From aceska at telus.net Thu Jan 10 18:58:43 2008 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:58:43 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 386 Message-ID: <000001c853ba$d2959520$e0ef059a@xphome> BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS No. 386 January 10, 2008 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- VERNON CUTHBERT (BERT) BRINK (15 NOVEMBER 1912 =96 29 NOVEMBER 2007) From: Robert Blair=20 http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/alumni_history/biography/vernon_brink.htm Vernon (Bert) Brink was born in Calgary, Alberta, and spent his early = years on his parents' livestock enterprises in British Columbia. He earned a = BSA in Agronomy from University of British Columbia in 1934 and an MSc in = 1936. Graduate work at the University of Wisconsin led to the award of a PhD = in 1940. During his graduate training he gained practical experience at = the Canada Department of Agriculture Station at Manyberries in Alberta, = where he was faced with the problems of grasshoppers and over-grazing which were principal causes of "dustbowl" conditions. Further experience was = gained at the Canada Department of Agriculture Range Station in Kamloops.=20 During World War II Dr Brink served in the Officers Training Corp as an instructor with the Mountain Infantry. During a climb he sustained an injury to his pelvis and hip which continued to affect him throughout = his later life. =20 He joined the Department of Agronomy at UBC as an assistant in 1939, and = in 1946 was promoted to Associate Professor. In 1955 he was promoted to Professor, and became Chair (1955-1967) of the newly formed Division of Plant Science. In 1970, Dr V C Runeckles became Chair, and Dr Brink continued to teach and conduct research in the newly formed Department = of Plant Science. Many students have commented on his inspiring lectures = and on his influence on their choice of careers. He retired in 1977 with = the title of Professor Emeritus but continued his active academic career. = In recognition of his many achievements he received the Order of Canada, = the Order of British Columbia and a fellowship from the Agricultural = Institute of Canada.=20 Dr Brink was active in many organizations related to Agronomy and Plant Science and achieved distinction in research and extension. These organizations included: the Agricultural Institute of Canada (AIC), the Canadian Seed Growers' Association, the British Columbia Institute of Agrologists (BCIA), the Canadian Society of Agronomy, the American = Society of Agronomy, the Genetics Society of Canada (he was a member of the = founding executive and President), and he was a founding member of the American Society of Range Management. He was a member of several committees to develop the professional Agrologists legislation and the professional Biologists legislation. In addition he was a member of the Canada and = BC and Regional parks committees, the BC Forestry Research Committee, the Western Turfgrass association, the Habitat Conservation trust Fund (vice-chair since its inception), and the Nature Trust of BC (director = from its inception). In 1969, he chaired the BC Indian Agriculture and Lands Committee, which was a joint effort of the BCIA and AIC. This = association led to the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences having strong links with = these agencies. He was a member of the Founding Committee of the Van Dusen Botanical Garden and later was elected an Honourary member.=20 His research interests encompassed a number of areas, including Knapweed control and on gibberellin, an alfalfa growth regulator. He also was involved in various genetic experiments on Rhizoma alfalfa and continued = to develop his interest in the study of barley. Other interests included = the care and improvement of turfgrass, climatic effects on crops, crop = genetics, effective use of rangeland and the ecological use of land. In addition = he promoted the development of the University Research Farm at Oyster River = as a teaching and research facility. Throughout his career he contributed = over 200 papers to Crop Science, Ecology, The Journal of Plant Science, the Canadian Field Naturalist and similar journals and magazines. His publications include articles on historical aspects of plant breeding = (e.g. in the BC Historical Review), some BC native wildlife publications and = many natural history articles. =20 He served on the Environmental Assessment Panel that studied the = potential impact of reactivating the Boundary Bay Airport and then the addition of = a third runway at Vancouver International Airport. He was President of = the Vancouver Natural History Society from 1950 to 1952 and in 1963 he = founded the Conservation Committee. Dr Brink played a major role in the = founding of the Federation of BC Naturalists in 1969. In 1984, he became a member = of the Board of Directors of The Nature Trust, a non-profit organization established to conserve areas of ecological significance in the = province. His contribution to conservation was recognized by the award of the = Douglas H. Pimlott Conservation Award by the Canadian Nature Federation in 1982. = In spite of the injury noted above he continued climbing and was elected an Honourary Member of the Alpine Club of Canada.=20 Dr Brink was also active in many UBC committees. They included: the Sub-Committee to study the organization of Soil Science in 1953, the Genetics Committee, the Committee on Sports Turf Research, the Climatological Committee, the President's Committee for the Electron Microscope (installed in 1959), the president's Committee on the = Botanical Gardens and the Advisory Committee on Botanical Garden Policy. =20 Consulting work included five overseas assignments on behalf of CIDA and = one assignment with the same agency in Canada in which Dr Brink escorted = Kenyan agricultural research personnel to agricultural colleges and veterinary colleges across Canada.=20 Dr Brink's achievments and distinction were recognized by his alma = mater, which conferred on him the honorary degree of DSc in 1994. =20 Vernon Brink was a first-class academic with dozens of published = scholarly articles. His interests were broad, and he was professionally consulted = in the fields of plant science, geology and habitat conservation. He was particularly beloved as a former teacher and supervisor of many Masters = and PhD students. These students now hold positions of influence in the scientific, agricultural and governmental communities. His greatest achievement, however, was his continuing effort to combine a love of science with a deep respect for the natural world. As an academic, he worked with many agricultural and recreational organizations, seeking = ways to responsibly use our living resources. He acknowledged and supported = the economic role of renewable resources, but kept in mind our society's = equally important needs for recreation, beauty and preservation of wildlife = habitat. As an expert on the integrated use of natural resources, he had the rare distinction of being held in high regard by both business and = environmental organizations. =20 CULTIVATED PEARS IN CANADA: PAST & PRESENT From: Paul M. Catling and Ernie Small, Biodiversity, National Program on Environmental Health, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Wm. Saunders = Bldg., Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 [catlingp@agr.gc.ca ] The Greek poet Homer (8th century BC) called pears the =93gift of the = gods.