From aceska at telus.net  Thu Sep 10 18:18:07 2009
From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf & Oluna Ceska)
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:18:07 -0700
Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 413
Message-ID: <001701ca323a$aa360780$fea21680$@net>


-----Original Message-----
From: Adolf & Oluna Ceska [mailto:aceska@telus.net]=20
Sent: September-10-09 10:14 AM
To: 'Adolf & Oluna Ceska'
Subject: BEN # 413


BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             ISSN 1188-603X
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BBBBB    EEEEE    NN N N             BOTANICAL
BB   B   EE       NN  NN             ELECTRONIC
BBBBB    EEEEEE   NN   N             NEWS
=20
No. 413                              September 10, 2009
=20
aceska@telus.net                     Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------

GENETIC STRUCTURE OF CAMAS (_CAMASSIA QUAMASH_) IN WESTERN NORTH =
AMERICA:
POSTGLACIAL COLONIZATION AND TRANSPORT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES=20

From: Hiroshi Tomimatsu,* Susan R. Kephart=86  & Mark Vellend*
*Departments of Botany and Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4,=20
=86Department of Biology, Willamette University, Salem, OR 97301 USA

Corresponding author: Hiroshi Tomimatsu, htomi@bios.tohoku.ac.jp,
Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University Osaki, Miyagi=20
989-6711, Japan

Source: Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team =96 Research Colloquium =
2009:29
http://www.goert.ca/documents/GOERT_Research_Colloquium_2009_Proceedings.=
pdf


Recent and past human activities have spread many plant species =
extensively
across the globe, yet it is relatively unclear how much historical human
activities influenced plant dispersal. In western North America, =
_Camassia
quamash_  (Pursh)  Greene was one of the most important food plants for
indigenous peoples, who transported its propagules either intentionally =
or
accidentally. To investigate how human and natural dispersal have
contributed to the current pattern of spatial genetic structure, we =
analyzed
sequences of two noncoding regions of chloroplast DNA from 53 =
populations of
_C. quamash_  as well as 21 populations of the nonconsumed, but
ecologically-similar plant _Zigadenus venenosus_  S. Watson  (=3D
_Toxicoscordion venenosum_[S. Watson] Rydb.) as a control.=20

Contrary to the expectation of presumed anthropogenic transport, =
_Camassia
quamash_  populations did not exhibit weaker genetic structure than
_Zigadenus venenosus_  populations. We also failed to find convincing
evidence for more-specific signatures of transport. Instead, our data =
showed
strong effects of past glaciation and geographical barriers of the =
mountains
in the Cascade Range, Olympic Peninsula, and Vancouver Island.=20

West of the Cascades, the species appears to have largely migrated =
northward
from a southern refugium after deglaciation, whereas few populations =
having
a highly divergent haplotype may have survived beyond the glaciated zone =
in
southwestern Washington. Our data suggest that, despite substantial
ethnobotanical evidence for anthropogenic transport, the current pattern =
of
genetic structure of _Camassia quamash_  can be understood without =
invoking
any presumed effects of indigenous activities.=20

For more information see:

Hiroshi Tomimatsu,  S. R. Kephart, &  M. Vellend. 2009.  Phylogeography =
of
_Camassia quamash_  in western North America: postglacial colonization =
and
transport by indigenous peoples.  _Molecular Ecology_  [in press]
http://www3.botany.ubc.ca/vellend/MV_publications.htm=20


GREAT RUSSIAN GENETICIST NIKOLAI  IVANOVICH VAVILOV REVISITED
From: Geoff Hall geoffrey.hall@herbcet.org =96 originally published =
under the
title =93Reading Nikolay  Vavilov=94 in the _Fifth Estate_ Summer/Fall =
2009,
Vol. 44 #2 (#381): 38-40.

