Scott's Botanical Links--December 1996

January 1997

Past links:

December 20, 1996 - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

In addition to the usual information about the collection (with database), hours of operation, publications and the history of the Gardens, there is information about BG-BASE (database program), The International Organisation for Plant Information, Science and Plants for Schools, The Botanical Society of Scotland, The British Bryological Society, the Data base of the Flora Europaea. It is also possible to search the European flora at this site using the PANDORA Database. This site is sponsored by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K. (***1/2 and improving rapidly!)

December 19, 1996 - The Amazing Story of Kudzu

Kudzu (Pueraria lobata Fabaceae) is a classical example of an overly successful introduced plant that grows over a foot a day and covers much of the South (literally!). Scientifically, there is not a lot here (I had to follow an external link to find the Latin name), but it has excellent links, uses for kudzu, attempts to eradicate it and some highly enveloping photos. An enthusiastic Point 5% site, this is a fun page, particularly for anyone who has met this ecological plague! The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio, Webmaster: Max Shores. (***)

December 18, 1996 - Rainforest Pages - extinct as of 7/30/97

This site features lots of links to photos and text on rainforest plants and animals. Very nicely done, it is actually a class project. The bad news, this site will not be maintained. Created by Deva Brown and Sandra Joiner for Electronic Information Resources for Children and Young Adults, taught by Viki Ash-Geisler, Graduate School of Library and Information Science at The University of Texas in Austin. (***1/2)

December 17, 1996 - Do Plants Feel Pain? [gone 2/01; this link is through Archive.Org]

It is always tempting to revisit perennial themes of pop science. This essay by a scientist is a cleverly written and well reasoned consideration of a topic that is considered by every class of young students who have given the matter any thought, "Do plants feel pain?" It first appeared on Usenet in 1992 and is placed on this gopher for stable consumption (the "formal" literature having discarded the idea long ago). Written by Ted Wayn Altar, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada. (****)

December 16, 1996 - Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

The Hunt Institute specializes in the "history of botany and all aspects of plant science, and serves the international scientific community through research and documentation." Although the site is relatively small, the art that is displayed is remarkable (mostly medium format 30 to 50 KB GIFs)! Also provided are pages on the collections, facility, other sites and information about art tours in the U.S. This is also host to the the American Society of Botanical Artists which brings attention to and commemorates currently practising botanical artists. (It will also be the future site of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries-CBHL). This site is sponsored by the Hunt Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. (***)

December 13, 1996 - The Tulip Book of P. Cos - 1637

The Tulip Book of P. Cos is a collection of botanical prints of what was a tulip catalog during the "tulipmania" period in Holland, given with the prices and weight of the bulbs. This was scanned from one of 43 copies known to exist. These historical illustrations (320 x 480 JPEGs) are of modest size (20 to 40KB), faded but good sharpness. This site is hosted by the AGRALIN World Wide Web server, Wageningen Agricultural University Library/Pudoc-DLO, Wageningen, Netherlands. (***1/2)

December 12, 1996 - Center for Plant Conservation

The Center for Plant Conservation is a consortium of 25 of America's leading botanical gardens and arboreta that maintains 496 of America's rarest plant species in a living and seed collection known as the National Collection of Endangered Plants. This principally informational site has many flower pictures to complement the narrative, has a nice quiz on endangered plants (the last question can take you on a virtual tour of some of the Midwest's endangered species) and conservation links. The CPC site is hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden. (***1/2)

December 11, 1996 - Plant Pathology Internet Guide Book

The Plant Pathology Internet Guide Book is a subject-oriented internet resource guide for plant pathology, applied entomology, and related fields. Information is available about bacteriology, entomology, mycology, nematology, virology, IPM biological control, databases, culture collections, publications, education, companies, meetings, positions, institutes, departments, and organizations with interests in plant pathology. The original site is in Germany, but there is likely to be a mirror site closer to you to avoid transoceanic service lags. (****)