=94 Traditional pears have been grown in Canada since the days of the early settlers, but some new kinds of edible and ornamental pears are = attracting attention. The following information was largely gathered while = preparing a treatment of wild pears for the Flora of North America as well as an informative poster. It provides some useful background for information = on the wild species and answers a number of recent questions. =20 Many people know the difference between a pear and an apple fruit, or = think they do. Not all pears are pear-shaped. Asian Pears (see below), often called =93Apple Pears,=94 usually look more like apples than pears, and = indeed are hard, crisp and juicy like apples. The most reliable distinguishing feature is the gritty texture of pear fruit, the result of =93stone = cells=94 in the flesh (but most new cultivars have a minimal amount of grit). In addition the flower pedicels are attached to an elongated axis, whereas = in apples all of the flower pedicels are attached at the same point. Pears originated in Asia, and are believed to have been cultivated for thousands of years. Although three species are cultivated in Canada, = there are no native North American species. The =93Common Pear,=94 _Pyrus = communis_, was introduced during the very early stages of settlement. The first = trees were planted as crops in the early 1700s in the eastern Canadian = wilderness. These early pears came from France and are now called =93Jesuit Pears=94 = or =93Mission Pears=94 because they were planted by Jesuit priests in = orchards at the missions and forts in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, along the = St. Lawrence River, the Niagara River and particularly along the Detroit = River.=20 The Common Pear can grow very old. The Endicott Pear Tree in = Danversport, Massachusetts is the oldest living fruit tree in North America. It was planted by the first governor of Massachusetts, John Endicott, around = 1630. This tree is now approximately 380 years old and is still producing = fruit. One of the oldest Mission Pears was still standing on the site of the palisaded fortress of Detroit a few years prior to 1921; it was known to have been planted in 1705, making it 216 years old at that time. Mission Pears have grown to 24 m (80 ft.) in height and 2.5-3 m (8=9610 ft.) in circumference, and have yielded 40=9650 bushels of fruit from a single = tree. After the initial settlement period, these early pears were replaced by orchards of newer named varieties.=20 By 1921 the Mission Pears were disappearing fast and some experts = doubted that any remained. However, very old trees survive in Essex County to = this day. One of these is the Iler Pear, which is growing on the Iler = settlement established in the 18th century east of Colchester. The tree is = estimated to be over 200 years old and is 20 m (66 ft.) tall and more than 5 m (16 = ft.) in circumference. In 1996 only seven Mission Pears were known to be left = in Canada. The old pears have resistance, tolerance, and vigour not = possessed by current cultivars and are valuable sources of material for = improvement of cultivated pears. The Agriculture Canada genebank in Harrow publicized = the old Iler Pear tree with the result that 23 additional ancient pear trees were brought to light. Most of these are now protected and cuttings from = the majority are part of the genebank collection. The genebank also grew seedlings and propagated numerous cuttings of the famous Iler Pear. = These have also been added to the city of Windsor=92s (Ontario) nursery stock = and hundreds of people have planted them locally. As a result, valuable germplasm has been conserved and a cultural heritage has also been = protected as a living reminder of the past. Pears were originally brought to the west coast of North America by = Spanish colonists, who arrived on ships that had circled Cape Horn. They = established trees around the early Spanish missions. By the middle 19th century = pears were also being brought by wagon from eastern North America. One of the = most interesting Common Pears on the west coast is the Hager Grove Pear Tree = in Salem, Oregon. It was planted in 1850 and is still alive. The seeds from which this tree was developed were transported from eastern North = America across the Oregon Trail, a challenging journey in those days (Custer=92s = Last Stand was in 1876). The early west coast Common Pears were extensively planted and satisfied local markets until after World War II, when these easily bruised heritage varieties were gradually replaced by the larger Bartlett variety of Common Pear that can be shipped with little damage, = and lasts longer on the shelf.=20 There are over 5,000 varieties of Common Pear, differing in taste, shape = and colour. The common fruit cultivars grown in Canada at the present time = and available from nurseries are Bartlett, Flemish Beauty, Anjou, and Bosc. Commercial growers once took pride in growing many different varieties = but now they grow only a few. About 30 heirloom pear varieties originated in North America in the 19th century and many of these are now quite rare. Recognizing that the traits of rare varieties may prove important in creating new pear cultivars in the future, the U.S. National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon has preserved many of them in = a large and very valuable living collection. The Bartlett Pear, the most popular pear in North America, was = discovered in Berkshire, England, in the 17th century, by schoolmaster John Stair, who sold cuttings to a horticulturist named Williams, who named it after himself. The Williams pear was brought by the early colonists to = Dorchester, Massachusetts, where in 1812 nurseryman Enoch Bartlett renamed it after himself. Ever since, the pear has been known as the Bartlett pear in the United States and the Williams pear (or William Bon Chr=E9tien) in = England. China grows over 50% of the world=92s pears, while Canada produces less = than 1%, and imports 4.5 times as many as are exported. Most imported pears = come from the US, but increasingly from China which is now rivaling Argentina = as the world=92s top exporter. Canada=92s commercial food pears are worth = almost 9.5 million dollars in farm gate value and they are the 10th most = valuable Canadian fruit and the 4th most valuable tree fruit. Ontario is by far = the leader with 2/3 of the farm gate value and British Columbia follows. = Pears are also grown in Quebec and Nova Scotia. In Ontario pears are presently cultivated as a crop in the southwestern parts of the province including = the western Lake Ontario region, the north shore of Lake Erie and the = southern Lake Huron region. They can be grown north of this region and are sold = in nurseries for local gardens in Ottawa, but a lack of cold hardiness may periodically reduce fruit production north of the area of commercial production. The farm value of Ontario pears has been stable=97near 5.5 = million dollars since 1980.=20 Asian Pears (_Pyrus pyrifolia_, previously called _P. serotina_) have = been cultivated for centuries in Asia. They are grown commercially on the = west coast of the U.S. Because they are less cold hardy than most varieties = of Common Pear, they have a much smaller area of cultivation in = Canada=97mainly southern British Columbia. They are often grown on rootstocks of other = pear species (_P. calleryana_, _P. betulifolia_, _P. communis_) of which the = last is the most cold hardy. Rootstocks of the related Quince (_Cydonia = oblonga_) are widely used for pears in Europe and have had some success in the = most climatically favourable areas of Canada. Demand for Asian pears in North America increased greatly during the 1980s due to the increasing = population of Asian people in the U.S. and Canada. Vancouver is a particularly important part of the Canadian market. Asian Pears can be eaten right = after harvest and are crisp and juicy like apples. In contrast, Common Pears = are harvested while the fruit is hard, and they are served soft several days after removal from cold storage. The market for Asian Pears is now = expanding beyond the Asian communities. A few other species with pear-like fruits are cultivated in Canada. One = is the intergeneric hybrid _=D7Sorbopyrus auricularis_ (=3D _P. communis_ = =D7 _Sorbus aria_) which is believed to have originated in Europe before = 1610. Often called the Bolwyller Pear, it has been propagated as a clone and = grown occasionally in North America. The dry but tasty plum-like fruits, about = 5 cm (2 inches) long and wide, ripen to a deep yellow with an orange-red blush. The seeds are shriveled and non-viable. Although rarely grown in Canada, it is hardy to USDA Climate Zone 5 (which includes extreme southwestern Ontario, parts of the Maritimes and parts of southern = British Columbia). Quince (_Cydonia oblonga_) is similar to pear but has leaves = with smooth (not toothed) margins, solitary flowers and the fruit is fuzzy. Quince is occasionally cultivated in Canada, mostly in southwestern = British Columbia, and is hardy to USDA Climate Zone 4.