Nabhan, Gary Paul. 2008.=20
_Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing Nikolay Vavilov's Quest to End
Famine._ Island Press/Shearwater Books, Washington, D.C. 266 p.
ISBN-13: 978-1-597-26399-3 [hard cover] Price: US$24.95

Pringle, Peter. 2008.
_The murder of Nikolai Vavilov: The story of Stalin's persecution of one =
of
the great scientists of the twentieth century._ Simon & Schuster, New =
York.
xii+370 p. ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-6498-3 [hard cover] Price: US$26.00 [see =
BEN
# 412]

=AC_"It seemed that we had finally passed this very difficult trail so =
that we
could mount the horses and continue on. But suddenly from the cliff =
above
the trail, two gigantic eagles flew out from a nest, circling on =
enormous
wings. My horse shied and bolted, galloping along the trail and the =
ovring.
The rein was unexpectedly torn out of my hand and I had to hang on to =
the
mane. Above my head were cliffs but below me, 1000 meters down in the =
deep
ravine, rumbled the beautiful, blue Pyandzh, the upper reaches of one of =
the
great rivers of Inner Asia. That is the experience, which afterwards =
this
traveler remembers best. Such moments steel one for the rest of one's =
life:
they prepare a scientist for all difficulties, all adversities and
everything unexpected. In this respect my first great expedition was
especially useful."_  (Vavilov 1997 -  _Five Continents_)

The man who wrote these lines was Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (1887-1943),
Russian geneticist, plant breeder, plant geographer, and first President =
of
the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences who, for almost two
decades, had at his disposal countless experimental stations with a =
total
staff of 25,000 scattered throughout the Soviet Union.

Vavilov wanted to increase farm productivity to eliminate recurring =
Russian
famines. Early on, he defended the Mendelian theory that genes are =
passed on
unchanged from one generation to the next. He became the main opponent =
of
Stalin=92s favoured scientist, Trofim Denisovich Lysenko, by speaking =
out
against the neo-Lamarckian agronomist's belief in the inheritance of
acquired characteristics.

Little known by non-Russians until the release of _The Murder of Nikolai
Vavilov_ by Peter Pringle (see BEN # 412) and _Where Our Food Comes =
From_
by Gary Nabhan, Vavilov was arrested by the NKVD secret police in 1940 =
while
collecting samples in the Ukraine, and disappeared.

In a supreme irony, the architect of Russia's increased food producing
capacity died an ignominious death in a Stalinist prison from starvation
after being sentenced to death at a secret trial for espionage, =
sabotage,
and wrecking.

Released documents showed that before his show trial, Stalin's police,
seeking a confession, had subjected Vavilov to 1,700 hours of brutal
interrogation over 400 sessions, some lasting 13 hours, carried out by =
an
officer known for his extreme methods. Before his arrest, during the =
long
rise in influence of Lysenko, beginning in the 1920s, Vavilov, unlike
Galileo, had refused to repudiate his beliefs, saying, _"We shall go =
into
the pyre, we shall burn, but we shall not retreat from our =
convictions."_

Who was Vavilov and why does time cement his stature as almost a 20th
century Darwin?

In an article in the _Journal of Bioscience_, Moscow geneticist Ilya
Zakharov (2005) described Vavilov as _"a person of inexhaustible energy =
and
unbelievable efficiency. During his relatively short life, he =
accomplished a
surprising amount: in his expeditions he travelled all over the world, =
he
formulated very important postulates in genetics, he wrote more than ten
books, and carried out the gigantic task of organizing a system of
agricultural institutions in the USSR."_

Vavilov spoke many tongues fluently and learned the essentials of =
numerous
local languages spoken by farmers he encountered in his world-wide =
travels.=20

Nabhan interviewed various farm experts in the countries he visited. One =
in
Ethiopia said that Vavilov had _"an uncanny ability. . .to pinpoint =
areas of
high diversity."_ An elderly agronomist in Kazakhstan, who as a boy had
guided Vavilov into forests of wild apples, remembered that _"he figured =
out
everything. . .from little more than a day in the field."_ Indeed =
Vavilov
moved at breakneck speed, often commenting, _"time is short, and there =
is so
much to do. One must hurry."_

Despite knowing something about Lysenko, ethnobotany, and biodiversity
hotspots due to professional floristic work in Quebec, Guerrero, and
temperate wetlands, I never learned Vavilov's name well enough to retain =
it
until reading Nabhan's persuasive book. I asked friends professionally
linked to agronomy outside the U.S.=97in Canada, France, and =
Cuba=97about
Vavilov. Only Anel Matos Vi=F1als, a field botanist in the Cuban Sierra =
del
Cristal, was familiar with his name and work, having participated in a
project inspired by Vavilov's writings, the study of wild mountain =
relatives
of Cuban cultivated plants.


