Scott's Botanical Links--June 1999

June 29, 1999 - The Geraniaceae Group

Created in 1981 as an off-shoot (if I can say that) of the British Pelargonium and Geranium Society, this is an advocate group for the popularization, preservation, and cultivation of species and cultivars of geranium. The Group publishes a newsletter (TOCs on the site), has a bookstore of sorts, appropriate hyperlinks elsewhere, and has numerous pictures of geranium flowers in two extensive galleries, with thumbnails and very high quality large format JPEG photos. Site by Marisa in Italy. (***) -SR

June 28, 1999 - Suite 101 Home and Garden

Suite 101 is a web community site where currently 693 topics are contributed by members through a contributing editor. The gardening site, which currently accounts for 54 of the topics, is linked from the page above. The A's and B's include: Adventure in Daylilies, Alpines and Bulbs, Arid-Climate Plants, Australian Gardening, Backyard Habitats, Beginning a Garden, Beginning Organic Gardening, Bonsai, Brambles & Rambles, and Butterfly and Hummingbird Gardening ... and there are 44 topics more! Each topic presents a critique of rated websites, a welcome page, articles & commentary in a discussion group format. The manager is Carol Wallace and she seems to be doing a great job. (Site suggested by Rika at Willow Pond Nursery) (****) -SR

June 25, 1999 - Rocky Mountain Rare Plants - Alpine Seeds

Rocky Mountain Rare Plants sells seeds to make money, no doubt, but they also have provided considerable information about germinating seed and a minimal setup to grow seeds, germination information, related web sites & links, ordering information, and a very nice picture gallery of Colorado alpine plants with about 70 species and high quality JPGs (about 100KB or larger). Rebecca Day-Skowron and Bob Skowron operate Rocky Mountain Rare Plants and maintain this web site. (****) -SR

June 24, 1999 - Tropical Fruits

This site is a nice pictorial introduction to the tropical fruits. Pages are provided for fruits regarded as common (Pomegranate, Pineapple, Mango, Carambola, Banana, Papaya & Avocado) and uncommon (Breadfruit, Coffee, Guava, Lychee, Moya, Passion Fruit, Rambutan & Tamarind), provided with serving tips, links on fruits and Hawaii, book information and a voting site for your favorite fruit. Site by Marilyn Rittenhouse Harris, author of Tropical Fruit Cookbook and Mangos, Mangos, Mangos. (***1/2) -SR

June 23, 1999 - Frequently Encountered Criticisms in Evolution vs. Creationism: Revised and Expanded

These pages are intended to be an introduction to scientific evidence refuting the most commonly used claims of creationists. Although talk.origins is (arguably) a more critical forum, the explanations given here are scientifically reputable and a good starting point for debate. Public spectacles rarely illuminate the audience; the volume of material presented far exceeds the amount that can be rigorously explained. Detailed explanation, although unnecessary as a basis of religious belief, is required for an understanding of science. Site by Mark I. Vuletic. (****) -SR

June 22, 1999 - WWF Climate Change Campaign

The World Wildlife Fund provides these pages on global warming to alert people of the threat of global warming and to present evidence that global warming is occurring. A RealAudio version of a report (also in PDF) is presented on the site with links to other climatic resources. The full report, entitled "Turning Up the Heat: How Global Warming Threatens Life in the Sea" is available on the site. Global warming will have a dramatic effect on the ice caps, the shoreline and where crops are grown. (***) -SR

June 21, 1999 - Media Resource Service

Media Resource Service is a site established by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, to summarize research articles in the news media and puts journalists in touch with reputable sources of scientific information. A listserv on the site sends a daily email alerting viewers to articles on science, scientific issues and accomplishments reported in the media. Links are provided to electronic text of the original articles. Not much of the material is on plants, but it is still good reading. (***) -SR

June 18, 1999 - Botanical

This fun site has an interesting and fun set of pages for young botanists. Included is a monthly contest, a site on extraordinary plants (with a cute quiz for largest flower, tallest tree & oldest tree), nature in movement (with animated gifs), a plant of the month, medicinal plants (current and past), a site for alkaloid producing plants, narcotic & poisonous plants, photographs (by scientific name) and other plant links. The site is in Catalŕ, Castellano and English by Vicent Martínez C., with animations by Daniel Martínez Bou. (***1/2) -SR

June 17, 1999 - Virtual Botanical Gallery

Select from tropical fruits, British flora & fauna, flowers, medicinal plants and gardens. Mini-thumbnail views of the paintings featured are given in each of the galleries, with external links for more information. Although the paintings are smallish (about ~200 x 200 GIFs, but sometimes larger), they are very high quality. Site copyright by Kamariah Othman. (***1/2) -SR

June 16, 1999 - Paintings of Native Australian Plants

Plant-lovers from the Northern Hemisphere get a special treat when they visit Australia because of its unusual and striking endemic flora. This page has links to over 50 original colored drawings and paintings of native plants (all free of copyright restriction). This is but a small part of the site of the Australian National Botanical Gardens at Canberra, which contains only natives. The ANBG site, featured by Leigh in October 1997, is well worth a second visit! (****) -SR