=20 Not all pears are cultivated for table fruit: some varieties of Common = Pear and the related Snow Pear (_Pyrus nivalis_) are cultivated for = production of the alcoholic beverage Perry, mostly in Europe. Perry is made by = fermenting pear juice using a process similar to the production of cider, and it = has a similar alcoholic content of around 8%. Perry is more difficult to make = than cider, but is more delicately flavoured. It has been popular for = centuries in Britain and France. The fruits of pear varieties used to make Perry = are smaller, more acidic, and less palatable, but result in a superior = beverage to that produced from table fruit varieties. Currently the most popular light Perry is Lambrini, manufactured in Liverpool and marketed under = the slogan =93Lambrini Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.=94 Although _Pyrus communis_ is cultivated as an ornamental, the most = popular garden and landscaping pear in Canada is _P. calleryana_, the Callery = Pear, which is grown in Ontario and southern British Columbia. The most = planted cultivars are Red Spire, Chanticleer, Capital and Bradford. In Ontario, = they are sold south of Kingston since this species is less cold hardy than = _P. communis_ but some varieties are cold hardy in Ottawa. The cultivars = vary in shape and colour of autumn foliage (some scarlet red), but all have = flowers with two or three styles, instead of five as in _P. communis_, and they have small, globose fruits whereas those of _P. communis_ are typically larger and pear-shaped. Further south in the U.S., other species of = pears cultivated as ornamentals include _P. betulifolia_, _P. faurieri_ and = the more or less evergreen (except when exposed to substantial freeze) _P. kawakamii_ (which is sometimes treated as a synonym of _P. calleryana_), = but these are less frequent than _P. calleryana_. Among the many questions people ask about pear trees are =93why are the = leaves dying?=94 Both cultivated and ornamental pears are subject to Fire = Blight, a bacterial disease caused by _Erwinia amylovora_. Shoot tips die in = spring and black leaves cling to the curled dead shoot as if burned by fire. = Many commercial cultivars are highly susceptible to this disease, which can = cause significant loss of tree limbs and even tree death, but some varieties = have a degree of resistance to this pathogen. A very exciting recent advance = in pear breeding is the development of a delicious variety that is highly tolerant of the blight, is late maturing, and stores well. The cross = which produced this variety was made at Agriculture Canada=3Ds Harrow Research Station in Ontario by Dr. Harvey Quamme and is now being further tested = and introduced by Dr. David Hunter at the Vineland Research Station. Pears seedlings often take seven to 10 years to produce fruit and considerable experimentation is involved, so that a team of scientists typically = works over a quarter of a century to develop a new variety. Pears are interesting research subjects and it appears that much has = still to be learned about them. A recent scientific article describes a very interesting discovery about the flowers of Common Pear. The five stigmas within a flower are sequentially receptive to pollen, over a period of = as much as 4 days. This extends the time of stigma receptivity, = compensating for the often unreliable pollination conditions. Pollen is also produced sequentially with the outer rank of stamens releasing it up to 3 days = before the inner rank.=20 Pears are spectacular ornamentals due to dense masses of flowers in the spring and scarlet foliage in the autumn. The increasing attractiveness = of fresh fruit to maintain health also contributes to a growing popularity = of pears. The warming climate in Canada is expected to increase the area = where pears can be grown. World production is expected to increase. All things considered, it seems likely that pears will become more important. For more information on pears, see the references below and the = published international symposia on pears (most recent in _Acta Horticulturae_ = 596). To see the kinds of pears in Canada=92s clonal genebank go to http://www.agr.gc.ca/pear/pdf/pear-poire_e.pdf . =20 Thanks to David Hunter for his helpful comments. References Arbury, J., and Pinhey, S. 1997. _Pears. Wells & Winter, Maidstone, = U.K_.=20 103 p. Bell, R.L. 1990. Pears (_Pyrus_). Pp. 657-697 in: Moore J.N. and J.R.=20 Ballington, Jr. [editors] _Genetic resources of temperate fruit and = nut crops._ Int. Soc. Hort. Sci., Wageningen, The Netherlands.=20 Beutel, J.A. 1990. Asian pears. Pp. 304-309 in Janick J. and J.E. Simon. = _Advances in new crops_.Timber Press, Portland, OR.=20 Campbell, J. 2004. _Industry overview - apples and pears in British =20 Columbia._ 28 p.=20 http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/treefrt/profile/pome.pdf =20 Coder, K.D. 2003. _Managing ornamental pear cultivars._ University of = Georgia, Warnell School of Forest Resources Publications FOR03-5.=20 http://www.urbanforestrysouth.org/resources/library/managing- = =20 ornamental-pear-cultivars/view?searchterm=3DNone =20 Embree, C.G. and R.J. Whitman. 1976. _Home garden production of pears._=20 Atlantic Horticulture Committee Publication No. A. Hort. C-7. 3 p. Gardner, J., K. Slingerland and P. Fisher. 2004. _What you should know = about fruit production in Ontario._ Fact sheet 04-045, Ontario Ministry = of=20 Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/04-045.htm=20 Hedrick, U.P., G.H. Howe, O.M. Taylor, E.H. Francis, and H.B. Tukey. = 1921.=20 _The pears of New York._ New York Dept. of Agriculture, 29th Ann. = Rep. 2 vol. Available online=20 at: www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=3D11372=20 Hunter, D.A. and R.E.C. Layne. 2004. Recent pear and apricot = introductions=20 from the=20 AAFC-Harrow tree fruit breeding program. _Acta Hort._ 663: = 907-910. Janick, J. 2002. The pear in history, literature, popular culture and = art.=20 _Acta Hort._ 596:=20 41-65. Layne, R.E.C., and Quamme, H.A.1975. Pears. Pp. 38-70 in Janick, J. and = J.N. Moore. _Advances in fruit breeding._ Purdue University Press, West = Lafayette, IN.=20 Li, T.S.C. 2002. Asian pears in Canada. _Acta Hort._ 587:129=96131. Lord, W. 2001. _Growing pears._ University of New Hampshire cooperative=20 extension.=20 http://extension.unh.edu/Pubs/HGPubs/growpear.pdf=20 Milvaganam, S. 2006. Farm value and harvested area of fruit crops, = Ontario,=20 1980-2005.=20 = http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/stats/hort/fruit_value_area.htm=20 Quamme, H. 1968. Fire blight resistance of several wild pear seedlings=20 collected in southwestern Ontario. _Fruit Var. J._ 40: 59=9661. Sanzol, J., P. Rallo and M. Herrero. 2003. Asynchronous development of=20 stigmatic receptivity in the pear (_Pyrus communis_; Rosaceae) = flower. _Am. J. Bot._ 90: 78=9684. Segr=E9, A. 2002. The world pear industry: current trends and prospects. = _Acta Hort._ 596: 55-59. Slingerland, K., B. Lay, and D. Hunter. 2002. _Pear cultivars._ Fact = sheet=20 02-039, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.=20 http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/02-039.htm =20 Smith, M.W.G. 1976. _Catalogue of British pears._ Ministry of = Agriculture,=20 Fisheries and Food. 54 p. Statistics Canada. 2007 (Feb.). _Fruit and vegetable Production._ = Catalogue=20 no 22-003-XIB. 40 p. Tromp, J., A.D. Webster and S.J. Wertheim (eds.). 2005. _Fundamentals of = temperate zone tree fruit production._ Backhuys Publishers BV, = Leiden,=20 Netherlands. 400 p. _USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map_ =20 http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html? =20 Van der Zwet, T, and N.F. Childers. 1982. _The pear from varieties to=20 marketing._ Horticultural Publications, Gainesville, FL. 501 p. A SHORT REVIEW: GARRY OAK (_QUERCUS GARRYANA_) PLANT COMMUNITIES IN = BRITISH COLUMBIA=20 From: Adolf Ceska [aceska@telus.net] Erickson, Wayne R. & Del Meidinger. 