Past Botanical Links of the Day for: November 7

November 7, 1996 - Cells Alive!!

This truly multimedia site shows the potential of the Web to go where no textbook can. Although most of the site is not plant oriented, I feature it to show how adding movies and accompanying them with simple paradigms can stimulate both interest and enthusiasm--and ultimately good observational science. This site requires the user to have a recent browser and the fastest connection possible to really enjoy it (movies are usually about a megabyte or more, but it's a fast server!). Featured are microorganisms, antibody responses, viruses and cellular attack. This site is © James A. Sullivan. (****)

November 7, 1997 - Park Net / Nature Net

Twin sites of the National Park Service are providing regular features on the heritage of our national parks and what measures are being taken for its preservation. Currently at Park Net, "Lying Lightly in the Land" describes the building of national park roads and parkways with a journey through Yellowstone Park before the automobile, and with Postcard Tours of the Golden Age of Park Roads (from the mid 1920's to the beginning of World War II). The Infozone gives a brief history of the park service, its administration and its organization. Links to the Past include "Civil War Collections from Gettysburg" and other articles of historical and cultural interest. Jump to Nature Net for the 1996 "Natural Resource Year in Review, A report of the National Park Service, summarizing and analyzing the year in natural resource stewardship in the national park system." Prize links to the Code of Federal Regulations, and to online copies of the NPS Handbook for Ranking Exotic Plants for Management and Control, and The National Park Service Integrated Pest Management Manual are revealed behind Publications. Site produced by: for "Visit Your Parks Section," Sue Moran, Volunteer Web Author ; and the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Headquarters, Washington D.C. (****) -LF

November 7, 2000 - NOAA Climate Prediction Center

Climatic predictions provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) carry authoritative value given the satellites, radar and computer hardware at their command. The site provides detailed information on a variety of climatic issues, including U.S. climatic threats, drought assessments, hurricane outlooks, seasonal preditions, ozone depletion, climatic data, and links to their most popular "products." The site index lists numerous documents ranging from oceanic effects, like El Niño and La Niña, to Palmer Drought Outlooks, to Pacific Island weather -- overall, about 100 items. Excellent information for ecologists and ecology classes looking at climate change. (****) -SR

November 7, 2001 - Ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo biloba was "discovered" on behalf of European science in relictual populations of south-east China in 1690 by Engelbert Kaempfer, though buddist monks had long revered it as it is frequently found near temples. This species has remained essentially unchanged since the Paleozoic and appears to be remarkably resilient as it was also the closest tree species (1 km) to have survived the atomic bomb at Hiroshima. This site is written at a high school to freshman botany level and is quite entertaining (if you like Ginkgo). The original site appears in French, assembled and maintained by Dominique MOUCHEL. (***1/2) -S

November 7, 2002 - USDA, ARS, APMRU Pollen Lab

The Areawide Pest Management Research Unit (APMRU) maintains a ~7500 specimen pollen reference collection with worldwide coverage including vouchers, light and scanning electron micrographs. The pollen reference collection includes some special purpose collections, such as one for identifying pollen found in honey (melissopalynology), pollen found on insects (entomopalynology) as well as simple identifications. The site includes an introduction, description of the reference collection, research techniques for palynology, photographs (LM & SEM), pollen related organizations and personnel. Navigating the images is a bit of a challenge and the search engine did not work for me, but the quality is good. A brief glossary of pollen terminology would be a plus, but this is still a good site for those wanting to explore pollen. (***) -S

November 7, 2003 - NCDC Freeze/Frost Maps

The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) collects data on when first and last frosts/freezes occur across the United States and probability ranges. When data on this site indicate a greater likelihood of freeze than the USDA cold hardiness map, gardeners would be well advised to develop a strategy for protecting their frost-sensitive plants. These maps are a good starting point, but do not provide you with everything you may need to know to react. This site is supported by NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. (***) -S

November 7, 2005 - Plants and Their Uses

Plants and Their Uses is a web companion to Integrative Biology 363 at University of Illinois by David Siegler. Links are provided to announcements, lectures and powerpoint presentations, although the latter are under password control. Lectures provide a succinct outline on the domestication of cultivated plants and an in-depth look at the major uses of plants in the world today, by plant and by usage. Images are linked through the lectures, and most are available without password. Some unique market pictures from around the world are posted. Looks like an interesting course. (***) -SR