Volume 18, No. 1

January-June 2004

On 16 May, FNAA members Luc Brouillet, chair, president; James Zarucchi, vice president and editorial director; Nancy Morin, treasurer; and Catriona MacGregor Glazebrook, vice president for business and development, met with the Chanticleer Foundation trustees at the Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania. During their visit, which included a tour of the Garden, lunch with the trustees, and a public and media event, the FNAA had an excellent opportunity to thank the Foundation for their support and bring them up to date on FNA volume development.

FNAA President Luc Brouillet presents Volume 4 and artwork to Ann Reed, Chanticleer Garden board member, on 16 May 2004. Photo by Dorothy Kunzig.

In recognition of Chanticleer's vision and commitment to the FNA project, Volume 4, Caryophyllidae, Part I, was dedicated to the Chanticleer Foundation and its founder, Adolph Rosengarten Jr. The official dedication ceremony took place during the 16 May visit, with a presentation by Luc Brouillet to the Chanticleer Foundation Trustees. A full series of FNA volumes was presented to the Garden, and each trustee received a copy of Volume 4 and a framed copy of the artwork represented on the frontispiece.

To learn more about the Chanticleer Garden, visit their Web site at http://www.chanticleergarden.org.

FNAA WELCOMES NEW VP OF BUSINESS AND DEVELOPMENT

The FNAA is pleased to announce that Ms. Catriona MacGregor Glazebrook has joined the project as vice president of business and development. This half-time position was created in order to develop and implement a marketing, fund-raising, and business plan for the FNAA. Catriona will also represent the FNAA through public relations and media work.

Catriona comes to the project with extensive experience in business planning and organizational advancement, development, and public and media relations. She has over 20 years of experience in advancing the conservation of plant and animal species, and the protection of civil rights. She has worked internationally in the U.K., Bulgaria, Latin America, China, Japan, and Russia. In addition to her extensive organizational development work, she has a background in law and policy, education, and science, and is accomplished at initiating and implementing national and international science, education, and conservation programs.

Since joining the FNAA, Catriona assisted in preparing a successful meeting with the Chanticleer Foundation trustees (see p. 1) and communicating with the press about the FNA project, and she obtained a central speaking engagement for FNAA members at the 17th International Botanical Congress in Vienna, 18_23 July 2005. She has also been identifying potential sources for funding, and conducting interviews with FNAA members and staff in preparation for the FNAA business plan, a first draft of which will be completed in August.

Catriona feels that the FNA project is a critically important one. "It is an honor to support the efforts of such a talented association," she says. "I look forward to working with the members of the FNAA and encourage members to contact me with any advice or suggestions pertaining to business planning, development, public relations, and media communications." She may be reached at catriona.macgregor@comcast.net.

NEW SCHEDULE FOR FNA
VOLUMES

In light of the "Chanticleer imperative" (two volumes per year), the FNAA has established a new, tighter publication schedule.

Below is the planned publication schedule, from 2005 until planned completion of the FNA book series in 2011. The consequences of such a schedule are obvious: more editorial centers and more taxon editors are needed. The initial assignment of taxa to particular editors has to be revised and the load spread among more people. Also, editors already assigned have to get very active in immediately obtaining treatments from authors. The current lead centers at MBG and the Hunt Institute will accept and treat advanced manuscripts until a definite

The Flora of North America (FNA) project is a cooperative program to produce a comprehensive account of the plants of North America north of Mexico. The FNA Newsletter, edited at the Hunt Institute and printed at the Missouri Botanical Garden, is published twice a year by the Flora of North America Association to communicate news about the FNA project and other topics of interest to North American floristic researchers. For more information, please see the FNA Web site, http://www.fna.org. Readers are invited to send appropriate news items to: Elizabeth A. Polen, Newsletter Editor Flora of North America Hunt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890 Items can also be sent by e-mail to: kiser@andrew.cmu.edu.