2007. _Garry Oak (_Quercus = garryana_)=20 Plant Communities in British Columbia: A Guide to Identification._=20 Technical Report 040, Ministry of Forest and Range, Forest Science=20 Program, Victoria, BC, Canada. 83 p. ISBN 978-0-7726-5739-8 [soft cover] Price: CDN$ 49.95 Available from: pdf copy:=20 http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Tr/Tr040.pdf =20 hard copy can be ordered from:=20 http://www.publications.gov.bc.ca =20 To begin, I must say that the authors faced an unenviable task. In = British Columbia, Garry oak stands have been heavily altered by fragmentation, grazing, invasion of non-native plant species, and lately by the efforts = of some restoration botanists who are attempting to alter Garry oak stands = to conform to their image of how Garry oak vegetation should look. This = makes any traditional plant community classification difficult, if not = impossible. Most of the Garry oak plant communities on Vancouver Island have been = vastly reduced and are now represented by small groups of trees that host = fragments of original "Garry Oak vegetation". This publication is based on Wayne Erickson=92s M.Sc. thesis done at the University of Victoria (Erickson 1996). Whereas the original work = contains a one-level classification where the classification units are based on individual species with high cover values, in this recent work, the = authors recognized seven main "Garry Oak Plant Associations": _Quercus garryana-Racomitrium canescens-Selaginella wallacei_ _Quercus garryana-Dicranum scoparium_ _Quercus garryana-Lonicera hispidula_ _Quercus garryana-Festuca roemeri_=20 _Quercus garryana-Camassia quamash-Elymus glaucus_ _Quercus garryana-Camassia leichtlinii-Elymus glaucus_ _Quercus garryana-Holodiscus discolor-Symphoricarpos albus_ =20 This is a great improvement on the four _Quercus garryana plant = communities officially acknowledged by the British Columbia government. I was especially pleased to see that authors recognized _Quercus garryana-Holodiscus discolor-Symphoricarpos albus_ plant association = that is similar to _Quercus garryana/Symphoricarpos albus/Carex = inops_described from the Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands, Washington (Chappell = 2006). Whereas this vegetation type is considered rare in Washington, in = British Columbia _Symphoricarpus albus_ has been, until this work, considered invasive and not a species that would belong in _Quercus garryana_ = forests.=20 The authors recognized seven plant associations that could be subdivided into 17 =93Native community types=94 and 6 =93Native subcommunities=94. = The definition of =93Native community types=94 and =93Native = subcommunities=94 is rather vague, but one can find some answers by reading the vegetation tables = and going through the =93Synopsis of the Key to Garry Oak Plant = Associations=94 that comprises the main body of this report (page 6 through 46). The classification is rather confused by the adoption of several = separate classifications, the so-called =93Early season classification=94 (April = 1 - or April 21- to May 15) and =93Late season classification=94 (after May = 15). I think that the recognition of the so-called =93Phenological plant = community types=94 is a mistake; the best way to deal with them is to ignore them. = If it had been done by the authors, Appendix 1 (Vegetation keys ...) would be shorter, clearer and easier to understand. It is also unfortunate that the authors did not explain their sampling design and how they created the resulting tables. The methodology = section is missing. In the vegetation tables, the number of plots varies from 3 to = 14. The exception is the Garry oak =96 Great camas phenological community = that is represented in the table by 50 plots.=20 The authors use common names (e.g., =93Alaska oniongrass=94) or folk = names (e.g., =93Electrified cat=92s-tail moss=94) throughout the text. = Although the authors give the scientific names for almost all species mentioned in = the report, the report is difficult to read by botanists not familiar with = the peculiar British Columbia common names of plants.=20 In the species lists, the authors missed _Symphoricarpos hesperius_ and = most probably treated it as _Symphoricarpos albus_. I suspect that = _Perideridia gairdneri_ has been misidentified in this report as _Lomatium = triternatum_. Roemer=92s fescue is treated once as _Festuca roemeri_ and another time = as _Festuca idahoensis_. If you can ignore the idiosyncrasies of the report such as the = recognition of phenological communities, the report fills some large gaps in our knowledge of _Quercus garryana_ plant communities in British Columbia, = and for that the authors are to be commended. References Chappell, C.B. 2006. _Upland plant associations of the Puget Trough =20 ecoregion, Washington. Natural Heritage Rep. 2006-01._ Washington=20 Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Olympia = , =20 Wash. [Online document is called =93_Plant Associations in Washington=92s = Puget=20 Trough Ecoregion=94_] http://dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/communities/ =20 Erickson, W.R. 1996. _Classification and interpretation of Garry oak=20 (Quercus garryana) plant communities in southwestern British = Columbia._ MSc thesis. Univ. Victoria, Dept. Geography, Victoria, B.C. Excerpts available from: =20 http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hre/becweb/Downloads/Downloads_GarryOak/garry_oa= k_c ommunities.pdf =20 ________________________________________________________________ Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l Send submissions to aceska@telus.net BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________ From aceska at telus.net Thu Jan 17 01:59:02 2008 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:59:02 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 387 Message-ID: <000601c858ac$88b4ab20$9a1e0160$@net> BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS =20 No. 387 January 17, 2008 =20 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- _JUNIPERUS MARITIMA_, THE SEASIDE JUNIPER, A NEW SPECIES=20 FROM PUGET SOUND AND GEORGIA STRAIT, NORTH AMERICA From: Robert P. Adams Biology Department, Baylor University,=20 Box 727, Gruver, TX 79040, USA, Robert_Adams@baylor.edu Note: a free reprint of the original paper is available at=20 www.phytologia.org=20 Based on analyses of terpenoids, nrDNA and trnC-D SNPs as well as=20 morphology and ecology, a new cryptic species,=20 _Juniperus maritima_, from the Puget Sound - Georgia Straits=20 region has been recognized (Adams, 2007). The species,=20 previously included in _J. scopulorum_, is characterized by=20 having seed cones that mature in one year (14-16 months), seeds=20 usually exserted from the cone, obtuse scale leaf tips, usually=20 reniform seed cones, scale leaves overlap less than 1/5 the=20 length, and branchlets smooth and reddish-brown. Called the=20 seaside juniper, it grows on rocky areas (rarely sand dunes) near=20 the sea, in Puget Sound - Georgia Straits.=20 A striking aspect of the Puget Sound, seaside junipers is their=20 habitat. They all grow at the seaside (or lakeside) on granite or=20 sand This is a very different kind of habitat than that found=20 in _Juniperus scopulorum_ and _J. virginiana_. _Juniperus=20 scopulorum_ grows on dry, rocky mountainous soils. _Juniperus=20 virginiana_ is more cosmopolitan, growing in limestone areas as=20 well as deep soils. Both _Juniperus scopulorum_ and _J.=20 virginiana_ are weedy junipers that invade old fields and=20 disturbed roadsides (Adams, 2004). In contrast, the seaside=20 juniper is not weedy and usually appears as if it is relictual=20 (i.e., older trees, with few or no seedlings). The Puget Sound=20 juniper's habitat seems to be very restricted and has only been=20 collected in a few locations. The Puget Sound climate is very=20 different than the Rocky Mountain or the eastern US climates,=20 having a mild, wet regime. In short, the Puget Sound juniper has=20 evolved physiological genes to facilitate its growth in such an=20 environment.