To improve the standard of nutrition for his people, Vavilov wanted to
select and introduce resistant crop varieties adapted to Russia's =
varying
conditions. To use the planet as his garden of Eden was dazzling and
ambitious, wrote agronomist Jack Harlan (1975a) in _Crops and Man_,  =
_"It
was his plan to collect and assemble all of the useful germplasm of all
crops that had potential in the Soviet Union, to study and classify the
material, and to utilize it in a national plant breeding effort."_

Vavilov launched a worldwide plant exploration program and =
organized=97and
often led on horseback=97115 expeditions to 64 countries (including
Afghanistan, Iran, Taiwan, Korea, Spain, Algeria, Palestine, Eritrea,
Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, and in the U.S., California,
Florida and Arizona) to collect seeds of crop varieties and their wild
ancestors. To begin, Vavilov concentrated on _"areas in which =
agriculture
has been practiced for a very long time and in which indigenous
civilizations arose"_  - (Harlan 1975a).

Inspired by renowned Swiss botanist Alphonse De Candolle's attempt in =
1882
to deduce the region of origin of many cultivated plants, Vavilov =
predicted
that by analyzing geographic patterns of variation and mapping regions =
where
genetic diversity was concentrated, the origin of a domesticated plant =
could
be found, especially, _"if much of the variation was controlled by =
dominant
genes and if the region also contained wild races of the crop in =
question=94_
- (Harlan 1975a).=20

As he gathered data on the back of mules, Vavilov postulated the =
existence
of eight world centers of origin of cultivated plants, often associated =
with
mountainous areas and their tribal peoples. After modification, these
centers of origin later became _Vavilovian Centers of Diversity._

Later study showed that the phenomenon of centers of variation is real =
for
many crops but not always related to the region of origin of a crop per =
se,
i.e., where first domestication took place. After his exploration phase =
was
cut short in 1933 by Stalin's order, Vavilov developed concepts not only =
of
secondary crops derived from the weeds of fields of more ancient primary
crops, but also of secondary centers to account for the fact that =
centers of
diversity may not be the same as centers of origin. Much later, Harlan
considered data still too sketchy to do more than identify three broad
independent systems of origin, each involving centers and non-centers of
first domestications.

Nabhan points out that the concept of _Vavilovian Centers of Diversity_ =
has
been one of enduring usefulness to geneticists, conservation biologists, =
and
biogeographers. Vavilov's analyses of patterns of concentration of crop
varieties helped lead to the realization that there are patterns of
concentration of wild species (biological hot spots) and centers of =
origin
of ornamental plants.

The results of Vavilov's efforts to pinpoint where our food comes from
included the creation in Leningrad of an international seed bank, =
maintained
with frequent rejuvenation in field lots, of 200,000 recognizable forms =
of
2,500 species of food crops.=20

With the encirclement of Leningrad in 1941 by Hitler's Operation =
Northern
Light, this huge collection of living seeds and roots was in danger not =
only
of falling into the hands of informed Nazi geneticists like Heinz =
Br=FCcher,
but also of being used for food by the suffering local population. =
Before
the arrival of German troops, Stalin had agreed to the secret evacuation =
of
Russia's greatest art museum, the Hermitage, housed in the Winter =
Palace.
But Stalin did nothing to evacuate the seed bank in Vavilov's institute,
considering it to be an indulgence of "bourgeois science=94. 700,000 =
starved
during the three-year siege, including many colleagues in Vavilov's
institute who barricaded themselves in with the hidden collection and
managed to protect it. These researchers refused to eat the specimens,
viewing them as an irreplaceable means for feeding humanity after the =
Nazi
blockade and their own deaths would be forgotten.

In 1969, following 25 years of Lysenko's domination of Soviet biology, =
much
of the authenticity and germination of the collection had been lost.
Nevertheless, Russian writer Genady Golubev wrote in 1979 that "80% of =
all
the Soviet Union's cultivated areas are sown with varieties" derived =
from
Vavilov's collection, including "over a thousand valuable varieties =
known as
'Vavilov.' " (Nabhan 2008, p.176)

Other results included over 350 publications by Vavilov, some issued
posthumously, including his principal works, _Origin and geography of
cultivated plants_, and especially   _Five Continents,_ the narrative =
that
underlies both Nabhan and Pringle.

