Scott's Botanical Links--July 1998

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Past links:

July 31, 1998 - Online Vegetation and Plant Distribution Maps

This is an encyclopedic link site cataloging a wide diversity of geographic regions and different types of maps. Each site is listed by geographic region (world, country, states and provinces) and has an informative description of what the site includes. Maps include everything from the distribution of individual taxa (extant and fossil!) to major vegetational types and protected areas. Although the coverage is a bit eclectic, it is nonetheless an important and growing reference site. Site maintained by Phil Hoehn, Stanford University Libraries/Academic Information Resources. (****) SR

July 30, 1998 - Wealth of the Rainforest: Pharmacy to the World

This site, emphasizing the Amazon rainforest, features: a database to important rainforest plants, information & facts about the rainforest & preservation, news & scientific articles on the rainforest, a picture gallery (50 or so images so far), information on medical uses of rainforest plants and a rainforest links page. The home page is enlivened by animated gifs, sound and pursuasive facts on why sustainable use of the rainforests should win over clearcutting and "slash & burn agriculture." Many medicinal products have originated from rainforest plants and they sell some sustainable rainforest products, including herbal remedies. [As a botanist, I must note: plants produce pharmacologically-active compounds to protect themselves from predation--not to be nice to us. Many times their full pharmacological effects are at best poorly understood.] Site by Raintree Nutrition, Inc., Austin, Texas. (***1/2) SR

July 29, 1998 - National Council for the Conservation of Plants & Gardens

The NCCPG counsels "Conservation through Cultivation" to save endangered plants. This new site based in Gloucestershire, UK, includes gardening information, book links, contacts, and a link to "Gloucestershire NCCPG National Collections & Holders," who collect as many species and varieties in each genus as they can. A list of 17 fully approved and 1 provisional collections are accessible and the collections of Phlomis and Pterocactus are illustrated. Hopefully, there will be a lot more! Site by Jim Mann Taylor. (***1/2) SR

July 28, 1998 - Floral Radiographs: The Secret Garden

This remarkable site contains the photographic work of Albert Richards, an Emeritus Professor of the University of Michigan. Dr. Richards is a dental radiologist who has turned his x-ray on flowers for the last 40 years. These stark and breathtaking black & white images reveal hidden beauty in flowers and are well worth a visit. Site by Albert Richards. (****) SR

July 27, 1998 - AGRICOLA

The Web Gateway to AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) provides access to a database of over 667,000 books (1970-present) and over 985,000 scientific articles (1985-present). Although the data are for personal use only (subject to compliance with copyright and licensing restrictions), this is one of the best databases to use for recent botanical work. The database includes authors, titles and bibliographic data. AGRICOLA is maintained by the National Agriculture Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (****) SR

July 25, 1998 - Texas Wildflowers

Texas is truly blessed with its 5,000 species of native flowering plants, and utilizing Department of Transportation photos, this portion of a Heart of Texas website presents a cleverly done image catalog of Texas roadside flora. The images are very good quality, several to a page, and indexed alphabetically by common name. Specific epithets are provided along with a tidbit of information about the plant. A small color key added to the photos coordinates with a color distribution map at the top of each page, making this quite a handy and useful guide for actual travelers and netsurfers alike. Site by nuMedia, San Antonio, Texas (****)LF

July 24, 1998 - Science.komm

Striving to be the best site of its kind, Science.komm is a must have bookmark "dedicated to supporting research communication." The links library includes Journal URLs for 25 life science and more than 50 medical subject areas plus links to other bioscience and science directories, URLs for scientific publishers, and a Resource area offering advice on scientific writing and presenting work. There's a search engine, submit url feature, and text in both English and German at this neat science connection site by Michael Brownlow, Vienna, Austria.(****)LF

July 23, 1998 - The John Muir Exhibit

The John Muir Exhibit is an internet educational project of the California Sierra Club to commemorate Muir and his contributions to the Club, national parks, and the worldwide conservation movement. Featured are writings by and about the naturalist, quotations, and extensive sources of information on his life and times. A new alphabetical index gives at-a-glance access to this copious website which is updated monthly. Site by the Sierra Club John Muir Education Project, Visalia, California. (****)LF

