From aceska at telus.net Thu Feb 12 17:18:34 2009 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf & Oluna Ceska) Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:18:34 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 403 Message-ID: <000101c98d35$efcdb9f0$cf692dd0$@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 No. 403 February 12, 2009 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF CHARLES DARWIN! From: _On the Origin of Species_, 1st edition, 1859 "Can the principle of selection, which we have seen is so potent in the hands of man, apply in nature? I think we shall see that it can act most effectually. Let it be borne in mind in what an endless number of strange peculiarities our domestic productions, and, in a lesser degree, those under nature, vary; and how strong the hereditary tendency is. Under domestication, it may be truly said that the whole organisation becomes in some degree plastic. Let it be borne in mind how infinitely complex and close-fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other and to their physical conditions of life. Can it, then, be thought improbable, seeing that variations useful to man have undoubtedly occurred, that other variations useful in some way to each being in the great and complex battle of life, should sometimes occur in the course of thousands of generations? If such do occur, can we doubt (remembering that many more individuals are born than can possibly survive) that individuals having any advantage however slight, over others, would have the best chance of surviving and of procreating their kind? On the other hand, we may feel sure that any variation in the least degree injurious would be rigidly destroyed. This preservation of favourable variations and the rejection of injurious variations, I call Natural Selection." 28TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WILLI HENNIG SOCIETY Singapore 22-26 June 2009 The 28th Annual Meeting of the Willi Hennig Society will take place in Singapore from the 22.6.-26.6.2009. The meeting will be hosted by the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Botanic Gardens (National Parks Board) and take place in the Function Hall of the Singapore Botanic Gardens (http://www.sbg.org.sg/visitorinfo/venueforrent.asp). Currently four symposia have been scheduled: 1. Use of EST libraries for phylogeny reconstruction 2. Phylogenetic approaches to public and environmental health 3. Taxonomy in the 21st century: New tools and dissemination media 4. Southeast Asian biogeography and speciation Please contact Rudolf Meier (dbsmr@nus.edu.sg), Benito Tan (Benito_TAN@nparks.gov.sg), or Ngan Kee Ng (dbsngnk@nus.edu.sg) for further information and/or if you are interested in proposing additional symposia. With best wishes, Rudolf Meier (1) Benito Tan (2) Ngan Kee Ng (1) (1) National University of Singapore, Department of Biological Sciences, Singapore 117543 (2) The Herbarium, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569 FIELD KEY TO THE MONOTROPACEAE OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST From: Dan Luoma [daniel.luoma@oregonstate.edu] Originally published in the Native Plants Society Oregon Bulletin, June, 1988. Last revision August, 2008. 1 a. Plants low to the ground at maturity, old stalks not persistent, fruit a berry, seeds attached to inward projections from the berry wall, style and ovary merge smoothly. 2a. Petals united, hairy on inner surfaces, flowers in a dense head, usually just emerging from duff, light pink when young, fading to straw coloured. _Hemitomes congestum_ Gray 2b. Petals free, flowers in a more elongated raceme, cream to straw coloured, elevated somewhat more above the duff. 3a. Petals densely hairy within, anther rounded. _Pityopus californicus_ (Eastw.) Copeland 3b. Petals not hairy, margin fimbriate, anthers elongate. _Pleuricospora fimbriolata_ Gray 1 b. Plants not low to the ground at maturity, old stalks often present, fruit a capsule, seeds attached to a central column, style not evenly continuous with ovary. 4a. Plants bright red or red and white striped when fresh. 5a. Plants bright red, fading to brownish red, capsule hard and shinning, seeds round, about 1 mm in dia., not known north of Douglas Co., OR. _Sarcodes sanguinea_ Torr. 5b. Plants red and white striped, pale when emerging and staining green at times, drying to black, flowers open and shallow with stamens exerted. _Allotropa virgata_ Torr. & Gray 4b. Plants pinkish, to dull orange, to straw coloured or brick red-brown. 