Nabhan, who knows his subject probably better than anyone, as his
ethnobotanical experience, selected Vavilov itinerary and source =
materials
attest, did a more than competent job of researching and presenting the
Russian's story and legacy. With Pringle, he shares the great merit of
giving Vavilov an audience in the West.

By his title, _Where Our Food Comes From,_ Nabhan reminds us that crop
varieties providing the world's food descend from wild biota that are =
absent
from over 80 percent of the earth's land surface, including most of the
developed world, and that many basic domesticated varieties were =
selected
and preserved by peoples in remote areas.

He also reminds us that "global food security" depends on variability =
within
crop species, a variability that has declined 75 percent over the past
century. He lists the causes of this crop genetic erosion, "due to the
actions of the poor or the rich, or both" and throughout the book =
suggests
ways and a philosophy to stop this one-way trend.

In countries selected from many visited by Vavilov, Nabhan uses maps,
pictures, and text to compare current crops and farmers with those =
Vavilov
encountered between the World Wars=97using, in at least one case, =
detailed
field notes that escaped NKVD raids=97and allows us a glimpse of how =
Vavilov's
previous work is viewed.

Nabhan devotes space to Vavilov's scapegoating by Stalin for the Russian
famine of 1933, to the rise of Lysenko, and to the dark repression that =
fell
upon Vavilov, his colleagues and their Research Institute as it quietly
worked to develop crop strains from its unique collection of genetic
material.

An admirer of a man who set the stage for the exploration and =
preservation
of the earth's genetic resources and created before its time an
international seed bank to fight famine, Nabhan demonstrates =
convincingly
that, on the one hand, widespread chronic hunger today is not a result =
of
low seed diversity in gene banks, but rather a lack of distribution, and =
on
the other seed collections must be safeguarded as "buffers against =
famine
caused by plagues, pestilence, floods, and other catastrophes," =
including
neglect and warfare.

Here is where the creation and replenishment of modern local, national =
and
global seed banks meet the issue of agricultural biodiversity as
intellectual property, much discussed by Vandana Shiva, an Indian =
physicist
who has authored a dozen books on the ramifications of what she calls
"biopiracy," or the theft of germplasm from the Third World and its
copyright by multinationals.

Was Vavilov a biopirate? A one-dimensional pirate Vavilov possessing
"uncanny abilities to pinpoint areas of high diversity" on the payroll =
of an
earth-poisoning corporation would be the opposite of the real Vavilov of =
the
1930's, devoted to the collective goal of feeding the world through =
subtle
detection and meticulously sampling of crop varieties or ancestors in =
the
field. What person in any country visited by Vavilov would wish that he =
had
not left behind descriptions of agriculture and crops and sometimes =
living
strains in Russia that could be returned to the source locality?=20

In _The Living Fields_ (1975b), Jack Harlan wrote, _"The world of N.I.
Vavilov is vanishing and the sources of genetic variability he knew are
drying up. The patterns of variation [that Vavilov described on his
expeditions] may no longer be discernible in a few decades and living =
traces
of the long coevolution of cultivated plants may well disappear =
forever."_

In his foreward to Nabhan's book, K.B.Wilson of the Christensen Fund
acknowledges an ambiguity underlying the work that can only be explained =
by
the stark differences in attitude three generations ago: _"Vavilov is a =
hero
for environmental and social justice activists troubled by the =
unintended
consequences of that same post-WWII crop breeding revolution that =
Vavilov's
discoveries helped to usher in. These consequences included the spread =
of
industrial farming and the 'green revolution' that contributed to the
destruction of diversity in crops and their wild relatives."_

There are some negatives to Nabhan's book. He causes recurrent =
irritation
when he equates wild diversity with cultural diversity, implying that
primitive peoples enhance biodiversity by their presence in an ecosystem =
and
impoverish biodiversity by their absence, notions that ecologists don't
accept, but that most readers are not equipped to challenge.