Publication schedule

{lead center, if assigned; B = bryophyte center}

2005 19, 20, 21 {BRIT}; 27 {B}
2006 6, 7 {MO}; 24 {UTC}
2007 8, 9; 28{B}
2008 10, 11, 12
2009 13, 14 {Hunt}; 29 {B}
2010 15, 16
2011 17, 18, 30

Contents of the volumes are expected to be as follows:

Volume 6—Magnoliophyta: Dilleniidae, part 1 (Paeoniaceae through Loasaceae)
Volume 7—Magnoliophyta: Dilleniidae, part 2 (Salicaceae through Resedaceae)
Volume 8—Magnoliophyta: Dilleniidae, part 3, and Rosidae, part 1 (Bataceae through Saxifragaceae)
Volume 9—Magnoliophyta: Rosidae, part 2 (Rosaceae through Surianaceae)
Volume 10—Magnoliophyta: Rosidae, part 3 (Mimosaceae through Fabaceae, in part)
Volume 11—Magnoliophyta: Rosidae, part 4 (Fabaceae, in part, through Combretaceae)
Volume 12—Magnoliophyta: Rosidae, part 5 (Rhizophoraceae through Krameriaceae)
Volume 13—Magnoliophyta: Rosidae, part 6 (Staphyleaceae through Apiaceae)
Volume 14—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 1 (Loganiaceae through Menyanthaceae)
Volume 15—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 2 (Polemoniaceae through Boraginaceae)
Volume 16—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 3 (Verbenaceae through Oleaceae)
Volume 17—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 4 (Scrophulariaceae through Orobanchaceae)
Volume 18—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 5 (Acanthaceae through Calyceraceae)
Volume 19—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 6: Asteraceae, part 1
Volume 20—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 7: Asteraceae, part 2
Volume 21—Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 8: Asteraceae, part 3
Volume 24—Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 1
Volume 27—Bryophyta, part 1
Volume 28—Bryophyta, part 2
Volume 29—Bryophyta, part 3
Volume 30—Cumulative Index and Supplemental Materials

FNAA COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The Flora of North America Association's Editorial Management Committee (EMC) and the Executive Committee (EXC) met on 20 and 21 March 2004 at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The committees discussed the progress of current and future FNA volumes. Editorial Director and EMC Chair James Zarucchi distributed a new production schedule for all remaining volumes. Volume 5 will appear this year, and work towards the completion of volumes 19, 20, and 21 in 2005 will be credited to 2004. For the schedule of all other volumes, see page 2. The EXC also established a policy on microgrants for editors and authors. For details on microgrants, see article at right. These new policies, which are part of the new business plan being developed by the FNAA under the guidance of Catriona MacGregor Glazebrook, vice president of business and development, are already effective.

The next committee meetings will be held in St. Louis in October, in conjunction with the 51st Annual Systematics Symposium (see p. 8).

NEWS FROM THE FNAA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ted Barkley resigned his position as secretary of FNAA for health reasons. Craig Freeman has been named by the Board of Directors to fill this position. We give Ted our warmest wishes for a prompt return to better health.

Wayne Elisens has been elected to the BoD. He will also serve as taxon editor for the Scrophulariaceae (sensu Cronquist), which will appear in FNA Volume 17. Dr. Elisens is an associate professor of botany and curator of the Robert Bebb Herbarium (OKL) in the Department of Botany and Microbiology and the Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman. He is well known for his service to the botanical community as a former member of the meeting committee of the AIBS; program director and council representative-elect of the ASPT; former meeting coordinator, program director, and systematics section chair of the BSA; and education committee co-chair of Systematics Agenda 2000. He is also editor and contributor to the Flora Oklahoma project and the Oklahoma Vascular Plants database. Dr. Elisens will bring to the board his network and organizational skills, as well as his friendliness and botanical expertise. We welcome him warmly. Dr. Elisens may be reached at elisens@ou.edu

To contact the BoD, write to Luc Brouillet, president of the FNAA, luc.brouillet@umontreal.ca.

