Scott's Botanical Links

Leigh's Links -- October 1997

Scott's Botanical Links Oklahoma

Past Links:

October 31, 1997 - Beyond...the Black Stump
Here's an internet wonder-link from the master, Scott himself, who has lost no time in finding Australia's most sizzling site, with its electrifying 10,000 external links to living in Australia and living in general. Find out anything, from football ("footy") to El Niņo, along with plenty of plant details from Australian Plants Online ( what a coincidence! ) and the gardening section, or by hopping over to "the Stump's" hometown in Nillumbik for a look at how to manage the native plant life there. What does "Beyond the Black Stump" mean? As far as I know, 'Beyond The Black Stump' is an Australian expression which means 'remoteness.' It generally indicates something is a long way away and in the middle of nowhere (in the boondocks?). Apparently there was a telephone exchange in the Merriwagga/Griffith area called Black Stump and legend has it that in 1886 a woman named Barbara Blair was incinerated in a bushfire. When her husband returned he found her charred remains and sadly described her form as resembling a black stump and the name stuck, " writes the creator of this site, Peter Garriga, Nillumbik, Australia (****) -LF
October 30, 1997 - Drysdale Seed Company
In times when the hardware store is fresh out of Isatis tinctoria isatis seeds or when there's just not enough species diversity in your backyard turned native prairie, it's good to know about companies like the Drysdales' which carries over 5000 seeds and probably will be able to find whatever isn't in stock. They'll send a free e-mail catalog in addition to which are selections available from the Universal Seedbank listings, the Native American Plants Seedbank and the Native American Grasses Seedbank. Check out the Kool Seeds of the Month and cool links to Botanical.com, featuring Mrs. M. Grieve's 1931 herbal, or to Arizona Cactus and Succulent Research, Inc. whose botanical garden cultivates 800 species of high desert plant life to study their value for southwestern landscaping. Drysdale Seed Company pages are bound to put a smile in your heart and are produced by Robert and Jean Drysdale, Arnold, Missouri.(****) -LF
October 29, 1997 - Plants and People (BOTN 328)
A perfect follow up to Plants and Human Affairs is a review of the world's important plants associated with their botanical names and the properties which make them valuable. Plants and People introduces the additional concepts of vegetative morphology needed to distinguish and recognize plants using Taxonomy of Flowering Plants course drawings supplemented with very effective photo images in the Lab Topics. Following the origins of agriculture and breeding, the Lecture Notes outline the economically important plants, and end with the future of agriculture and a good set of links. Your class project ? Prepare or obtain an unusual food, understand what's in it and consume it! No problem, except in defining "unusual!" This course is by James R. Manhart, Biology Department, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas. (****) -LF
October 28, 1997 - Fire Effects Information System (FEIS)
The central purpose of FEIS is to provide fire effects data, but it is also a very useful database for obtaining ecological information on individual plant and wildlife species. A typical entry for a plant species provides a description of its general botanical charcteristics, regeneration processes, site characteristics, successional status, seasonal development, and references. Find great information on sixteen vegetation associations in the entries according to "Kuch Type ." Kuchler Type descriptions include physiography, climate, soils, associated vegetation, wildlife, and ecological relationships. FEIS was developed at the USDA Forest Service Intermountain Research Station's Fire Sciences Laboratory (IFSL) in Missoula, Montana, and is maintained by the Intermountain Region computer staff. (****) -LF
October 27, 1997 - Plants and Human Affairs (BIO 207)
This is a neat course in practical botany for non-science majors, which uses plants to teach the fundamentals of life and then provides the information needed for becoming adept at utilizing plants to their best advantage in everyday living. The graphics are simply fantastic- clean and crisply labeled to illustrate the essentials of plant morphology and anatomy, and any of the individual lectures on roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, etc. serve as excellent introductory material for further studies. From genetics to compost, this is the material to be mastered for achieving fulfillment through understanding the earth's primary producers. Another great site by Ross Koning, Biology Department, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, Connecticut. (****) -LF
October 24, 1997 - The Luther Burbank Home Page