July 22, 1998 - McCrory Gardens

Active solicitation of community sponsorship keeps things green and growing at McCrory Gardens. One can only wish for a few images of the work described at this research and teaching facility, to go along with the website's very well done text. Read the history of the garden, an interesting bit on the use of maze and labyrinth hedges, and descriptions of the current theme gardens and their plants. Site by the Horticulture, Forestry, Landscape & Parks Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota.(****)LF

July 21, 1998 - The Chemical Defenses of Higher Plants

This is a detailed and illustrated report, no references or citations, introducing various allelochemicals formed in higher plants for protection against insect predation. The study of allelochemicals is significant to the development of more effective and less environmentally destructive pesticides. Discussion of some chemical-producing plants includes toxins of the Mustards, cyanogenesis in a couple species, employment of trichomes for defense, and plant-insect interrelationships in the Milkweeds. Chemical ecologists, entomologists, and botanists alike will not want to miss this site by Gerald. A. Rosenthal, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. (****)LF

July 17, 1998 - Vignettes from the History of Plant Morphology

This work by Richard L. Hauke is composed of well-written essays on three American plant morphologists: Agnes Arber, Edmund Ware Sinnott and Edith Rebecca Saunders. The research and books published by the first two helped to shape the pursuit of plant morphology in the first half of the 20th century in America. The work by the third, introduced the idea of carpel polymorphism, a failed paradigm. Although she was able to publish a scholarly book on this topic, the idea was not accepted "...becoming a footnote in botanical history." The site was constructed by Richard L. Hauke with a preface by Kathleen Hauke. (***) SR

July 16, 1998 - Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council

This site is dedicated to reducing the invasion of natural sites by aggressive introduced plants. Materials at the site include species lists of severe, significant and lesser threats, detailed information on their distribution, growth characteristics, strategies for removal (includes herbicide regimes) and extent of their invasion, and a lot more. Many of the plants are familiar; many are escaped from some useful or ornamental role and are now displacing native plants and altering ecosystems. This site is one of the best of its type that I have seen. Only a small fraction of the information on this site is restricted to Tennessee. Site maintained by Stephen Killeffer, TN-EPPC. (***1/2) SR

July 15, 1998 - Forest & Shade Tree Pathology

A resource website for EFB 340/641, this remarkably informative site includes general information about Fungi (excellent overview with animated nuclei!), Wood decay and specific decays, Root diseases, Foliage diseases, Rusts, Cankers, Wilts, Diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, Mistletoes and other parasitic plants, Abiotic diseases (including air pollutants), and Hazard Trees. Information about Concepts of Disease and Pathogen, Names of Diseases and Pathogens, Silviculture Background, a Syllabus, Glossary, Selected References, Other Sites of Interest and an "Ethnopathology" Quiz are also available. Site by J. J. Worrall, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. (****) SR

July 14, 1998 - Orchids of Indonesia

Over 4,000 orchids are native to the many islands that make up the nation of Indonesia. The site includes a map showing the many islands, and numerous photographs of representatives of five of the most major genera: Phalaenopsis, Vanda, Paphiopedilum, Dendrobium and Arachnis. There are also photos of the author's orchid collection and to the giant orchid, Grammatophyllum speciosum. GeoCities, the free host to this site has launched quite a few good sites, but its insistence on flying ad windows and enough cookies to feed an army are major detractions to this small but well laid out site. Site by Frankie Handoyo, also known as "Phalaenopsis!" Good work! (****) SR

July 13, 1998 - Florida Plants Online

The focus of Florida Plants Online is to compile all there is to know about Florida plants. Pages are available on Agencies, Agriculture, Aquascape, Botany, Design, Environment, Gardening, Horticulture, Interiorscape, Landscape, Mangroves, Natives, Nurseries, Societies, Trees, and Youth. Also worth a look are the Florida landscape pages (see especially the poison ivy page!), E-flora, garden finder, medicinal botany, WWW-VL in Sustainable Agriculture, Everglades and a Young Naturalist area. She also hosted the Botanical Link of the Day site for the last 10-1/2 months and remains as "permanent guest host." As broad as it is high quality, this always rapidly evolving site is worthwhile well outside of Florida! Site by Leigh Fulghum, Florida Plants Online. (****) SR