June 15, 1999 - State of the World's Forests

The State of the World's Forests is published every two years by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, in odd years. Although information may be slim for some countries, all are listed with available data. The online version includes maps, charts, and numbers. The main pages are provided in English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. The full text is available in PDF. Site by FAO at the United Nations. (***1/2) -SR

June 14, 1999 - Soaring Bear's HerbTracker: Finding & Identifying Plants

Soaring Bear's "HerbTracker" catalogs many links on plant illustrations (includes size of collection), descriptions and distribution (maps noted when present) on the Web. Wildflower resources are also listed state-by-state and by country. The entire resource is in one 132 KB file; this is encyclopedic, but might load slowly by modem. Other pages have useful information about herbs, molecular resources, jobs, the Internet and more. Site by Soaring Bear, Tucson, AZ. (***1/2) -SR

June 11, 1999 - Experimental Science Projects: An Intermediate Level Guide

This site provides valuable information about doing a science project, from an introductory level to understanding the scientific method, developing a hypothesis or question to be tested, designing experiments and and gathering data. Also important is "What If My Science Project Doesn't Work?" This is a great reference for developing a science fair project or doing any first independent experiment. Site by David Morano, Mankato State University, Mankato, MN. (****) -SR

June 10, 1999 - Science Projects on Music and Sound

How many practicing botanists have been asked about the effect of music on plants?!? This one page is an excellent explanation of why we don't expect to find an effect and why such research does not usually end up doing well at science fairs. Ross Koning's page has some great ideas on how to conduct a study on "seismonasty" -- the effect of vibration on plants (which includes sound and is well accepted) -- and avoiding the pitfalls of pseudoscience. (****) -SR

June 9, 1999 - Internet Traffic Report

The Internet Traffic Report presents a concise summary of Internet traffic, response time and packet loss on a global scale. Conditions are listed by continent (excluding Antartica and Africa) with specific trouble spots listed for each by major router hubs. If you are having trouble with your connection (and can get to this site) you can find out if your problem is local or regional. Site by Andover.Net, Andover Advanced Technologies, Inc. (***1/2) -SR

June 8, 1999 - www.seabean.com

Sea-beans are not a taxonomic entity, in fact the site lists over 45 species, and not all beans! ... instead they are seeds that travel the oceans and wash up on beaches around the world. The site consists of about 10 links with wonderful graphics and well designed web pages. Nature books for children are sold nearby. Scientifically, there may be some mistakes (I doubt the germination of a 2000 year old sea-bean found in an Egyptian tomb, for instance). Site by Leigh Fulghum, with text and illustrations by Rhonda Lovec-Theobold and Cathie Katz. (***1/2) -SR

June 7, 1999 - Ken's BioWeb References: Plant Physiology

Ken's site consists of links various sites on plant physiology, emphasizing carnivorous plants, classification, essential elements, soil, growth, hormones, reproduction & development, structure, function, symbiosis, transport and tropisms. Though not encyclopedic, this is still a good starting point. He also has sites on evolution, cell structure & function, genetics, microbiology and ecology. Site by "Ken" (whoever that may be). (***) -SR

June 4, 1999 - Texas Master Gardener

Master Gardeners are members of the local community with special training in horticulture (through the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service) "who are enthusiastic, willing to learn and to help others, and able to communicate with diverse groups of people" and "take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens." This site includes the 'Plantanswer Machine' -- a searchable database with pages of information about specific plants. "Master Gardener" sites are also available in Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota and Oregon (and in some other countries as well). This site is maintained and sponsored by the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service and Horticulture Department. (***) -SR

June 3, 1999 - DNA From the Beginning

"DNA from the Beginning" is designed to provide basic information on genetics, targeted for teenagers, without any assumptions about the person's scientific background. This is a fully animated genetics primer (hosted by Gene the gene!) requiring Shockwave and the Real Player (which are available free on the web and are bundled with new versions of Netscape.) Topics will include Classical Genetics (available now), Molecules of Genetics (due July 1, 1999), Gene Regulation (October 1999), Genetic Manipulation (February 2000) and Genomic Biology (June 2000). This is an outstanding resource for introductory genetics. Site by Cold Spring Harbor Lab in conjunction with the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. (****) -SR

June 2, 1999 - The Skeptic's Dictionary

It is an interesting age in which scientific accomplishment has shaped the way that we live, but pseudoscience is the language that so many speak. Admittedly, many of the most interesting questions in science for the average person were solved so long ago that contemporary scientists have moved the frontiers beyond the patience of all but a minority! This site describes and defines many of the major topics of pseudoscience, with references that should make them credible -- in five languages! Site by Robert T. Carroll, Professor of Philosophy, Sacramento City College. (****) -SR

June 1, 1999 - Plant Evidence on the Shroud of Turin

This site has extensive links providing evidence that the famed shroud of Turin, believed by some to be the burial cloth of Christ, has plant impressions and pollen from Israel. It is interesting to see how the scientific approach is applied to a religious object. Links to many sites, including plant and pollen sites in the Middle East and particularly Israel, abound at this site. Constructed and maintained by Anthony R. Brach, Harvard University. (***) -SR

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/jun99.shtml