Having grown up a short distance from the Burbank home in Santa Rosa, California, the author publishes these pages in tribute to America's spectacular horticulturist and nurseryman who with no formal science education sought to improve the world's food supply and introduced more than 800 new varieties of plants during his career. There are many interesting sections to read of Burbank's out of print autobiography, The Harvest of the Years, as well as excerpts from A Gardener Touched with Genius, by Peter Dreyer. Burbank, whose eyes were opened by Darwin, was criticized and eventually called a fraud by certain segments of the scientific community who harbored disdain for his record keeping. Burbank said, "I think of myself not as a Master whose work must die with him, but as a Pioneer who has mapped out certain new roads and looked down into the Promised Land of Plant Development." Site by Robinson G. Olmsted, Santa Rosa, California. (****) -LF
October 23, 1997 - Digital Learning Center for Microbial Ecology
Microbes are really fun when seen wearing labcoats, reading the news, and hanging out in Dirtland, the Animal Pavilion, Water World, or the Snack Bar of this terrific site's Microbial Zoo! The science education project of Michigan State University packs its pages with stories of the Heroic, Dangerous, Ancient, and Strange, and headlines like "Plankton toxin drives birds crazy" and "Sinister gangs of proteins prowl." Who can resist Tales of Amazing Microbes and Curious Environments? Hats off to the creators cooperating in this project by the Communication Technology Laboratory, the Center for Microbial Ecology, and the College of Education at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. (****) -LF
October 22, 1997 - Environmental and Plant Biology Research Resources
Research and Biodiversity Resource Collections on these pages feature "Lab Protocols for the Testing of Eastern Deciduous Forest Soils," a "Freshwater Algae Database" with images of representatives of various algal groups, "Confocal Microscopy" for an eye-crossing challenge, and "The Plasmodiophorid Home Page " to introduce the fungi/protoctists which cause clubroot and other maladies of economically significant plants. Find also two articles by Brian C. McCarthy on eastern old-growth forests in the section dedicated to the Dysart Woods Field Research facility of Ohio University which enjoys a magnificent 455- acre farm with virgin forest for its laboratory. Hop over to the Welcome page too of this site by Brian C. McCarthy and Christine J. Small, with contributions by James P. Braselton, Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. (****) -LF
October 21, 1997 - AgNIC
The Agriculture Network Information Center is filling up with many plant goodies like the Plant Sciences page by the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, offering a collection of categorized links along with PlantSci Answers, an online reference service where anyone can ask a PlantSci-related "library desk" question and receive an answer by e-mail or phone in 1-2 working days. From the AgNIC Home Page access the alphabetized list of numerous information sets online and the new ProMED-mail: Plant Diseases Announcements for the latest pathological happenings. Submit your resource to the AgNIC pages or become a member organization. AgNIC currently has representatives from the National Agricultural Library and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the USDA, Cornell University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, Purdue University, Saint Joseph's College, the American Society for Horticultural Science, the Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval, the National Science Foundation, and network service providers. (****) -LF
October 20, 1997 - The Parasitic Plant Connection
"Everyone's dream should include seeing at least once the Rafflesia - the largest of all blooms in the world." Now all may find fulfillment thanks to one botanist's dream tempered with his systematist's compulsion to organize information at The Parasitic Plant Connection, where you'll find pages on the families and genera of the Santalales, Parasites of Dubious Affinity, and Others, a "bubblegram" and thoughts on their evolution, and for the molecularly-oriented researcher, DNA Sequence Data, Sequence Alignments, and Ribosomal RNA Structures. Links include The Parasitic Plant Database, The Haustorium (parasitic plants newsletter), and a fascinating history of Rafflesia and the trials and tribulations of Raffles and Lady Sophia. Scientific and educational use of the materials is freely encouraged, including a gallery of photos deliberately "unembossed" by author Daniel L. Nickrent, Associate Professor Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. (****) -LF
October 17, 1997 - Conservation Science
Go directly to the Science Library from this "Wired for Conservation" page to brush up on America's Least Wanted alien species, threatened aquatic habitats, and the State of the Nation's Species. There's an online handbook for natural resource managers titled Conserving Biodiversity on Military Lands (1996) published by the Department of Defense Biodiversity Initiative, The Department of Defense, and the Nature Conservancy. Watch a quick-time movie on Hydrilla or purple loosestrife and catch up on the latest issue of Biodiversity Network News. The Scientific Resources section offers a link page to other biodiversity servers you'll not want to miss. Find out what every American field biologist needs to know at this site by The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia. (****) -LF
October 16, 1997 - The Vegetation Types of Texas