6a. Petals united, stalk emerging erect, usually orange-brown to brick red-brown but may be yellow, tall (may reach 1 m). _Pterospora andromedea_ Nutt. 6b. Petals free, flower stalks emerge bent over. 7a. Flower stalks with only one flower, white. _Monotropa uniflora_ L. 7b. Many flowers on a stalk, pink (rarely red) to Orange to straw coloured. _Monotropa hypopitys_ L. ________________________________________________________________ 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 Wed Feb 25 17:59:23 2009 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf & Oluna Ceska) Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:59:23 -0800 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 404 Message-ID: <001e01c99772$ca9b6fa0$5fd24ee0$@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. 404 February 25, 2009 =20 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- WILFRED BORDEN SCHOFIELD (1927-2008) From: Rene Belland [rbelland@ales.ualberta.ca]=20 For the accompanied photo see: http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/404/ben_404_1.jpg = - Photo by Shona Ellis It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of Canada=92s leading, = and most celebrated bryologist, Professor Emeritus Wilfred Borden Schofield. Wilf passed away on November 5, 2008, having succumbed to cancer. He was = 81. Wilf was born in Brooklyn Corner, Nova Scotia on July 19, 1927. He = attended Acadia University from 1946-50 where he earned a B.A. with the intention = of becoming a school teacher. However, his love of plants, nurtured = through the mentorship of Chalmers Smith and J.S. Erskine, led him to pursue postgraduate studies that included work in both bryology (taxonomy) and vascular plants (ecology). Acadia University later bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctorate of Science in recognition of his lifelong = contributions to botany (1990). Wilf completed his M.A. at Stanford University in 1956 under the = direction of W.C. Steere, a well known American bryologist, who eventually became = the Director of the New York Botanic Garden. His thesis was a taxonomic = work on a difficult genus entitled "The relationships and Geographic = Distribution of Canadian and Alaskan species of _Hypnum_". Wilf=92s lifelong interest in = this genus eventually resulted in the publication of a North American = revision for the Bryophyte Flora of North America (http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3D50&taxon_id=3D116204 = ). During his time at Stanford, Wilf worked with another well known = bryologist, Howard Crum, who was the Curator of Cryptogams at the National Museum in Ottawa at the time. Wilf spent two field seasons (1955-56) with Crum collecting bryophytes in the Rocky Mountains, from Waterton Lakes to the Yukon Territory.=20 It was while he was at Stanford that Wilf met his future bride, Margaret (Peggy) Irene (nee Bledsoe; d. 2005). After a short courtship, they were married in 1956. Soon after completing his M.A. (and for Peggy, her M.A. = in Music), they moved to North Carolina, where Wilf began Ph.D. studies = with the plant ecologist, H.J. Oosting, at Duke University. This time, it was = an ecological thesis, entitled "_The Ecotone between Spruce Fir and = Deciduous Forest in the Great Smoky Mountains_". Wilf graduated in 1960, and soon after he and Peggy moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where Wilf had accepted a position as a faculty member with the Department of Botany at = the University of British Columbia. =20 Before they moved west, friends warned Wilf, =93Don=92t go there=85 all = the weird ones move west=94. I don=92t think Wilf was ever considered =93weird=94, = but it was in British Columbia that he fuelled his passion for bryophytes and began = a long, outstanding career as the foremost bryologist in Canada. He = retired in 1992 but was appointed Professor Emeritus shortly thereafter. Wilf=92s interests were mainly phytogeographic, at least in the early = and middle years, when he published many papers on the floristics and distribution of bryophytes in British Columbia. Among the more = important works is a contribution to a volume on the Queen Charlotte Islands. The chapter, entitled =93_Structure and affinities of the bryoflora of the = Queen Charlotte Islands_=94 was the culmination of 35 years of field work on = the islands. In his later years, Wilf contributed numerous taxonomic papers on the = genera _Hypnum_, _Taxithelium_, _Brotherella_, and the family Sematophyllaceae, among others. In addition he contributed extensively to the Bryophyte = flora of North America: Takakiaceae, Buxbaumiaceae, _Hypnum_, Buxbaumiaceae, Diphysciaceae, Disceliaceae, _Dicranoweisia_, and _Rhabdoweisia_. His publications reflect Wilf=92s diverse interests and his adeptness as = a botanist. Although he specialized in mosses and liverworts, he also published at least eight papers on lichens and vascular plants. In addition to peer reviewed articles, Wilf=92s publications include = chapters in four plant textbooks (_An Evolutionary Survey of the Plant Kingdom, = Plant Diversity: An Evolutionary Approach_, _Nonvascular Plants: An = Evolutionary Survey, Plants: An Evolutionary Survey_), an introductory bryophyte = textbook (_Introduction to Bryology_), as well as numerous field handbooks.