FNAA OFFERS MICROGRANTS TO AUTHORS AND EDITORS

The FNAA has devoted a significant amount of its 2004 budget to

Funds for authors may be used to facilitate access to resources and/or to leverage existing resources, cover travel to herbaria, or pay for materials for the preparation of treatments. They are not to pay an author's salary to write a treatment, since treatment writing is considered voluntary. (Obviously, the FNAA has resorted, and will resort in the future, to hiring staff botanists to write treatments for which no author is available. This is not part of the microgrant program.)

Grants for editors may include, among others, expenditures directly related to their FNA work (phone, paper, etc.).

Authors submit their request (budget and justification) to their taxon editor. The taxon editor transmits the request with his/her recommendation to the EXC, care of James Zarucchi, vice president and editorial director, FNAA. Requests may be made at any time. Editors submit their own requests to the EXC, care of James Zarucchi.

The EXC will periodically evaluate requests on the basis of merit and urgency. Volumes in preparation will receive higher priority than later volumes. Authors with serious health problems also will be considered in priority. Nevertheless, early requests will be welcome because they will allow the FNAA to plan ahead and take advantage of opportunities.

Grants will take the form of a contract with due date for the manuscript, to be negotiated by the author, taxon editor, and editorial director. The payment schedule also will be negotiated, but payment mostly will be done upon receipt of the treatment and its acceptance by the taxon editor. Payments made in a few installments may be considered, depending on the size of the task and the author's personal situation. Proof of spending and delivery of the agreed-upon manuscript(s) or other work will be required before the final payment is made.

For more information on microgrants, contact James Zarucchi at james.zarucchi@mobot.org.

VOLUME 4 AVAILABLE

FNA Volume 4, Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1, is now available for purchase from Oxford University Press. The volume describes 117 genera and 652 species. The price is $120 plus shipping and handling. To order this or any published volume in the Flora of North America series, contact OUP, (800) 451-7556; fax (919) 677-1303; http://www.oup.com/us/.

Bryophyte Flora of North America

The FNA bryophyte volumes (27, 28, and 29) are edited at the Missouri Botanical Garden Bryophyte Center. When each manuscript passes the review process, it is placed on the center's public Web site, http://ridgwaydb.mobot.org/bfna/bfnamenu.htm as a "provisional publication." This version may be modified by the author (through the center) in response to comments by Web readers before hard-copy publication. As illutrations are completed, a Web version is included with the electronic publication. This arrangement has proved quite successful.

Recent electronic publications of bryophyte treatments include Buxbaumiaceae, by W. B. Schofield; Catoscopiaceae and Seligeriaceae, by D. H. Vitt; Ditrichum and Saelania (Ditrichaceae), by R. D. Seppelt; Donnellia (Sematophyllaceae), by W. R. Buck; Grimmia (Grimmiaceae), by R. I. Hastings and H. C. Greven; Rhachitheciaceae, by B. Goffinet; and drafts of the Bryaceae keys, by J. Spence.

As of 3 June 2004, Volume 27 (most of the acrocarps) had 68% of the genera and 66% of the species submitted, and 59% and 60%, respectively, finished. Volume 28 (remaining acrocarps and pleurocarps) has 44% of the genera and 37% of the species submitted, and 37% and 32% finished. Volume 29 (hepatics and hornworts) has 14% of the genera and 18% of the species submitted, and 12% and 8% finished. Totals for all three volumes are 43% of the genera and 42% of the species submitted, 36% and 36% finished.

Richard Zander is the lead editor of the BFNA Editorial Center, as well as the director-at-large of the FNAA Executive Committee. He may be reached at richard.zander@mobot.org.

Grass Center

This year has been full of good news for the Grass Center at Utah State University. In January, we displayed Volume 25, Poaceae, Part 2, at the annual meeting of the Society for Range Management and received many compliments and expressions of interest. We also earned about $300 selling note cards that used the illustrations and text from the volume.

Thanks to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the USDA, the National Science Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. National Parks Service, the Grass Center now has the funding required to complete Volume 24, Poaceae, Part 1, on schedule in 2006. We especially thank Dr. N. J. Chatterton, who persuaded ARS to make a major commitment to the project.