=20 Of immediate concern upon examining the Puget Sound juniper, was=20 that it might be an escaped cultivar of _Juniperus virginiana_. =20 _Juniperus virginiana_ was (and continues to be) commonly=20 cultivated by settlers moving westward in the United States. =20 A large tree on Lesqueti Island had 210 rings in 11 cm counted=20 (est. age 400-500 yr old) and the Washington State record big=20 juniper tree on Skagit Island had 140 rings in 20 cm (of a 118 cm=20 trunk radius, est. 400+ years old). So _Juniperus maritima_ clearly pre-dates settlement of the region. _Juniperus maritima_ is similar to _J. scopulorum_ but differs in=20 that the seed cones mature in 1 year (14-16 months), seeds are=20 usually exserted from the cone, and the scale leaf tips are=20 obtuse (Table 1). It differs from _J. virginiana_ in having=20 larger seed cones (6-8 mm) that are often reniform, seeds usually=20 exserted from the cone, scale leaves overlap less than 1/5 the=20 length, and branchlets are smooth and reddish-brown. Table 1. Morphological comparison of _J. maritima_,=20 _J. scopulorum_ and _J. virginiana_ =09 _J. maritima_ _J. scopulorum_ _J. virginiana_ seed cones mature 14-16 mos. 2 years 1 year seed cone diam. 6-8 mm 6-9 mm 3-6(7) mm seed cone shape globose to globose to ovoid reniform reniform seeds per cone (1) 2 (1) 2 (3) 1-2 (3) exserted seeds ubiquitous rare rare scale leaf overlap < 1/5 length < 1/5 length > 1/4 length scale leaf tips obtuse acute to obtuse acute branchlets (6-15mm, smooth, smooth, brown with diam.) reddish-brown bright reddish- persistent brown old leaves =09 _Junipers maritima_ is known only from the Georgia Strait - Puget=20 Sound. It is usually found in rocky areas, often within meters=20 of the water. However, a population exists on coastal sand dunes=20 near Cranberry Lake, Whidbey Island, WA. No other population has=20 been found on sand, so that site is likely atypical. =20 Population Status - The Lesqueti Island population is in a nature=20 reserve and consists of hundreds of trees. It appears to be a=20 robust population and not threatened. The Yellow Point=20 population at Yellow Point Resort, private land, has tens of=20 trees that appear to be reproducing, but development and human=20 impact at the resort threatens it. The Cowichan Bay population=20 is on private land. Approximately 10 trees were seen. No=20 seedlings or saplings were observed. The Brentwood Bay=20 population consists of 6 mature trees on seaside granite. It is=20 at the north end of the Tsartlit Reserve and is protected from=20 development. The Friday Harbor plants are found chiefly on rocks=20 at the Univ. of Washington Marine Station and at the NPS, English=20 Camp (6 old, mature trees) on the opposite side of San Juan=20 Island. These sites are protected from development. The Fidalgo=20 Island, Washington State Park, Anacortes, WA was the most robust=20 population examined with hundreds of trees of various ages. It=20 is in a protected park and its future looks secure. On Whidbey=20 Island, a natural population was found on coastal sand dunes in=20 Deception Pass Park (near Cranberry Lake). There are 10-20=20 trees, all very stunted from constant ocean winds and salt spray. =20 Some age differences were observed. The site is in a park and=20 protected from cutting. However, beach use and a large storm=20 could threaten this population. Several other seaside junipers=20 appear to have been planted at houses in the interior of Whidbey=20 Island and are growing well in deep soil. About 10 individuals=20 were seen on Skagit Island, ranging from very old to young=20 saplings. Skagit Island is a protected area so, aside from=20 fires, this little population appears stable. References Adams, R.P. 2004. _Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus_.=20 Trafford Publ., Vancouver, BC Adams, R.P. 2007. _Juniperus maritima_, the seaside juniper,=20 a new species from Puget Sound, North America. _Phytologia_=20 89: 263 - 283. BRITISH COLUMBIA'S EPIPHYTIC CRUSTOSE LICHENS:=20 CONNECTING THE DOTS, ONE YEAR LATER From: Toby Spribille [tspribi@gwdg.de] In January 2007, Toby Spribille, Curtis Bjork, Trevor Goward and=20 Tor Tonsberg announced the project =93Connecting the Dots: the=20 British Columbia epiphytic crustose lichen flora project.=94 The=20 announcement was carried on various ListServs, in the Northwest=20 Lichen annual newsletter, and of course it also appeared here in=20 BEN # 369, and it generated a lot of positive feedback. Much has=20 transpired since then, so we thought it might be appropriate, one=20 year later, to post an update. A few months into our project, we were delighted to be joined by=20 Irwin (Ernie) Brodo whose many decades of experience with the=20 lichens of western Canada will be a tremendous asset. Welcome=20 Ernie! Also joining our project is lichen photographer=20 extraordinaire, Tim Wheeler, of Arlee, Montana. In the years=20 ahead, Tim has agreed to avail us of his photographic prowess (to=20 say nothing of his keen eye for interesting lichens): an=20 important contribution, as will soon become evident. Welcome=20 aboard, Tim! 2007 was a productive and rewarding year for the crust flora=20 project in many other respects as well. The rich yield of new=20 species for science from moist inland rainforests in British=20 Columbia, Idaho and NW Montana featured as a front page article=20 on the March 29, 2007 edition of the _Vancouver Sun_ ("B.C.=92s=20 claim to fame: it=92s a lichen hotbed"), and was subsequently=20 carried on local and national media networks in Canada including=20 the CBC. In the course of the year we submitted eleven papers=20 dealing with epiphytic crust lichens in British Columbia and=20 surrounding states and provinces. Seven of these were accepted=20 and appeared in 2007 already or are in press, including=20 descriptions of four new species: _Bellemerella ritae_ (a=20 lichenicolous fungus: BC, MT), _Enterographa oregonensis_ (BC, OR), _Lecidea rubrocastanea_ (BC, ID, MT, OR, WA), and=20 _Santessoniella saximontana_ (BC). And many more are in the=20 works! We are indebted to the fantastic cooperation we have=20 received from friends in Northwest Lichenologists from California=20 to Canada, who have provided specimens and data to help round off=20 our picture of the distribution and variability of these new=20 species, as well as the help and endorsement of the following=20 lichenologists from outside our region during 2007: Teuvo Ahti,=20 Stefan Ekman, Jack Elix, Martin Grube, Per Magnus Jorgensen,=20 Thorsten Lumbsch, Helmut Mayrhofer, Sergio P=E9rez-Ortega,=20 Christian Printzen, Rikke Reese-Naesborg, Jouko Rikkinen,=20 Matthias Schultz, Laurens Sparrius, and Leif Tibell. Here's to=20 hoping we haven't forgotten anybody! The past year has also been productive in terms of field work.=20 Collectively we spent about four months in the field, working the=20 dry forests of the southern interior, the rainforests of the=20 central coast, and the boreal forests of northern British=20 Columbia. In total we collected and reviewed more than 10,000=20 specimens since last year at this time. As ever, we continue to=20 be astonished by the richness of BC's epiphytic crustose lichen=20 flora, having in 2007 encountered scores of additional species=20 for which we can find no names.=20 Looking ahead The year 2008 is already set to be a busy year for the flora=20 project, with field work planned throughout the flora region and=20 regional taxonomic revisions underway for _Cliostomum_ and=20 _Xylographa_. Also in the works is an epiphytic crustose flora=20 for the Wells Gray Park area: one of the lichenologically better=20 known portions of inland British Columbia. Farther afield, we're=20 looking forward this year to herbarium visits to Ottawa,=20 Vancouver, Bergen (Norway) and other significant repositories of=20 Pacific Northwest lichens. And of course there's the 6th=20 International Lichenological Symposium (IAL6), in Asilomar,=20 where we're hoping to hold an informal information meeting on=20 our project. Our objective for this meeting is simple:=20 we'd like to invite more collaborative taxonomic research on=20 British Columbia's epiphytic crusts with lichenologists from=20 around the world.