There are good reasons to defend native agriculture without claiming
miraculous virtues. We depend on agricultural for survival, but this was =
not
always the case. As Harlan wrote in 1975, _"Crops are artifacts made and
molded by man as much as a flint arrowhead, a stone ax-head, or a clay =
pot.
. .The threat of famine has become a characteristic of agricultural =
systems;
we have no evidence that this was a part of pre-agricultural systems."_

Nabhan himself quotes a colleague as saying, _"Crop biodiversity is the
biodiversity that people made."_  In an article by a close student of
Vavilov, J.G. Hawkes (1998) mentioned, _"If we consider the world flora,
even a quick survey will show us that there are many areas of plant
diversity which have little to do with cultivated plant origins."_

Nabhan also puts an inordinate amount of blame on conservationists for =
the
loss of crop varieties due to conflicts between native rights and park
creation in the tropics, although park creation is at the extreme bottom =
of
the list of the causes of world crop genetic erosion. Vavilov's own =
writings
do not confuse agriculture with nature. In _Five Continents,_ he =
marvelled
at nature regularly and I would be surprised if the "prominent scholars =
and
field scientists" mentioned by Nabhan as presenting Vavilov to the West =
in
the 1950s are any different. This passage about Ethiopia in 1927 is =
typical
of Vavilov's sensibilities: _"Fields had disappeared. The area had =
become
more sparsely populated and increasingly more beautiful. Ahead a =
panorama of
a picturesque valley opened up. In hollows and along deep ravines there =
were
groves of wild palms (Phoenix abyssinica Drude), a relative of the date
palm."_

Nearly thirty years before it was published in English in 1997, Maryland
botanist E.E. Leppik (1969) mentioned in Economic Botany Vavilov's
"principal work, entitled _Five Continents_. This was a scientific =
survey of
his travels and explorations. It was to be published in two =
comprehensive
volumes. For this purpose, he prepared extensive manuscripts with =
numerous
original photographs. . .After Vavilov's death, his valuable materials =
and
manuscripts were destroyed. Fortunately his typist, A.S. Mishina,
appreciating and comprehending the value of these papers, managed to =
salvage
portions of the major manuscripts. It was published posthumously in =
Russian
in 1962."

Without the English translation of _Five Continents,_ Nabhan's and =
Pringle's
well-researched books would have been orders of magnitude more difficult =
to
write, and much less interesting to read. No readers of either Nabhan or
Pringle should deprive themselves of Vavilov's own account of his
expeditions.

References

Harlan, J.R. 1975a.
_Crops and Man._  American Society of Agronomy-Crop Science Society,
Madison, Wisconsin. 295 p.

Harlan, J.R. 1975b.
_Living Fields: Our Agricultural Heritage._
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 271p.

Hawkes, J.G. 1998.
 Back to Vavilov: Why Were Plants
Domesticated in Some Areas and Not in Others? In: Damania,
A.B., J. Valkoun,  G. Willcox, & C.O. Qualset eds. _The
Origins of Agriculture and Crop Domestication._
ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria.
http://www.bioversityinternational.org/publications/Web_version/47/=20

Leppik, E.E. 1969.
The life and work of N.I. Vavilov. _Economic Botany_ 23: 128-132.


Vavilov, N.I. 1992.
_Origin and Geography of Cultivated Plants._=20
[Translated from Russian by Doris Love.] Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK. 532 p.


Vavilov, N.I. 1997.=20
_Five continents._  [Translated from Russian by Doris
Love, edited by Semyon Reznik & Paul Stapleton.]
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute,
Rome. 198 p.


Zakharov, I.A. 2005.
Nikolai I. Vavilov (1887-1943). _Journal of Biosciences_ 30: 299-301.


BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: TOP 100 FOOD PLANTS

Small, Ernest. 2009. Top 100 food plants: The world=92s most important
culinary crops.
NRC Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 656 p. ISBN-13 978-0-660-198798-2 =
[soft
cover]  Price: In Canada CAN$34.95, Other Countries: US$34.95

Order from:
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/books/books/9780660198583.html=20

=93This beautifully illustrated book reviews scientific and =
technological
information about the world's major food plants and their culinary uses. =
An
introductory chapter discusses nutritional and other fundamental =
scientific
aspects of plant foods. The 100 main chapters deal with a particular =
species
or group of species. All categories of food plants are covered, =
including
cereals, oilseeds, fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, herbs, spices,
beverage plants and sources of industrial food extracts. Information is
provided on scientific and common names, appearance, history, economic =
and
social importance, food uses (including practical information on storage =
and
preparation), as well as notable curiosities. There are more than 3000
literature citations in the book and the text is complemented by over =
250
exquisitely drawn illustrations. Given the current, alarming rise in =
food
costs and increasing risk of hunger in many regions, specialists in =
diverse
fields will find this reference work to be especially useful. As well, =
those
familiar with Dr. Small's books or those with an interest in gardening,
cooking and human health in relation to diet will want to own a copy of =
this
book.=94