The center has already sent over 40% of the treatments (in terms of species covered) out for review and will be sending several more out in August,

Work on the illustrations will start in July, with priority being given to Achnatherum, the first genus listed on the Web site. Completing its illustrations will help ensure that casual visitors to the Web site ( http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/) get a good sense of the kind of information the site provides.

In March, Laurel Anderton joined the editorial staff, replacing Michael Piep as assistant scientific editor. We will also hire undergraduate and graduate assistants to work on the project in the near future.

Plans for the coming year include readying the remaining large genera for review and processing others to the "all but final" stage (nothing is final until the generic keys are written), completing the majority of the illustrations, and revising our mapping program to accommodate changes that have been made to the database of the Intermountain Herbarium. The other major task is developing two keys to genera, one artificial and one taxonomic.

We are also committed to developing a more useful Web site. Our first goal is to create a searchable database of all the citations in the two grass volumes. Another goal is to develop effective multi-entry keys to some genera, or to the genera themselves. Improvement of the Web site, however, will take a backseat to the completion of Volume 24.

We thank all those who helped make Volume 25 a success, thereby enabling us to provide the strongest argument possible for funding Volume 24.

Mary Barkworth, lead editor of the Grass Center, can be reached at mary@biology.usu.edu.

Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

Work on Volume 5, Caryophyllidae, Part 2, continues at a good pace. All genera in Polygonaceae and Plumbaginaceae, and all but four genera in Caryophyllaceae, have been submitted. The manuscripts are in various stages of review, some undergoing editing and others ready for final formatting. Indexing will be done at MBG. The volume will be submitted to Oxford University Press by 1 October 2004.

The Institute welcomed Luc Brouillet, Catriona MacGregor Glazebrook, and James Zarucchi for a visit on 14 May. The three FNAA members were on their way to the Chanticleer dedication ceremony (see p. 1) and stopped for a tour of the Institute and to discuss the progress of the volumes.

Robert Kiger is the lead editor of the editorial center at the Hunt Institute, FNA bibliographic editor, and director-at-large of the FNAA Executive Committee. He may be contacted at rkiger@andrew.cmu.edu. For more information about the Institute, visit http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu.

Southern Rocky Mountain Interactive Flora

The Southern Rocky Mountain Interactive Flora is an NSF-supported project to create an online key to all taxa of vascular plants from the Southern Rocky Mountain region, including Colorado, north-central New Mexico, and southern Wyoming. A checklist of vascular plants, with synonymy, can be downloaded as a PDF file from the University of Northern Colorado Herbarium Web site, http://www.unco.edu/biology/herbarium/index.htm. Family organization follows the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APGII) system for angiosperms and Flora of North America for ferns, fern allies, and gymnosperms. Comments are invited and should be directed to Dr. Neil Snow, Neil.Snow@unco.edu.

Global Biodiversity Information Facility

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility ( http://www.gbif.org/) seeks to make the world's primary data on biodiversity freely and universally available on the Internet. GBIF works with and in support of other international organizations concerned with biodiversity, including the Global Taxonomic Initiative of the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as regional biodiversity networks. As its programs progress, GBIF will enable users to navigate and employ the world's vast quantities of biodiversity information. This service will be vital to generating economic, environmental, social, and scientific benefits from the sustainable use, conservation, and study of biodiversity resources.

Information about plant taxa is currently limited, but this will change as more herbaria link to the site. Curators in the U.S. who need assistance should visit http://gbif.nbii.gov/; those in Canada should go to http://www.cbif.gc.ca/; and those in other countries should go to http://www.gbif.org/nodes/.

Jacquin Volumes on MBG Site

The Missouri Botanical Garden Library has digitized three rare works by the famed Austrian botanist Nicolaus Joseph Jacquin: Florae Austriacae, five volumes, published 1773_1778; Plantarum rariorum horti caesarei Schoenbrunnensis descriptions et icons, four volumes, published 1797_1804; and Selectarum stirpium Americanarum historia, two volumes, published 1763. These eleven volumes can be accessed through the "Rare Books from the Missouri Botanical Garden Library" page, http://ridgwaydb.mobot.org/mobot/rarebooks/.