=20 See you there! BOOK REVIEW: CALIFORNIA SOILS AND PLANTS From: Frank Lang [frlang@charter.net] - originally published in _Kalmiopsis_ 14: 39-40. Kruckeberg, A.R. 2006. _Introduction to California soils=20 and plants: serpentine, vernal pools, and other=20 geobotanical wonders._ California Natural History=20 Guides, 86. University of California Press,=20 Berkeley, CA 296 p. ISBN 978-0-520-23371-3=20 (hard cover), ISBN 978-0-520-23372-0 (soft cover) Price: $45.00 hardcover $18.95 paperback=20 Available from: University of California Press http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/9689.html =20 Any botanist should be interested in Professor Kruckeberg=92s=20 lucid, well-illustrated account of why plants grow and evolve=20 where they do as influenced by topography, geology, hydrology,=20 and soils and their mineral constituents. How geology shapes=20 plant life in the landscape is the focus of this book, using=20 California=92s diverse geology and landforms as the example. Mount=20 Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States at=20 14,505 ft. is only 80 miles from Death Valley the lowest point in=20 North America at -282 ft. Then there are the 6,000 or so vascular=20 plant taxa, the book=92s other focus, that occupy habitats from=20 coldest cold in alpine areas to hottest hot in deserts from soggy=20 coastal rainforests to dry high desert steppes. There are chapters on landforms and plant life, plants and their=20 soils, serpentine soils (a Kruckeberg favorite), other strange=20 plant-soil relationships (limestone, salt flats, bogs and fens to=20 guano habitats), plant distribution over space and time (endemics indicator species of soil types), and human influences=20 (mining and exotic species) to add just a few of the examples. =20 Excellent color photographs of plants and landscapes illustrate=20 each chapter. Brief, easy to read tables summarize details, maps=20 show places of interest, and diagrams illustrate complex=20 concepts.=20 =20 After the epilog there is =93Exploring California=92s Geology and=20 Plant Life=94 with maps and a list of places to go to visit=20 =93exceptional sites=94 that show how geobotany influences the state=92 s plant life. The map on page 236, Unique California Soil Types,=20 shows Mount Eddy east of Interstate 5, not west, a minor =93oops=94=20 in such a wonderful book. =20 So why should a Pacific Northwest botanist buy Kruckeberg=92s book?=20 Many soils and landforms are the same or similar, often with the=20 same or different species and just as perplexing. Kruckeberg=92s=20 book will help answer many geobotanical questions posed by our=20 diverse landscape and rich flora. =20 (Dr. Arthur Kruckeberg was Dr Frank Lang=92s Major Professor for=20 his Master of Science Degree in Botany at the University of=20 Washington. The inscription in Lang=92s copy of the book reviewed=20 here reads, =93To Frank Lang, fellow naturalist and old friend. Art=20 Kruckeberg.=94 Lang is indebted and grateful for Kruckeberg=92s=20 mentorship, tutelage, and teaching him the meaning of=20 "ubiquitous".) ________________________________________________________________ =20 Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l Send submissions to aceska@telus.net BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________ =20 From aceska at telus.net Thu Jan 31 17:26:31 2008 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:26:31 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 388 Message-ID: <000101c8642e$6ba70400$42f50c00$@net> BBBBB EEEEEE NN N ISSN 1188-603X BB B EE NNN N BBBBB EEEEE NN N N BOTANICAL BB B EE NN NN ELECTRONIC BBBBB EEEEEE NN N NEWS =20 No. 388 January 31, 2008 =20 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- BOTANY BC 2008 - Powell River and Texada Island BOTANY BC 2008 will take place from Thursday, May 15th through Sunday, = May 18th, 2008, based out of Powell River on BC's Sunshine Coast. Field = trips will visit sites around Powell River including Texada Island and = possibly Savary Island. BOTANY BC is an annual meeting of botanists and plant enthusiasts of = British Columbia and is open to anyone interested in plants regardless. = Although BOTANY BC meetings are focused to British Columbia, we welcome = all the plant enthusiasts from the neighbouring provinces/states, and = from elsewhere in the world.=20 Botany BC Registration and detailed program are expected to be posted to = the Botany BC website by February 29th so please keep checking the = website: http://members.shaw.ca/dmeidinger/botanybc/ To be added to the email list for more information, please contact: Elizabeth Easton (250) 953-3488 e-mail: Elizabeth.Easton@gov.bc.ca=20 NICOLAY IVANOVICH VAVILOV =E2=80=93 AN UNPUBLISHED INTRODUCTION=20 BY DORIS LOEVE =09 [This is Doris Loeve=E2=80=99s unpublished introduction to her = translation of N. I. Vavilov=E2=80=99s book, _Five Continents_. For = reasons that might be surmised, Doris=E2=80=99 introduction was not = allowed to be used in the English version published in 1997. Friends of = Doris may justly imagine that the shadow of her husband =C3=81skell. was = very much on her mind, since he suffered a similar fate.=E2=80=94 = William A. Weber] The life, scientific career and fate of Nicolay Ivanovich Vavilov ( = pronounced Va-vEE-lov) is briefly outlined in the Foreword by Semyon = Reznik, his foremost biographer, and Yuri Vavilov, his son, a physicist = in Moscow. Little can be added to it, but since the older generation of = scientists who well remember the controversy between Vavilov and the = infamous Trofim Lysenko is beginning to die out, it seems proper to add = a few more words abnout it.=20 Trofim Denisovich Lysenko was the son of an uneducated farmer in = southern Russia, Denis Lysenko, who relied on =E2=80=98folk = wisdom=E2=80=99 and superstition in his work. The father was actually = the one who practiced the pre-treatment of seeds to make them sprout = faster, which later, under the term of =E2=80=98vernalization=E2=80=99, = was claimed by Trofim himself. The method has its advantages on a small = scale but also its limitations. Trofim studied agriculture with the = Russian =E2=80=98Luther Burbank=E2=80=99, Ivan Michurin, who was a = famous orchardist specializing in grafting techniques. Vavilov knew = Michurin and admired him for his efforts but did not agree with his = interpretation of the results. Michurin has become as much of a folk = hero as ever Burbank was in America. It was probably because of his = admiration for Michurin that Vavilov accepted Lysenko into his = institute. Lysenko was an ardent communist and politically very active. He won the = ear of Stalin, a former theology student but now a mighty man, and = convinced him that the =E2=80=98wisdom of the broad masses=E2=80=99 = could advance agriculture in Russia much faster than the = =E2=80=98bourgeois=E2=80=99 Mendel-Darwinist ideas promoted by Vavilov. = This started already in the late 1920s, when apparently the secret = police began to compile a file of =E2=80=98evidence=E2=80=99 against = Vavilov. But he was still useful and no action was taken against him = although several of the people in his institute were arrested and = convicted on trumped up charges. =09 Vavilov tolerated Lysenko to begin with. After acting as interpreter = during an interview with Lysenko he remarked to J. D. Harland: = =E2=80=9CLysenko is an angry species; all progress in the world has been = made by angry men, so let him go on working. . . .He may some day do = some good.