________________________________________________________________
=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  Wed Sep 23 16:02:30 2009
From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf & Oluna Ceska)
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:02:30 -0700
Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 414
Message-ID: <000601ca3c5e$dfb3b7d0$9f1b2770$@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. 414                              September 23, 2009
=20
aceska@telus.net                     Victoria, B.C.
-----------------------------------------------------------
 Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2
-----------------------------------------------------------


THE CONSORTIUM OF PACIFIC NORTHWEST HERBARIA
From: Ben Legler, University of Washington Herbarium, Seattle, WA
	blegler@u.washington.edu

The Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria =
(http://www.pnwherbaria.org/ )
was created in 2007 to bring together regional herbaria and provide an
online portal to the wealth of existing and emerging information about =
the
flora of Pacific Northwest North America.  Our definition of the region
includes both U.S. states and Canadian provinces: Alaska, Yukon =
Territory,
British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.  All types of
herbarium specimen collections are represented by the Consortium =
including
vascular plants, bryophytes, liverworts, hornworts, algae, lichens, and
fungi.

Over 3.3 million specimens are managed by the region's 53 herbaria.
Providing online access to these specimens is a primary function of the
Consortium web site.  Currently, 643,000 specimen records from four =
herbaria
can be accessed through our web site and, with the pending addition of =
data
from the University of British Columbia Herbarium, the total number of
specimen records available will soon increase to an incredible =
1,087,000.

By combining data from multiple herbaria in this way the Consortium web =
site
provides truly comprehensive information about the distributions of =
species
within the Pacific Northwest region as well as an efficient way for
researchers to to browse and acquire relevant data that currently reside =
in
disparate locations.  Specimen data made available through the web site =
will
be of use to academic researchers, land managers, conservation =
biologists,
ecologists, amateur botanists, educational institutions, and other =
public
and private organizations and businesses.

Table 1. Summary of collections currently served through the Consortium =
web
site, broken down by herbarium and organismal group.


Table 1. Summary of collections currently served through the Consortium =
web
site, broken down by herbarium and organismal group.

				NY		OSC		UAM
UBC*	      WTU		Total
Algae				0		0		0
70,774	0		70,774
Bryophytes**		56,402	0		0		168,076
5,732		230,210
Fungi				3,339		39,953	0
17,123	3,604		64,019
Lichens			240		5,197	0	40,234	8,471
54,142
Vascular Plants		23,045	149,130	175,034	147,668	172,997	667,874
Total				83,026	194,280	175,034	443,875	190,804
1,087,019
* UBC data is currently being uploaded.  Herbarium acronyms are NY (New =
York
Botanical Garden), OSC (Oregon State University), UAM (University of =
Alaska
Fairbanks), UBC (University of British Columbia), and WTU (University of
Washington, also known by UWBM).
** Includes liverworts and hornworts.


* UBC data is currently being uploaded.  Herbarium acronyms are NY (New =
York
Botanical Garden), OSC (Oregon State University), UAM (University of =
Alaska
Fairbanks), UBC (University of British Columbia), and WTU (University of
Washington, also known by UWBM).
** Includes liverworts and hornworts.

These specimen records can be accessed through a fully featured search
portal at http://www.pnwherbaria.org/portal/search.php.  Integrated into =
the
search results is an interactive map display that shows a graphical
depiction of the distribution of a set of specimens or any species.  =
Users
can zoom in to this map allowing, in many cases, visual clarification of =
the
exact collection locations of individual specimens.  Search results can =
also
be downloaded in several formats for local use such as importing into =
Excel
or GIS software, printing, or viewing in Google Earth.

In addition to specimen data, the Consortium web site provides links to
relevant botanical resources hosted by regional herbaria.  These include
checklists, flora projects, online image collections, atlases, and
individual herbarium databases.  Also provided is an index of regional
herbaria with contact information and summaries of each herbarium's
holdings.