If your requisites for travel to a new place are road maps tucked inside a flora, how keenly you'll appreciate this site displaying a color-keyed map of The Vegetation Types of Texas as divided into physiognomic regions. Get a preview of Texas Brushes, Grassland, Shrubs, Parks, Woods, Forests, Marshes, Swamps, and Crops, with photos and descriptions of the plant associations found in each. A framed page offers a searchable index referencing Species, County and Eco-Region. Great for comparing with associations in your own region or region of expertise, or for just getting a look at some of those plants you hear so much about but have never actually seen. Get your state going on a site like this today! By Texas Parks and Wildlife, Austin, Texas. (****) -LF
October 15, 1997 - The Botany Guide
The Botany Guide is a digest of general interest botanical topics with regular features containing hyper-linked text and a selection of briefly annotated links to interesting botanical sites. Currently you'll find Carnation Cheeks and Beds of Roses, a survey of flowers in classical literature, with thirteen previous features on the useful and amazing aspects of plants. It is written to introduce botany with minimal jargon while still being authentic, so a wide audience will appreciate the work of botanist and Professor of Biology, Bryan Ness, PhD, for The Mining Co.. (****) -LF
October 14, 1997 - Endemism and Speciation in Orchids of the Mediterranean Isles
An abridged version of the paper published in Ecologia Mediterr. 21(1/2): 119-134 summarizes the authors' investigation of the role of geographic isolation in speciation and endemism of orchids in isles and archipelagos of the Mediterranean. Entries for species by region note relationships to other taxa, accompanied by a collection of imaggini. Of interest to taxonomists, phytogeographers, or just plain wild orchid lovers, this site is prepared and maintained by Carlo del Prete, Orto Botanico Universitā di Modena, Italy. (****) -LF
October 13, 1997 - Australian National Botanic Gardens
Easily a Best of the Best Botanical Garden Sites, here is an engaging presentation of Australian plant life, its cultivation and uses. There are fifteen papers for the serious botanist, a number of images which can be searched by family, along with botanical art, info on growing and grafting Australian plants, animals in the Garden, and a tour. The Use of Plants by Australian Aboriginals reveals the ingenuity of a people who thought to roast the spore cases of Marsilea, discard the case and bake the spores into cakes! The outstanding content of these pages is easy to access and an admirably planned contribution to public education by Murray Fagg and the Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, Australia. (****) -LF
October 10, 1997 - Green Landscaping with Native Plants
Fed up with chemically intensive, physically exhausting, time consuming, or worse, expensive lawn maintenance? Turn over a new leaf and join the natural landscaping movement that has folks in the Great Lakes Basin exchanging their manicured turf for eco-politically correct prairie and forest with the Wild Ones Handbook, online along with lots of other info on making your lot not just a yard, but a habitat!. Learn the art of wattle fences, read case histories of successful restorations, and follow some really cool links to places like The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois and Plants of the Great Lakes Region. This site is presented by Danielle Green and USEPA - Great Lakes National Program Office, Chicago, Illinois. (****) -LF
October 9, 1997 - The Science Guide: Organizing the World Wide Web of Science

Here's a wide open territory to submit your science resource as the presently developing Science Guide presents an ambitious index for the sciences. Offering daily science news also available by e-mail, the Guide's content also includes a Directory of Directories, Usenet and Discussion Lists, Grants and Funding Resources, Scientific Employment Sources, and a Journal Directory which notes entries containing abstracts only or full text. Thirty-five online journal texts are listed now in the Biology and Biotechnology section, so there is plenty of good reading available along with links to weekly and monthly news in various subject areas. Definitely a place to keep abreast of the times, find good sites, and get listed! Site produced by the Science Guide. (****) -LF
October 8, 1997 - NCSU Aquatic Botany Laboratory
With its primary research mission to study the effects of eutrophication on freshwater, marine, and estuarine habitats, this NCSU lab has become the principal authority for identification of Pfiesteria piscicida (along with Dr. K. Steidinger, Florida Marine Research Institute), and for confirmation of epizootic disease events in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States. Get all the important information here on this toxic dinoflagellate which has its own homepage and image gallery, both first-class. The Life Cycle of Pfiesteria is not to be missed! View the abstracts for a number of papers downloadable with your own ftp software. Find also a homepage for eelgrass, Zostera marina, and two downloadable papers, one on the effects of nutrient-loading on periphyton communities in impoundments, the other on freshwater stream flatrock macrophyte studies. Site by the North Carolina State (NCSU) Aquatic Botany Laboratory, Raleigh, NC. (****) -LF