December 10, 1996 - Lotus in Japan

This site is principally a photographic site devoted to the different floral cultivars of the genus Lotus. It is accessed in either English or Japanese and the individual pictures can be selected by list, seach or by a form-requiring menu. There are about 40 cultivars in all shown, grown at the Kemigawa Ryokuchi Experimental Station, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo, Japan. Images are sharp, though a bit muddy to my tastes, modest format (256 x 240 pixel) GIFs--nice floral pictures! This site was developed by the Laboratory of Data Analysis & Systems, National Institute of Agro-Environmental Sciences, SFC, Keio University, and the National Agricultural Research Center. (***)

December 9, 1996 - TreeBASE - Database of Phylogenetic Knowledge

TreeBASE provides a searchable relational database on published phylogenetic information regarding higher plants. This prototype site demonstrates some of the database's capabilities. The search engine allows taxon names and bibliographic information to be retrieved, and phylogenetic information is displayed as "trees" of species relationships (the only requirement is that your browser must support forms). TreeBASE provides a way to find out about phylogenetic relationships in the published literature through a Web-oriented search engine. This is a pilot project sponsored by the NSF, Harvard University Herbaria, and the University of California, Davis. (***1/2)

December 6, 1996 - Basic Classification of Fruits of Flowering Plants (Angiosperms)

This site is a brief, four-part introduction to how fruits are produced from the floral tissue and an overview of how fruits are classified. Although the site is graphically spartan, the information is concise and accurate. One detraction is that patience is required to access the site. Hopefully, this will speed up as Internet and equipment upgrades occur. This site is the work of Dianne Wilford, hosted by the website of the School of Art and Design, University of Derby, UK. (***)

December 5, 1996 - Plants of the New Jersey Pinelands (Pine Barrens)

Take a virtual stroll into an interesting flora. This site features a little narrative and a lot of individual plant pictures of the flowers of the NJ pine barrens, along with scientific and common names, the family to which the plant belongs, its mature size, habitat, and where the photograph was taken. The stated goal of the site is "to increase people's knowledge and appreciation of pinelands plants, and to show that pinelands plants can be attractive landscape plants"--a goal reached at this nice, managable-sized site. Maintained by Dr. Michael F. Gross, Biology Department, Georgian Court College, Lakewood, New Jersey. (***1/2)

December 4, 1996 - ThinkQuest Library of Entries

ThinkQuest, whose vision of the 'Internet style' of learning "emphasizes exploration, collaboration and creative use of the vast resources of the Internet," announced 34 winners in their first annual awards on 11/25/96 for educational web sites created by 12-18 year old students. Links to all entrants' sites are available as well as a special set of links to the winners. (To qualify for next year, teams must submit proposal concepts by 1/31/97.) The winning sites may have something to teach any of us who develop (or are thinking about developing) resources for the Internet! (****)

December 3, 1996 - American Bryological and Lichenological Society

This society page links to a variety of bryological (moss- and liverwort-related) and lichenological educational sites. This page also provides information on the usual society matters and the two journals of the society, The Bryologist, and an information bulletin called Evansia. Internet resources include: checklists, links to herbaria, images & information, listservs, organizations, publications and taxonomic resources. This is an excellent launching site for bryophytes and lichens. Sponsored by ABLS and Jepson Herbarium, UC-Berkeley. (***)

December 2, 1996 - Flowerbase Image Database

Excellent European sites are rare, but this is one of them. Flowerbase is a pictorial database of over 7,000 flowers and garden plants searchable by scientific name and by English, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish common names. [the only site I know of where you can identify plants in so many languages.] The site offers thumbnail pictures (<1 KB) to preview the full-sized images (~450 X 450 JPG, ~20 KB). Commercial links are plentiful to importers, exporters, auctions, workshops, etc. of interest to gardening that crosses borders. Sponsored by Glasshouse Business Networks (Internet provider) and Pictura Nobilis (selling a CD-ROM of plants). (****) [Beware the gardener's laxness with scientific names, though. Better check an academic database for current scholarly names!]

Past, past links (by date):

2006: January

2005: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2003: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2002: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2001: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

2000: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1999: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

1998: January*, February*, March*, April*, May*, June*, July, August, September, October, November, December   (*Leigh's links)

1997: January, February, March, April, May, June, September*, October*, November*, December*    (*Leigh's links)

1996: February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Or search by: Subject Index

http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/bot-linx/dec96.shtml