=E2=80=9D In the long run, however, he felt forced to openly = criticize Lysenko and argue with him about the merits of Mendelian = genetics as understood by scientists everywhere else in the world and by = many in the USSR as well, and the falsehood and distortions of = scientific facts by the so-called Michurinism (=E2=80=98acquired = characters can be inherited=E2=80=99) promoted by Lysenko. More damaging = =E2=80=98evidence=E2=80=99 was collected against Vavilov, and his = position began to be seriously threatened. Finally the blow fell, and = Vavilov was arrested when on an expedition to the Saratov area on 6 = August 1940. =09 It should be emphasized that not only his family but all the western = world was kept ignorant of what happened to this eminent and much = admired scientist and that it=20 took years of inquiry, especially from scientists in England and the = U.S.A., before it was realized that Vavilov had been imprisoned and had = died. =09 Lysenko and his proselytes continued to dominate Soviet = =E2=80=98science=E2=80=99 throughout the Stalin and Khrushchev eras = until 1964, when the latter died. They did enormous harm, but those = faithful to Vavilov and true science continued to work in secret, even = risking their lives, and the collections of the institute and its gene = bank were preserved even through the Second World War. During the siege = of Leningrad, several members of the institute died from hunger at their = desks rather than take advantage of the stores of seeds, roots, and = bulbs around them. =09 It is only thanks to the information presented and the books published = in Russian by Mr. Semyon Reznik, now living and working in the U.S.A., = and Vavilov=E2=80=99 son, Dr. Yuri Vavilov, as well as letters supplied = by them to the USDA, that I have been able to piece together what = actually took place after the arrest of Vavilov. =09 He was imprisoned in the Buturskaya Prison, Saratov, and after almost a = full year, on 9 July 1941, sentenced to capital punishment by the = Supreme Court of the USSR for treason and espionage on behalf of foreign = interests. The sentence was based on an order from a Military Board. =09 Apparently an appeal from Vavilov shortly after his conviction to the = People=E2=80=99s Commissar, Lavrentiy Beria, whom he seems to have = known, resulted in a protest action, which should have led to a reversal = of his death sentence on 1 August 1941 At least Vavilov was led to = believe so. [Beria himself was sentenced to death in 1953 by the Soviet = ruling powers. =E2=80=93 Editorial comment, AC]. Elated, Vavilov wrote = the following letter to Beria: To: Lavrentyi Beria, People=E2=80=99s Commissar, The USSR Department of the Interior from Nicolai Ivanovich Vavilov ousted Academician, Doctor of Biological and Agronomical Sciences PETITION: 1) I could, within half a year, complete the composition of a = =E2=80=98Practical Manual for Producing Brands of Cultivated Plants, = resistant to their main diseases=E2=80=99. 2) Within the course of six to eight months, I could, by working hard, = complete a =E2=80=98Practical Manual for Breeding Bread Grains Suitable = for the Conditions in Various Parts of the USSR. I am also familiar with the field of subtropical cultivation of plants, = including crops of industrial importance such as tung-oil trees, = quinine-producing trees and others, but also plants rich in vitamins. I = want to be able to devote to the fullest all my research efforts to the = Soviet authorities and to my native country, where I can be of maximum = use. Nicolay Vavilov 8 August 1941, Buturskaya Prison, Cell No. 49. =09 What actually happened is best revealed in another letter, written more = than half a year later, on 25 April 1942. to: Comrade L.P. Beria from Nicolay Ivanovich Vavilov, ousted member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR Vice President of the V. I. Lenin Agricultural Academy and Director of = the All-Union Institute of Plant Industry and Institute of Genetics PETITION Esteemed Lavrentiy Pavlovich,=20 On 6 August 1940, I was arrested and put into the Central Prison of the = NKVD in Moscow. On 9 July 1941, I was sentenced by the Supreme Court of = the USSR to capital punishment based on an order from the Military = Board. Both in respect to the written record of the inquest on the day of = sentencing, when I was presented with the original material of evidence = concerning the charges against me for treason against our country and = espionage (evidence presented by N. M. Tulyakov, M. N. Avdulov, and L. = P. Bordakov) and that trial, lasting only a few minutes under conditions = of a military situation, it was categorically declared that this = evidence was based on false stores, false facts and slander, in no way = verified by the investigation. =09 During the trial, which lasted for 11 months (about 400 = cross-examinations requiring 1700 hours; prosecutor A. G. Khvat), I was = forced to admit my guilt as a leading scientist, out of touch in my work = with the rightful problems of socialistic production and, as president = of the Agricultural Academy (1930=E2=80=931935), in my execution issuing = damaging directives for the handling of the agricultural sciences to the = Supreme National Commissar of Agriculture of the USSR, Ya. A. Takovlev, = who was directly under the command of the Agricultural Academy, owing = to: ignorance of the field of research, narrow specialization of the = Institute, and arguments leading astray the plans for agriculture. =09 Facing death as a citizen of the USSR and as a scientist, I consider it = my duty to my country to declare, as I have already written to you in = August of 1941 shortly after my sentencing, that I have never betrayed = my country and never in my thoughts nor actions participated in any form = of espionage on behalf of another government. I have never taken part in = counter-revolutionary activities, but have devoted myself entirely to = scientific work. =09 On 1 August 1941, that is, three weeks after the sentencing, I was = informed in the Buturskaya Prison by a messenger from your estate about = your agitated petition before the Supreme Soviet of the SSR for = abolition of my sentence and that I should be granted the right to live. =09 On 2 October 1941, I was, according to your orders, transferred from = Buturskaya Prison to the Central Prison of the NKVD, and between the 5th = and the 15th of October I had, upon your authorization, talks about my = attitude towards the war and Fascism and about my utilization as a = scientist of great experience. On 15 October I was informed that I = should be assigned full opportunity for scientific work as an = Academician and that this should be settled definitely within two to = three days. =09 On the very same day of 15 October 1941, three hours after the talks, I = was, because of an evacuation in stages, transferred back to Saratov and = Prison No. 1, where, for lack of covering papers and documents = concerning the abolition of the sentence and your petition for its = abolition, I was again thrown into a cell for those condemned to death, = where I still find myself to this day. The hard conditions of holding = prisoners sentenced to death (lack of space, of storage, of soap, and, = for the major part of the time deprived of reading material, and so on), = I have, in spite of great resistance, already become diseased with = scurvy. As declared to me by the superior of the Saratov Prison, my = sentence and my situation depend entirely upon the central authorities. =09 All my thoughts concern the continuation and conclusion of several large = and unfinished works, worthy of Soviet doctrine, for use by the Soviet = people and my native country. At the time of my stay in the Central = Prison of the NKVD, when I had an opportunity to obtain paper and = pencil, I wrote a book on the history of worldwide agriculture = (Worldwide Resources of Agriculture and Their Utilization), where the = main attention was given to the USSR. Before the arrest I had finished a = large amount of work that had taken many years, i.e. =E2=80=98The Fight = Against Plant Disease by Means of Breeding Resistant Strains=E2=80=99 = (awarded the Stalin Prize), and the not to be forgotten =E2=80=98Field = Crops of the USSR=E2=80=99, =E2=80=98Worldwide Resources of the Species = of Grain Crops and their Utilization for Soviet Pplant = Breeding=E2=80=99, =E2=80=98The Plant Industry of the Caucasus (Past, = Present, and Future)=E2=80=99, and the large book, =E2=80=98Centers of = Agriculture on Five Continents=E2=80=99 (the result of my expeditions in = Asia, Europe, Africa, as well as in North and South America over a = period of 25 years). =09 I am 54 years old and have much experience and knowledge of the = specifics within the field of plant industry. I am fluent in the main = European languages. I have been fortunate to devote myself to the = fullest to my native country and am aching for field work for my = country. Being of