=20 Wilf taught courses in Phytogeography, Bryology, and =93Ferns and = Allies=94. As a teacher he was tireless. He devoted considerable energy updating his notes, which he did yearly. In the bryology and ferns course he used = fresh material as much as possible, which he often collected the day of the = lab or the day before. Sometimes he would do so by walking through the Pacific Spirit Park on his way to work. =20 The introductory bryophyte textbook gained some notoriety. The book = arose as a result of the bryology course, and is an expansion of his notes for = that course. It was published in 1986 and earned several accolades: = =93Excellence in book design and production=94 by the Association of American = Publishers, and the George Lawson Medal for 1986 for the same book _Introduction to Bryology_ by the Canadian Botanical Association for "single contribution = to botanical knowledge of outstanding distinction." Wilf had a deep love of field work which lasted to the end of his life: = he had spent the summer in Alaska before his passing later that fall. He believed that to truly understand and know the bryophytes, one had to = see and study them in their natural habitat. It was only in this way that = one could learn the habitats and microhabitat requirement of individual = species and understand their morphological diversity. His direct and extensive experience with bryophytes in the field was reflected not only in his = works, but also in his reputation: he was considered by colleagues, students, = and acquaintances to be a wealth of botanical knowledge and was frequently sought after for advice and information. There were very few years in which Wilf did not spend a summer in the = field. Most of his field work was in British Columbia. He was particularly fond = of the Queen Charlotte Islands, where he conducted field work over 35 = years. He also spent many seasons along the coast and worked five summers in the Atlantic Provinces. During the last 15 years of his life however, = summers were spent collecting in the Aleutian Islands. The latter work will culminate in a moss flora of the Aleutians, one which is nearly = complete. It will be finished posthumously. Wilf was an avid plant collector. Some referred to him as a =91garbage bagger=92 in reference to the volumes of material that he amassed during = field trips. But there was a reason for this =91madness=92. Wilf felt strongly = that if one was to collect for science, then it was important to obtain good material, and enough material for duplicates. As a result, the = bryophyte collection at UBC is second in size only to the National Museum in = Ottawa (CANM) =96 all due to Wilf=92s assiduousness. On size of the CANM = collection Wilf would remark that, =93CANM is only bigger because I sent them so = many duplicates!=94 In any case, there are many herbaria around the world = that will never be able to repay their =93exchange=92 debt to UBC because of = Wilf=92s hard work. Moreover, the =93data=94 in the form of specimen vouchers that = Wilf has contributed to bryology will always remain invaluable to our = understanding of the distributions of bryophytes. His last collecting number was = 128,619. It was a _Bryum_ species collected from Umak Island, not long after the volcano erupted. The greatness of individuals is often measured by their accomplishments. While Wilf=92s accomplishments in bryology will be remembered and have influence on the science for many years, it will undoubtedly be the = person himself that many of us will remember most. Wilf was a great person, a genuine, generous and welcoming person. On my first meeting with him, he ushered me into his office and immediately offered me a cup o=92 tea. We = then chatted and discussed bryology, politics, books and many other topics. = I later watched him welcome many others into his office, students, = colleagues, professors. All were treated equally and with sincere hospitality. Wilf will be dearly missed. A more detailed obituary will appear in _The Bryologist_ later in 2009. A Celebration of Wilfred Schofield=92s Life will take place on May 9th, = from 5 =96 9 PM at the Unitarian Church of Vancouver. DR. WILF