University Museum Database

UMAC, the International Council of Museums' International Committee for University Museums and Collections, has developed a database of university museums and collections. The database, http://www.lib.mq.edu.au/mcm/
umac/, encompasses such diverse collections as small and large museums,

Currently, most of the information comes from European and Australian universities. Contributions from all countries are invited, and instructions for submitting information may be found on the Web site.

Index Nominum Genericorum

The Index Nominum Genericorum (Plantarum) Web site has moved to a faster and more reliable server. The ING database offers information about generic names published for all "plants" as defined in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, with bibliographic citations and information about the typification and nomenclatural status of generic names. The new address is http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/ing/; to access the search page directly, go to http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/ing/ingForm.cfm.

Invasive Plant Information

The New England Wild Flower Society offers a new resource for invasive plant information at http://www.newenglandwildflower.org/conserve/. The site includes links for listings of plants declared invasive for Massachusetts and other New England states, as well as plants recommended for substitution.

Flora of Paraguay

A database containing all taxa published so far in the Flora of Paraguay series is now available online at http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/fdp/. The database aims to provide a solid basis for the further development of botanical knowledge of Paraguay and provides interactive links to taxonomical, morphological, and biogeographical data about all species treated. Keys for genera and species, and critical literature related to the different taxonomic groups, are also included. All comments or recommendations about the use and content of this new database are welcome and should be addressed to florapara@cjb.ville-ge.ch.

Ornamental Plants of Russia

Russia has a rich history of gardening with native ornamental plants, many of which are little known to gardeners outside of Russia. Ornamental Plants from Russia and Adjacent States of the Former Soviet Union: A Botanical Guide for Travelers and Gardeners, by Tatyana Shulkina, is a new compendium that provides extensive information on the diversity of Russian ornamental plants and their characteristics and culture requirements. To view the guide, visit http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/russia/.

Review: Flora Nordica, General Volume

Flora Nordica, General Volume, edited by Bengt Jonsell and Thomas Karlsson. 2004. Bergius Foundation, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Hardcover, 274 pp. $60.00 U.S.

I reviewed the first two volumes of Flora Nordica (Vol. 1, Lycopodiaceae—Polygonaceae, 2000; and Vol. 2, Chenopodiaceae—Fumariaceae, 2001) in the Jan_June 2003 issue of the Flora of North America Newsletter (Vol. 17-1, pp. 4-5). Now the General Volume has appeared, with contributions from 15 authors, covering Nordic floristic history, environment and vegetation, endemism, man's impact, and plant protection.

The opening essay, "Flora Writing in Norden," is an historical synopsis demonstrating how this flora has come to be one of the best known. The names of the principals represent the who's who of systematic botany and plant ecology for both phanerogams and cryptogams.

"Features of Nordic Environment and Vegetation" deals with climate, bedrock and Quaternary geology, landforms, and vegetation, illustrated by excellent black-and-white and color photos. Norden consists of nemoral and boreal forests and alpine and arctic tundras. To treat so many subjects succinctly is a challenge, but one well met in these pages.

The chapter on "The Impact of Man" accounts for two millennia of hunter-gatherers and agriculturalists, their land-use practices, and both deliberate and inadvertent plant introductions. The history and status of statutory protection is briefly summarized for each country.

Endemism of vascular plants in Norden is relatively low—127 taxa restricted to the lower ranks of species, subspecies, and variety—as one might expect from a predominately post-glacial flora. Details are provided for allopolyploids, hybrids, and agamospermous taxa, as well as for "hotspots" in the Scandes, on the calcareous islands of Öland and Gotland, the Baltic shores, and the arctic coast. An excellent summary table is provided.