July 10, 1998 - BioMedLink

BioMedLink is a compilation of "featured websites" that have appeared at HMS Beagle, a webzine of the sciences. Sites are reviewed, rated on a three star scale: above average, exceptional and indispensible by a scientific editorial board. The links are then included in a very organized database that includes 25 biological specialty categories, 60 medical specialty categories, 22 types of model organisms (8 are plants, if you count alga as a plant), and 15 different resources. The site is driven by a full functioning search engine that provides the requested links. To look at "botany" for example, select it under biological specialties and send a blank key word to see all entries to date. Registration is required, but it is free. Site by BioMedNet, an Internet community for biological and medical researchers with more than 200,000 members. (****) SR

July 9, 1998 - INRA Scientific Database Servers

Two excellent links from this server are to the "Catalogue of Lepidoptera from the French West Indies" and to the "Pherolist," now at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp. The catalogue features outstanding images of specimens of the Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Geometridae, Notodontidae, Arctiidae, and Noctuidae, with synonyms, larval food plant, and distribution maps. An introduction to pheromones is linked to the Pherolist, and for advanced use, is the "List of Sex Pheromones of Lepidoptera and Related Attractants," by Heinrich Arn, Miklós Tóth and Ernst Priesner (1986,1992,1996). Site by the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Paris, France. (****) SRLF

July 8, 1998 - WWW Ethnobotanical Resource Directory

A nice gateway site into the area of ethnobotany--a discipline on the interface between botany and anthropology. Links from the home page are well organized and include bibliographies, educational opportunities, publications, related articles, databases, research projects, institutions, web directory, cool sites, conferences & meetings, and miscellaneous sites. Maintained by Michael B. Thomas, a graduate student in the Department of Botany at the University of Florida. (***1/2) SR

July 7, 1998 - Parasitic Plant Connection

Angiosperm parasites are featured in this comprenhensive site by a recognized authority in the area. The site provides distribution maps and links to descriptions, lists of genera, photographs, bibliographic references and DNA sequence information. The depth is outstanding and the photographs are truly spectacular--a very worthwhile resource. Site by Daniel L. Nickrent, Southern Illinois University. (****) SR

July 6, 1998 - New Scientist: Planet Science

New Scientist: Planet Science is the electronic version of the weekly magazine "New Scientist." This site does not cover plants terribly frequently, but when it does, the coverage is very complete. The site also has editorials, jobs, news, features, reviews, letters, feedback and a forum. The coverage of the online version is not complete, but it is impressive. Parts of the site are avaiable without subscription. Site by New Scientist. (***1/2) SR

July 3, 1998 - PLANT PATHOLOGY on the World Wide Web

Although this website is undergoing considerable revision, it currently features detailed information on principles and concepts of plant pathology, information on numerous plant diseases and case studies -- very similar to a mini-course. In fact, the site is host for course materials for Plant Pathology 369 (taught on campus), as well as model web-outreach courses, Plant Path. 300, 800 and 2000, which are taught on-line using streaming video and technology. Thanks to the authors for making much of this material available without registration! Site by J.E. Partridge, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (****) SR

July 2, 1998 - Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research and Australian National Herbarium

Arising from concerns about shrinking biodiversity, this site is rich in information about Australian endemics. Online are pamphlets relating to fire management, raising eucalypts, saving Australia's rare plants and research programs. Databases include the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), Living Collections summary, Photographic records, Catalogue of Australian Mosses, Census of Plants in Australian Botanic Gardens, Common Names of Australian Plants, three glossaries and what is in flower this week at the Gardens. Site by CPBR, Canberra. (****) SR

July 1, 1998 - Atlas of the Flora of New England

An online flora, this is a model for online information -- at least for maps -- though I will be glad to see one that includes photos or herbarium sheet images. This is a work in progress, with only non-angiosperms and grasses currently online. This flora, by Ray Angelo and David E. Boufford, is hosted by the Harvard University Herbaria. (***) SR

Special Announcement: July 1, 1998

I have returned from my Sabbatical! Leigh has done a fantastic job with the site when I was gone and will be back from time-to-time as permanent guest hostess. (This is getting to be a lot of work to keep the site maintained, etc!) Thanks for everyone's support. I will have more to say soon--including a bit on what I did for my Sabbatical and a perspective on how the Internet changed while I was gone. I hope that you enjoy the new material! -S

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/jul98.shtml