SCHOFIELD - MENTOR From: Wynne Miles [wynnemiles@shaw.ca] For the accompanied photos see:=20 http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/404/ben_404_2_a.jpg http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/404/ben_404_2_b.jpg http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/404/ben_404_2_c.jpg Photos by Wynne Miles =20 Mentors can play an important role in shaping a life. Wilf started his academic career at Acadia University with the intention of becoming a = school teacher but, partly due to the encouragement of several mentors, he = went on to earn two graduate degrees in Botany and then to a successful and = lengthy career as a Bryologist. In his turn, Wilf mentored many botany students. He taught for over 30 years at the University of British Columbia and, in later years, at = multiday workshops. He was a gifted teacher; always eager to help and share his knowledge. He would willingly delve into taxonomic keys and his vast = library to assist in the identification of an interesting but troublesome = specimen. I first met Wilf at a bryoforay held at Mesachie Lake in the spring of = 1999. His enthusiasm and love for bryophytes was infectious and I was inspired = to focus on these small but infinitely fascinating plants.=20 Two years later, I took Bryology (Biology 321) at the University of = British Columbia. Wilf had been retired since 1992 and was a professor = emeritus. However, at that time and over the next eight years, he came to work regularly, visited the Bryology 321 lab sessions to help the students, = gave guest lectures and encouraged the students to consult with him. He was generous with his time. I and many others enjoyed long conversations = over cups of tea; with topics ranging from bryology, ecology and = phytogeography, to music, politics, the value of an education (versus training!) and the need for pure research. Wilf was an extraordinary botanist, a fine gentleman, and a good friend = and mentor to many lucky people. He will be missed. WILF SCHOFIELD: A WATERFALL TRIBUTE From: Trevor Goward & Curtis Bjork, Enlichened Consulting Ltd, Edgewood Blue, Box 131, Clearwater, BC, Canada V0E 1N0 tgoward@interchange.ubc.ca=20 To all who knew him, Wilf Schofield was a warm, generous human being = whose keen intelligence and deep, abiding curiosity suited him to a wide range = of intellectual and aesthetic pursuits, including bryophytes, = phytogeography, taxonomy, "hay-baling" (collecting), writing, music, literature, poetry, and, not least, good wines. A few of us knew Wilf also as a dedicated environmentalist, whose moral outrage around certain human activities - industrial logging, open-pit mining, hydroelectric projects, air = pollution, urban sprawl - was often well rehearsed on his students, colleagues and close friends. I do believe that much of Wilf's legendary passion for teaching sprang from a conviction that he was helping to create a cadre = of environmentally dedicated taxonomists, some of whom would surely go on = to foil the best laid plans of CEO's, logging magnates, right-wing = politicians and other individuals endowed, presumably, with only vestigial limbic systems. =20 In the spring of 1992 Wilf and I (Trevor) were casting about for a = project that would get us out in the field together from time to time. After = some discussion, we decided to undertake a long-term study of bryophytes = (Wilf) and lichens (me) associated with waterfall spray zones. Actually this = was an obvious choice, given Wilf's long-standing love affair with waterfalls, especially Bridal Veil Falls, near Chilliwack. One wonders just how many = of his friends, students and visiting colleagues found themselves invited = out for a day of collecting at the "Falls.". According to his collection = books, Wilf visited Bridal Veil Falls at least 53 times between 1964 and 2006 = =96 27 times by himself and 26 in the company of others. When Nathalie = Djan-Chekar, Wilf's last Masters student, was working up her thesis on the bryophytes = of Bridal Veil Falls (completed in 1993), she had at her disposal a rich assemblage of specimens that, added to her own collections, yielded 150 mosses and 60 liverworts! See: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/1348=20 In the end Wilf and I carried out only two waterfall inventories, both = in Wells Gray Park, where I have some favourite waterfalls of my own. Many = more outings were planned, but sadly these yielded to all the usual reasons things don't get done: bad weather, unexpected visitors, pending = deadlines, family business and, in later years, declining vigour. Still our = interest in the project never waned, and we