The "Principles and Conventions" section enlarges upon what was already provided in the introduction to Volume 1. The structure of the taxonomic volumes is explained, and the criteria for descriptions and reporting chromosome numbers and distribution are given. The maps employ very informative conventions and symbols not seen in North American works, in large part because we lack the long history of observations.

Standard literature is similar in function to our own FNA list of standard references, providing the sources of names to be accounted for in the treatments. Since the accounts in Flora Nordica are based on collections, as in FNA, they have provided a précis for Nordic herbaria by country, giving collection

A section of botanical terms unifies the definitions for Flora Nordica purposes and gives their equivalents in the Nordic languages. This glossary is followed by labeled illustrations of shoots and leaves, flowers and inflorescences, indumenta, etc., all very useful in providing what we have come to call accessibility.

This volume of Flora Nordica is an immensely successful blend of general and practical information and should be sought when planning an excursion to Norden. Each volume of the flora is also attractive, with elegant touches like the bound-in red cloth page marker and the outstanding dust jackets.

To order a copy of any volume in the Flora Nordica series, visit the Koeltz Scientific Books Web site, http://www.koeltz.com

—David F. Murray, FNA Regional Coordinator, Museum of the North, University of Alaska Fairbanks

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (continued from page 5)

Flora of China

Flora of China Volume 5 (Ulmaceae through Basellaceae) is now available at http://www.efloras.org. This same site has links to all published volumes in the Flora of China, Flora of Missouri, Flora of North America, Flora of Pakistan, Moss Flora of China, and Trees and Shrubs of the Andes of Ecuador.

In addition, Web-based interactive identification keys (ActKeys) are available for some large genera from Flora of China Volume 5, including Elatostema, Ficus, Pilea, and Polygonum. Go to http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/actkey/.

Flora Zambesiaca

A database of published volumes of Flora Zambesiaca is available online via the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Web site, http://www.kew.org.uk/efloras/. The flora, which describes flowering plants and ferns native to and naturalized in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and the Caprivi Strip, is about 70% complete, and the database contains approximately 10,000 accepted names. Fully indexed searches are possible on accepted scientific names and synonyms, plant habit, geographic location, altitudinal range, and endemic status. The details given for each taxon include the full flora account (nomenclature, description, distribution, ecology, etc.). This online version is intended to help in searching for accepted names and synonyms across the 32 volumes of the flora. Advanced searches can be used to generate checklists of species for any Flora Zambesiaca country or subdivision, or can to help identify species. Users are invited to submit feedback to fzweb@kew.org.

The Australian Biological Resources Study announces that the Flora of Australia is now online at http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/abif/flora/main/. Currently there is information for 50 families and approximately 4,500 of the 8,500 taxa published so far in 11 of the 23 volumes of the flora, including Proteaceae, Mimosaeae, and the gymnosperms and ferns. There are two separate sites for the flora of the Oceanic Islands: one for the flora of Norfolk, Lord Howe, and the surrounding islands ( http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-
resources/abif/flora/49/); and one for the remaining islands ( http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/abif/flora/50/). Flexible online search options allow users to customize data to suit their requirements. The results link to electronic distribution maps and much of the line art from the books.

AWARDS

Rupert Barneby Award

The New York Botanical Garden has chosen Ms. Karen Redden, a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., as the 2004 recipient of the Rupert Barneby Award. Ms. Redden will study the systematics of a diverse group of legumes concentrated in the Guiana Shield area.

The NYBG invites applications for the 2005 award. This grant of $1,000 will assist researchers in visiting the Garden to study the collection of Leguminosae. Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a detailed letter describing their research project, and the names of two or three references. Travel to the NYBG should be planned for 2005. Applications may be sent to Dr. James L. Luteyn, Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, 200th St and Kazimiroff Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458-5126. The deadline for applications is 1 December 2004, and the winner will be announced by 15 December.

