getty Intern include: undergraduate status at an accredited four or two year college; resident of and/or attending college in the Los Angeles area; and interest in botanic gardens or other types of museum. Interested applicants should submit a letter describing relevant interest and experience, a resume, and an unofficial college transcript to: The Getty Internship, c/o Richard Chute, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711. The deadline for applications is 25 April 1997.

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The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) invites applications for the 1997 Rupert Barneby Award. The award of $1000 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 his/her 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 AWARD FUND IN LEGUME SYSTEMATICS may send their check, payable to The New York Botanical Garden, to Dr. Luteyn.

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. Dr. Seigler will be working on the acacioid legumes of North America and Mexico.


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