continued to discuss our personal observations on waterfall bryophytes and lichens right up until Wilf's = last year. Thinking back over those conversations, I can easily follow a = shift from purely scientific considerations in the early days to a deepening concern for the continued existence of waterfall habitats per se; but = more of that in a moment. The spray zones created by waterfalls are effectively =91vertical = wetlands=92 kept cool in summer, mild in winter, and consistently moister than surrounding habitats as a result of constant exposure to atomized water. Though Wilf and I at first intended to focus our study on waterfall = spray zones, we soon realized that waterfalls affect the occurrence of = bryophytes and lichens far beyond the reach of spray. Presumably this is owing to a continuous outflow of cool air that promotes the establishment of = oceanic cryptogams. "Waterfall influence zone" or simply "waterfall zone" would perhaps be more descriptive of the phenomenon as a whole. We also quickly realized that not all waterfall zones are created equal, = in the sense that some promote rich cryptogam floras, while others do not. Actually this is about what you'd expect given so many potential = variations in topography, aspect, associated talus, forest cover, and general = habitat heterogeneity. Superimposed over all this, of course, is water = chemistry. Even moderate amounts of calcium carbonate suspended in the spray of waterfalls can promote assemblages of cryptogams very different from = those associated with streams less rich in nutrient loadings. Interestingly, = this means that knowing what bedrock type underlies a particular waterfall is less important than knowing what bedrock types occur upstream. Also = critical here is water temperature, since warmer water holds more nutrients in suspension than colder water. The resulting variation in water chemistry could seem a bit of a nuisance, but for Wilf and me this is precisely = what made waterfall inventories so fascinating: predicting which species will = or won't turn up is tricky business. A bit like hunting for mushrooms, that way. Other factors also come to bear. For one thing, waterfalls with strong seasonal variation in stream flow seem much poorer in regionally rare cryptogams than waterfalls that flow at nearly equal volume year round. = No less critical, at least in inland regions, is the extent to which a = given waterfall freezes over in winter. This is because frozen spray can coat trees and rocks in sheets of ice, and so prevent cryptogams from = occupying habitats that would otherwise tend to promote them. On the other hand, waterfalls hidden behind a mask of ice in winter produce much less = freezing spray; they tend to be associated with healthy lichen communities. = Likewise, waterfall zones that have been recently disturbed, e.g., within the past century, are much less likely to support "interesting" cryptogams than = their counterparts with much longer environmental continuity. What is actually known about the biological significance of waterfall = zones in British Columbia? Not much, though what little we do know makes clear that we urgently need to know much more. Obviously waterfall zones can = be thought of as ecological "petri dishes", that is, tiny islands of = habitat conducive to the establishment of species otherwise much more common elsewhere. Effectively they function as range extenders, especially in inland areas, where several macrolichens =96 for example _Anaptychia setifera_, _Lobaria oregana_, _Pilophorus clavatus_, _Pseudocyphellaria crocata_, _P. mallota_ =96 occur predominantly or even exclusively in = the vicinity of waterfalls. For species such as these, the highly localized conditions characteristic of waterfalls zones often promote stable, = durable "source populations", thereby sustaining them in regions far outside = their main ranges. One wonders to what extent this tendency of waterfalls to create disjunct populations might contribute to genetic variation within certain species.