October 7, 1997 - Princeton High School AP Biology Page
These pages provide very well-chosen links for both AP Biology students and teachers, in a basic outline covering Evolution, Genetics, Bonds, Biomolecules, Cells (lots here), Cell Respiration, Plants, and Animals. The plant section has what you need to know about biological nitrogen fixation, organization of stem and root tissue in monocots and dicots, and photosynthesis. This is a happening place to review for the AP Biology Test! Surfing around to a variety of pages each with a different approach and style really beats staring at the same old notes over and over. In the absence of more explicit page identification or e-mail, this great place to study is attributed to Princeton High School. (****) -LF
October 6, 1997 - USDA/NRCS PLANTS Photo Gallery
The gallery is open, at least partially, and as far as can be told, with somewhere around a thousand images which may be utilized for non-commercial purposes if cited. Categories with contents are Wetlands, Trees, Shrubs, Forbs, and Grasses. You'll not find Noxious Plants, Crops, Liverworts, Mosses, Lichens or Hornworts. After choosing a category you must not only know what you're looking for, but be prepared to second-guess the search engine or "view all." Up to fifteen thumbnails per numbered sheet will be displayed by so choosing and there is no indication as to what may be on each sheet. The Wetlands category was tested with "foxtail" and "foxtail grasses" with no return. Results were obtained using the genus setaria, though the genus search engine displays plants with "a family name like setaria." Someone might have noticed this by now. No returns were obtained in the Wetlands category for common name searches for "rush, sedge, willow, cypress, saw grass, sawgrass, water lily, lotus, mallow, cattail, or water lettuce." The national PLANTS database employs a team of twenty for this internet project, and budget constraints are a factor. However, the gallery has not been updated since March 1997, and though many of the photos are nice, though often parsimonious in their features, it wouldn't hurt to unlink the sections that contain nothing and put a little notation somewhere as to when they might become available. Also, how about a viewable index of what may hiding on those 74(?) sheets? Site by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. (***) -LF
October 3, 1997 - The Cyclamen Society
The Cyclamen Society, with 1400 members worldwide combines scientific study of the genus with the traditional activities of a plant society. Expeditions have been conducted in Turkey, Israel, and Greece under the auspices of relevant botanical institutions or governments to map distribution, record morphological data, and make collections of this small genus which has species flowering every month of the year. You'll find the field notes on-site, along with comprehensive information about all the nineteen Cyclamen species, a key, descriptions, beautiful photos, plus complete information on cultivation and propagation, sources of plants and seed, and Bibliography. If you become enamored of these lovely Primulaceae which bloom in snow melt water, don't overlook the benefits of membership & how to join! Site by Martyn Denney, Cyclamen Society, UK. (****) -LF
October 2, 1997 - Mycorrhizae
Introducing the fine points of mycorrhizae just couldn't get any better! A section on seven types of mycorrhizae offers a description and references for each, including the new feature Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM). This relates to the author's research, the benefits of mycorrhizal relationships to crop plants and their application to sustainable agriculture. He provides the course outline for Crop Ecology, which can be accessed through the homepage of the Mycorrhizae Research Group, and a sustainable ag page which links to the Caribbean IPM Group. What a site to supplement the concept of symbiosis! These very good-looking pages are produced by Dr. L.E. Chinnery, Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados. (****) -LF
October 1, 1997 - Forage Information System (FIS)
-FIS is being developed at the Department of Crop & Soil Science, Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon. David Hannaway coordinates computer scientists, media and graphics arts professionals, forage specialists around the world, journalists, and students to compile the repository which is organized in eight sections: What's New, Contents, Search, Topics, Resources, Classes, Organizations, and Projects. Here is a site returning literal hayloads of information on species of grasses, legumes, forbs, shrubs, and, hay of course, along with pastures, silage, crops, quality, statistics and economics info. Go for it! Additionally find under the topic "Grasses" an online copy of Agriculture Handbook 170, Grass Varieties in the United States, a compendium with entries per variety containing its history and development, intended use, and description . Thanks, David. FIS, Oregon State University. Corvallis, Oregon. (****) -LF

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