Past Botanical Links of the Day for: November 21

November 21, 1996 - Virtual Plants: 3D Measurement and Simulation of Morphogenesis

If you are interested in how plants grow, at some point you will want to simulate it. That is exactly what this site does through static photos through time and through Quicktime^tm animations. The pictures are high quality GIFs of modest bandwidth (5 to 30KB), while the animations are all *.qt files of 600K to 1.2MB. These are high quality computer simulations that may prove useful in helping to control pests as well as better understanding plant behavior between the cellular and crop level. © Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Pest Management, Jim Hanan, University of Queensland, Australia. (****) [The Quicktime^tm viewer is available from Apple at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/.]

November 21, 1997 - Bat Conservation International

One look at bat pollination in the article by Merlin Tuttle "Photographing the Secret World of Bats" is enough to dispel generations of negative publicity about the delicate creature folks love to fear. This wholly educational site is designed to make a bat enthusiast of all who visit, with fifteen years of Bats magazine articles, cool bat facts and astonishing trivia, how to echolocate bats, and how to become a bat house architect and a member of the North American Bat House Research Project. Read about Texas Bats and Bridges, bat conservation in action, and follow links to the BBPOTW (best bat pages on the web) at this site by Bat Conservation International, Inc., Austin, Texas. (****) -LF

November 21, 2000 - Native Orchids of Canada

This site by the The Orchid Society of Royal Botanical Gardens of Canada focuses on ~75 species of orchids that are naturally found in Canada. Entries include location, specific habitat, flowering season, description, comments, references and available images near the end of the page. Species links are provided in a largely alphabetical list. This is a nice site for orchids with some good images. Colour pictures by Dr. Donald R. Gunn; site presented courtesy of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ontario. (***1/2) -SR

November 21, 2001 - Spring-flowering Bulbs: An Introduction

This site is about spring-flowering plants having bulbs as their overwintering organs. Most are monocots and are easily recognizable because of their conspicous flowers. Although I may run the risk of seeming like a gardening site by featuring this site (rather than a more botanical link), this season is the time to contemplate and plant these! The site has good generic advice on seleting bulbs (with criteria ranging from cheap to reliable, deer-resistant, height and dramatic flowers), planting the bulbs (when, where & how to plant, what to do after flowering, and how to force flowers), and finally a floral list of common bulbs. This is a nice introductory site. (***1/2) -S

November 21, 2002 - Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia

The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia claims to have 3656 species now in 473 genera -- very impressive. The site "...is compiled from photos collected from growers around the world." The writer relies on collector/growers to be sure of their identifications. Some plants, however, are undoubtedly mislabeled; the author invites corrections. The site has a considerable number of useful images and information. Species links provide for the naming authority and year of publication. Images are variable in quality and medium in resolution. Information on each species includes common name, habitat information, flower descriptions and synonyms. Site by Jay Pfahl. (***1/2) -S

November 21, 2003 - International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)

The mission of the IUCN is "To influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable." The programme of the IUCN is supported by 6 worldwide commissions (topics including education, policy, law, ecosystem management, species survival, and protected areas), 14 thematic programmes, 9 regional programs, 7 key result areas, and numerous documents & publications. A particularly dynamic feature of the website is the environmental news watch, which has nearly daily updates on conservation issues worldwide. Site by IUCN. (****) -S

November 21, 2005 - Wildflowers and Other Plants of Southern California

This is a completely revamped version of the site I featured over four years ago (November 19, 2001). This has increased from 400 to about 1,860 taxa, with improved descriptions and photography. Several hundred taxa are 600 x 800 pixels and of very high quality. Botanical detail is available for each species, as well as links to an etymology page that shows the origin of common genus names and species epithets. These distinguish the site from similar ones. Wildflowers and Other Plants of Southern California (formerly Blooming Plants...) clearly merits being featured again, and has kept up with continually increasing quality needs. Site by Michael L. Charters. (****) -SR