=20 Unfortunately, all is not well with British Columbia's waterfalls. The = B.C. government projects a greatly increased demand for electricity in the = years ahead. In principle, half of this projected increase is supposed to be offset by more efficient use of existing power. As for the other half, = the people of B.C. are being granted two options: either we put up with fuel-burning electrical plants, or else we accept a combination of windpower, geothermal power and hydropower. At the moment the favoured option, at least by government, seems to be hydropower, which means we = can look forward either to further impoundment of the Peace River by the = Site C dam, or else to innumerable creek diversion projects. Or more likely = both. The creek diversion projects =96 "Run of the river" in government speak = =96 are to be constructed and operated by private firms. These, the independent power producers, or IPPs, prefer to locate their intake dams on portions = of creeks where they tumble over steep, rocky ground. While the dams allow = some of the water to occupy the stream's original course, the remainder is diverted through a pipe down to the powerhouse. Here diverted water is = run through turbines and then returned to the creek. The B.C. government is = not wrong to refer to these "run of the river" projects as a renewable = energy source; but the degree to which creek diversions are truly 'green' is debatable. By diverting water from creeks, IPPs are certain to diminish = the ability of affected waterfalls to support rare bryophytes and lichens. = No less disturbing, road construction associated with these developments = will give access to some of the province's last remaining low-elevation old-growth rainforests. Can chainsaws be far behind?=20 Creek diversion projects are becoming common in many parts of the world. Biologists in other countries =96 India, New Zealand, Tanzania, the U.K. = =96 have begun to speak out about the threats to biodiversity posed by the = loss of waterfall zones. Furthest ahead, perhaps, are the Norwegians, both in = the number of creeks now dedicated to hydropower production, and in public outcry over the resulting drawdown on regional biodiversity. Here in = British Columbia, we really haven't begun to assess the scope of our own conservation issues around the loss of waterfall zones. Early = indications are that we've overlooked a major axis of the province's biological diversity. With more than 100 diversion projects already up and running, = and nearly 700 more awaiting government approval, maybe it's time we began = to take the implications of all this activity seriously. Wilf, I feel = pretty certain, would heartily approve. THE ASIAN ELEMENT IN AFRICAN HEPATIC FLORA From: Tam=E1s P=F3cs, Botany Department of Eszterh=E1zy College, Eger, = Pf. 43, H-3301, Hungary colura@chello.hu=20 Disjunct liverworts occurring in tropical America and Africa were = studied by Gradstein et al. (1983), while Afro-Asian disjunct bryophytes = (Palaeotropic species) were studied by P=F3cs (1976, 1992). Seventy-two = Afro-Asian/Pacific Marchantiophyta (liverworts) were enumerated in the two studies. Their distribution pattern is quite variable. There are species equally distributed in both continents, e.g., _Cheilolejeunea serpentine_ = (Mitt.) Mizut. and _Cephaloziella kiaeri_ (Aust.) Douin. The latter (and many = more) also occur in Australasia and in the Pacific islands. There are species = with their main distribution in Africa with scattered occurrences in Asia, = such as _Lejeunea tuberculosa_ Steph. (tropical Africa + Himalaya), and even = more with the bulk of their distribution on the Asian continent and rare in Africa, like _Calycularia crispula_ Mitt., _Drepanolejeunea ternatensis_ (Gottsche) Schiffn., _Gottschelia schizopleura_ (Spruce) Grolle. Quite a number of Asian-Oceanian species reach westwards only to the Indian = Ocean Islands (Seychelles, Madagascar, Mascarenes, Comores) in Africa and do = not occur on the continent. These include _Archilejeunea planiuscula_ = (Mitt.) Steph., _Schiffneriolejeunea tumida_ (Nees) Gradst., and _Spruceanthus marinaus_ (Gottsche) Mizut. on the Seychelles, _Cololejeunea = peponiformis_ Mizut. in Madagascar and in R=E9union, and _Wiesnerella denudate_ = (Mitt.) Steph. in R=E9union. Recent investigations (e.g.,P=F3cs 1995, and some other works) revealed = the presence of more Asian/Pacific species mainly from the East African = Islands: _Cheilolejeunea pluriplicata_ (Pears.) R.M. Schust. (African mountains = incl. the Indian Ocean islands, recently known from Himalaya) _Cheilolejeunea ventricosa_ (Schiffn.) He (Mauritius) _Haplomitrium blumei_ (Nees) R.M. Schust. (Rwanda, Zaire) _Harpalejeunea filicuspis_ (Steph.) Mizut. (Seychelles, Comores) _Iwatsukia jishibae_ (Steph.) Kitag. (Bioko, = Malawi, Seychelles, Comores, Madagascar, R=E9union, Mauritius) _Leptolejeunea elliptica_ (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Schiffn. (Comores) _Metalejeunea = cucullata_ (Reinw. Et al.) Grolle (Seychelles, Comores)=20 The known number of Afro-Asian disjuncts increased also because of = synonyms established between species described under different names on the two continents, such as: _Bazzania praerupta_ (Reinw. et al.) Trevis. (tropical Africa) = _Cololejeunea vidaliana_ Tixier (Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rodriguez) _Cheilolejeunea trapezia_ (Nees) Kachroo & R.M.Schust. = (tropical Africa). REFERENCES P=F3cs, T. (1976): Correlations between the tropical African and Asian bryofloras. I.