physically and morally adequate strength, I was happy = doing the arduous work for my country using my specialty as a plant = breeder and in matters of improving food and technical raw materials. =09 I beg and implore you to soften my lot, to clear up my future fate, to = allow me to work within my specialty even if in a modest manner (as a = scientist and a teacher) and to permit me to have contact with my family = (my wife and my two sons=E2=80=94one a member of the Young Communist = League, and at present in the military service. and my brother, an = Academician in physics), of whom I have had no news for more than half a = year. I earnestly beg you to hasten the decision concerning my fate N. Vavilov Saratov, Prison No. 1, 25 April, 1942 =09 >From this letter it is evident that Vavilov was already seriously ill = but had not given up hope of being able to become a free man and again = work within his chosen field. The separation from his family was = particularly hard on him=E2=80=94and them too=E2=80=94because he was = very devoted to his wife, Yelena I. Berulina, and his sons to whom he = wrote letters almost daily when the conditions so allowed, during his = numerous trips abroad. Apparently no one listened to his pleading. His = physical condition continued to deteriorate due to hunger, cold, and = general neglect. On 26 January, 1943, at 7 a.m., he died. =09 The following documents, translated from a book by Semyon Reznik, The = Road to the Scaffold, Tret=E2=80=99ya Volna, 1983, pp. 120, 122, Paris, = New York (in Russian) speak for themselves. CASE HISTORY No. 11 Building No. 3. Arrested on 6 July, 1940 Cell Block 57. In the Saratov Jail from 29 October 1941 Cell No. 12 Arrived from the Central Prison of the city of Moscow Home address: Gogol str. No. 2, apt, 13, Leningrad >From the hospital department of the NKVD Saratov Jail, the district of = Saratov. 1. Family name, given name, and patronym: L VAVILOV, Nicolay Ivanovich. 2. Born, 1887. 3. Preliminary diagnosis: acute membranous pneumonia. 4. Final diagnosis: acute membranous pneumonia and enteritis. 5. Out-patient treatment on 24 January 1843. 6. Result: died at 7 a.m., 26 January 1943. Patient=E2=80=99s complaints: Fever, chest pains, cough, shortness of = breath, diarrhoea three times a day, lack of appetite, very weak. He had = been ill for three days. Objective symptoms of the illness: tongue = coated, stomach soft, condition miserable, patient very weak and = exhausted, skin pallid. In simple words: in the lower part of the lungs = the respiration had a bronchial rale, the tone of the heat had a murmur. = The patient suffered from malaria in the past. External Report The corpse of the male had the look of one 65 years of age; his stature = was of average height but very undernourished. The skin was pallid, = subdermal (fat) cells absent, muscles very weakly developed, the = skeleton regular; temperature: the corpse was cold. 1. The death of VAVILOV was due to lobar pneumonia, which was indicated = by: the presence of a congested lower left lobe and an unevenly = congested upper right lobe of the lungs, with a dark red color on = sections with grayish, slightly ecdemic islands which, when touched, = produced a watery fluid. Presence of cloudy and bloody individual parts = intersected by constricted, hyperemic and mucilaginous tracheas and = bronchials. Rezayeva Forensic Medical Expert =09 BOOK REVIEW: PLANTS OF ALBERTA - FIELD GUIDE Form: Adolf Ceska [aceska@telus.net] Royer, France & Richard Dickinson. 2007. Plants of Alberta: Trees, = Shrubs, Ferns, Aquatic Plants & Grasses. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, = Alberta. 528 p.=20 ISBN 978-1-55105-283-0 [soft cover] Price: CDN$29.95 Available from: Lone Pine Publishing at = www.lonepinepublishing.com/ordering =20 This book marks another important milestone for Lone Pine Publishers. = This guide is impressive in its scope and brilliant photography. It = contains over 700 =E2=80=9Cprimary=E2=80=9D species and illustrates or = mention over 300 =E2=80=9Csecondary=E2=80=9D species. The photography is = outstanding. The fact that all the photos were taken by the same = photographer is clearly visible on the final product: all photographs = match each other and make this collection of the uniform, high quality. The book is divided into several sections which correspond to the plant = types listed in the subtitle of the book (and adds a section on = wildflowers). Each section has a pictorial key in which the thumbnail = pictures are arranged in groups by the position of leaves and colour of = the flowers. This is a clever way to do a fast identification; however, = the first plant that I noticed, _Xanthium strumarium_, was said to have = opposite leaves and in reality has alternate leaves. In this case, the = key would take the reader in the wrong direction. There are quite a few other misidentifications in the book. _Saxifraga = caespitose_ is presented as _Saxifraga tricuspidata_, the photo of = _Utricularia minor_ is obviously _Utricularia macrorhiza_, _Elodea = bifoliata_ is in fact _Najas flexilis_. After I encountered several = obvious mistakes, I gave up on digging deeper. I am sure that the book = will go through numerous further printings and the errors should be = corrected before the book is reprinted.=20 Publishing a guide like this is a very commendable act. These guides = fill a gap that our Canadian educational system created when the study = of plants was removed from most curricula. Is it true that the dandelion = is the only plant that requires mention in the Canadian school = curriculum for elementary school? In the case of _Plants of Alberta_, = everyone interested in botany should also carry Packer=E2=80=99s = revision of Moss=E2=80=99 _Flora of Alberta_, if not in the rucksack, = then at least in the car. While I can give high praise to guides like = _Plants of Alberta_, I also have to stress the need for more advanced = treatments that can lead the guide users to higher taxonomic levels. BOOK ANOUNCEMENT: ENDEMIC PLANTS OF THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS A.I. Pyak, A.I., S.C. Shaw, A.L. Ebel, A.A. Zverev,=20 J.G. Hodgson, B.D. Wheeler, K.J. Gaston, M.O. Morenko, A.S. Revushkin, = Y.A. Kotukhov & D. Oyunchimeg. 2008._Endemic plants of the Altai = Mountain region._ =20 WILDGuides Ltd., Maidenhead, UK. 268 p. ISBN: 978-1-903657-22-5 [soft = cover] Price: Pounds 29.95 + mailing. =20 =09 Available from: WILDGuides Ltd., PO Box 680, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 = 9ST (Tel.: 01628 529297) http://www.wildguides.co.uk=20 Email: sales@wildguides.co.uk =09 The first guide to be published about the flora of this region, which = lies on the borders of Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China.=20 The first detailed and comprehensive account of the 288 endemic and = subendemic plants of the Altai Mountain range, over 30 of which were = found and named by contributors to this book.=20 Introductory chapters provide general information on the environmental = and socio-economic conditions of the region, together with details of = the main habitat types, the Altai flora and its features, and the = endemic flora. Information is also provided about the main protected = areas in the region, and when and how to visit. The main part of the book is devoted to illustrated profiles of 100 of = the endemic plants, with taxonomic accounts (including key features to = aid identification, flowering times and differences between similar = species), plus details of distribution, habitats, conservation status, = threats and cultivation. Summary details are given for the other 188 = endemic species.=20 The text is enhanced with stunning photographs of habitats and plants = =E2=80=93 many of the species being photographed for the first time = during recent expeditions.=20 [BEN editor: Check the WILGuides web site for other titles. You might be = surprised! - AC] ________________________________________________________________ =20 Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l Send submissions to aceska@telus.net BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ ________________________________________________________________