DEATHS

Dr. P. W. Leenhouts, taxonomist at the Rijksherbarium (now the Leiden University branch of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland) from 1947 to 1988, died on 1 March 2004. Dr. Leenhouts revised six families for Flora Malesiana and contributed to the methodology of taxonomy, species delimitation, and key construction. After his retirement he served as editor-in-chief of the journal Blumea. He is also remembered for his erudite work on the extensive collections of botanical illustrations in the Herbarium.

OTHER NEWS

FNA Education Outreach Program

Claire Hemingway, technical editor at the Missouri Botanical Garden Editorial Center, is developing a Web-based education outreach program using FNA volumes and materials. Currently in the development stages, the program will provide a series of interactive online resources appropriate for both adults and youth, and establish a network of botanical outreach programs across FNA's partner institutions. Material from the Flora, modified according to grade level, will be used to illustrate core biology concepts or current research findings, to teach how a flora is used, and to explore patterns of plant diversity. By collaborating with existing education programs to develop Web-based resources, FNA can capitalize on combined botanical and educational expertise and focus on plants from different regions of North America.

Claire is working with Bob Coulter, of MBG's Education Division, and Catriona MacGregor Glazebrook on program specifics and budget issues. An update on the outreach program will appear in a future newsletter.

New Regional Reviewers, Western Canada

The FNA welcomes two new regional reviewers for western

Mrs. Gould will review taxa in Alberta, in collaboration with reviewer John Packer. She is a botanist with the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre, Parks and Protected Areas Division. She may be reached at Joyce.Gould@gov.ab.ca.

Ms. Punter will serve as a regional reviewer for Manitoba. She is the assistant curator of the University of Manitoba Herbarium and can be reached at punterec@cc.umanitoba.ca.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

LEGUME SYSTEMATIST, The New York Botanical Garden. The NYBG seeks a systematic botanist for a career-track appointment in the Institute of Systematic Botany. The successful candidate will have a Ph.D., post-doctoral experience, a proven record of scientific achievement, and the ability to establish an externally funded research program. Applicants should send a curriculum vitae, statement of research interests, reprints if available, and the names and contact information for at least five references to Dr. Dennis Stevenson, Vice President for Botanical Science, Attn: Human Resources Department, The New York Botanical Garden, 200th St and Kazimiroff Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458-5126. The position posted in early June and is open until filled.

MEETINGS & COURSES

51st Annual Systematics Symposium

The Missouri Botanical Garden will host its 51st annual Systematics Symposium 8-10 October 2004. This year's topic is "Latin American Biogeography _ Causes and Effects." Registration is limited to 400 participants, so early registration is recommended. For more information, contact P. Mick Richardson, mick.richardson@mobot.org, (314) 577-5176, or visit the symposium Web site, http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/symposium/.

Systematics and Ecology of Orchids

The University of Toulouse will host the conference "New Perspectives on the Systematics and Ecology of Orchids" from 18 to 20 November 2004. The meeting will highlight new developments on the phylogenetic classification, ecology, and evolution of orchids, as well as their implications in the field of biodiversity conservation. Speakers include Mark Chase, FNA Orchidaceae contributor, and Mike Fay, both of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

For further information and registration details, see http://www.ladybio.ups-tlse.fr/Orchid-Symposium, or contact Laure Civeyrel, npseo@cict.fr. International Course on Economic Botany

The Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Universiteit Leiden, will offer a two-week course on economic botany, 6-17 September 2004. The course is intended for both undergraduate and graduate students interested in broadening their studies by using living and preserved plant material, as well as published literature, in order to gain a deeper understanding of economic plants. Interested students may contact Kristo Kulju, kulju@nhn.leidenuniv.nl, +31 (0)71 527 3587, or J. M. de Wolf, dewolf@nhn.leidenuniv.nl, +31 (0)71 527 3522.

Taxonomic Databases Working Group

The annual meeting of the Taxonomic Databases Working Group will take place 11_18 October 2004 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The main topics will be the structure of descriptive data, imaging, and observational data. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to pre-register (without commitment) by sending an email to Adrian Rissone, Programme Coordinator, a.rissone@nhm.ac.uk, with "TDWG 2004 Pre-registration" in the subject line.