=20 _J. Hattori Bot. Lab._ 41: 95-106.=20 P=F3cs, T. (1992): Correlation between the tropical African and Asian bryofloras. II. -=20 In: Koponen T., Hyv=F6nen, J. (eds.), Proceedings of the Congress of East Asiatic Bryology, Helsinki, August 12-19, 1990. _Bryobrothera_ 1: 35-47. P=F3cs, T. (1995): East African Bryophytes, XIV. Hepaticae from the = Indian Ocean Islands. _Fragm. Flor. Geobot._ 40: 251-277. BOOK REVIEW: BRYOPHYTE BIOLOGY 2nd Ed. (2008) From: Terry McIntosh, ttmcintosh@shaw.ca , Vancouver, British Columbia Goffinet, B. & A. Jonathan Shaw [eds.] 2008.=20 _Bryophyte Biology_. Second Edition. xiv+565 p., Cambridge University = Press, Cambridge. ISBN 13: 978-0-521-87225-6 [hard cover] Price: US$150.00, ISBN 13: 978-0-521-69322-6 [soft cover] Price: = US$70.00.=20 Available from:=20 Cambridge University Press 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA http://www.cambridge.org/us/ The Edinburgh Bldg., Cambridge CB2 2RU, = United Kingdom http://www.cup.cam.ac.uk =20 Scholarly bryology books, ranging from floras to reviews, are few in = number and scattered through time, reflecting the paucity of bryologists when compared to the large population of vascular plant scientists. However, bryology books that make it through the murkiness of the publishing = gauntlet must be applauded. Such applause is certainly warranted with the second edition of _Bryophyte Biology_. Even though it has been only eight years between editions, so much has happened in some of the fields covered in = this new edition that updates are both necessary and highly informative = making this edition a valuable contribution to the libraries of serious bryologists. As with the earlier edition, the content of the new edition = of _Bryophyte Biology_ is somewhat limited and, as a colleague pointed out, =91lab-based=92, focused mainly on morphology and classification, = evolutionary studies, and physiological ecology, with chapters on populations and community ecology, peatlands, and conservation. Most of the chapters = contain extensive updates from the first edition, and some new information is presented, in particular the importance of the moss genus Physcomitrella = to plant genomic research, research on bryophyte drought tolerance, and a phylogenomic perspective on land plant evolution. Major strengths of the = new edition are the clarity of the writing, which makes some potentially = dense dialogue readily available to the reader, and the excellent and thorough reviews of primary literature. The preface not only effectively = introduces the focus and goals of the book, and outlines its limitations, but also firmly states that bryophytes are being taken seriously and are no = longer considered =91evolutionarily boring=92. It also notes that some of the evolutionary and classification concepts introduced in the book are controversial, and certainly not final answers. The goals of this = edition of _Bryophyte Biology_ are similar to the first edition, that is either as = a text for a bryology course, or as a reference for scientists working = with bryophytes in specific fields. This book is certainly useful as a = reference, but I am unsure of its value as a course text, given that most bryology courses (when they exist) are more basic in nature and may not benefit = from using this text. I am also uncertain, given the cost of the book and its limited focus, whether _Bryophyte Biology_ is useful to the novice bryologist, a person who appreciates bryophytes but has had little or no training given the lack of available courses or specialists to help = them. However, each chapter is so well thought out, and the introductions to = the various groups of bryophytes clear and highly informative, that it may = prove to be a =91good read=92 for novices wishing to advance their knowledge = of bryophytes. Minor criticisms include the poor quality of some of the photographs (too small or too gray) and, possibly, the lack of a = glossary, although the use of Google rectifies most if not all concerns about terminology and, in some cases, the illustrations. Another review and = the Table of Contents for this second edition can be viewed at: www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=3D0521693225 =20 ________________________________________________________________ =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/ ________________________________________________________________