In July of 2009 the University of Washington Herbarium (WTU) submitted a
collaborative grant proposal to NSF requesting funding to further =
develop
the Consortium web site and integrate many additional specimen =
collections
from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.  Partners in this grant are =
the
Oregon State University Herbarium (OSC), the Stillinger Herbarium at the
University of Idaho (ID), and the Montana State University Herbarium =
(MONT).
If funded, this grant will enable several significant additions:

=95	Databasing of an additional 500,000 specimen records from ID, MONT,
OSC, WTU, and many smaller herbaria.
=95	Imaging about 300,000 of these specimens, with the images made
available online.
=95	Integrating the collections of several large herbaria whose specimen
data is not already served through the web site (e.g., WS, MONTU).
=95	Developing tools to allow smaller regional herbaria to database
their collections and make them available through the web site with =
minimal
costs and infrastructure 		requirements.
=95	Adding new features to the web site and expanding the functionality
of the search interface.=20

Together, these additions will bring the total number of specimen =
records
served through the web site to nearly 1.8 million!

The PNW Herbaria Portal web site is managed by staff at the University =
of
Washington Herbarium.  For further information contact David Giblin
(Herbarium Manager, dgiblin@u.washington.edu ) or Ben Legler at the =
email
above.


UNIQUE BOTANICAL FICTION
From: Tod F. Stuessy, Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany,=20
	University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.

Lammers, Thomas G.  2009.  Augustus Green in the Lair of the Pye-a-Saw.
	Published by the author, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Paper, 64 pages.

=20
As Tom Lammers is a former student of mine, I couldn't resist obtaining =
a
copy of this small book, simply out of curiosity.  What--Lammers writing
fiction?  This I just had to see for myself. =20

What I did find out is that Lammers does, indeed, have a real talent for
spinning an intriguing yarn and keeping the reader engaged with it.  I
started this small book on an airplane flight back to Vienna, but not =
having
finished it by the time I arrived, I found I just had to keep reading to
find out what happened next in the story!   This is the mark of a
well-written book.

The story begins with a Professor Sheldon Wright finding an old book in =
the
attic of his building on the Cranmoor college campus.  It results that =
this
is the journal of Augustus Green in the Iowa territory (U.S.A.) in 1799, =
who
was collecting plants in the region.  As Professor Wright begins to read
this journal, it serves as our story line, and in the process we learn =
about
plant collecting, indigenous peoples of the region, Spanish bureaucracy,
Indian languages, etc.   I was a bit amazed at the breath of this =
historical
information, and so, asking Lammers about it, he answered:  "Yes, all of =
the
details are true, except for those that aren't!"  To that perspective we
have the topc from the title, the Pye-a-Saw, which really grabs your
attention.  This is a---whoops, better not to let it out and spoil the
story.  I suggest that you get a copy and read it for yourself--it will
provide a very nice evening's entertainment.  To obtain a copy, write =
Tom
Lammers at tlammers@new.rr.com=20


BOOK REVIEW: MUSHROOMS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST=20
From: Michael W. Beug [excerpt from a review in =AC_The Mycophile_, =
summer
2009]

Trudell, Steve & Joe Ammirati. 2009. _Mushrooms of the Pacific =
Northwest_.:
Timber Press, Portland, OR. 349 p. with more than 450 species and over =
500
colour photographs. ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-935-5 [soft cover], Price: =
US$27.95

To order a book over the phone, you can call 1-800-827-5622

This beautiful field guide to mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest is well
written with excellent photography and the taxonomic issues are up to =
date.
The book is small enough (6=94x 8.5=94x 7/8=94) to fit in a day pack and =
sturdy
enough to take into the field. Steve Trudell, an affiliate professor in =
the
College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington, is an award
winning photographer who has been studying mushrooms and mushroom =
ecology
for over 30 years. Joe Ammirati is professor of biology and teaches =
mycology
and botany at the University of Washington.=20

In a section titled =93Preliminaries=94, the authors tell the reader =
what
mushrooms are, how to hunt for mushrooms and collect them safely. They
discuss mushroom ecology and mushroom toxicology. This section is =
followed
by a discussion of how to identify mushrooms and how to use the book. =
These
sections are useful to beginners. =20
Individuals unfamiliar with mushrooms can start the identification =
process
with the picture key to mushroom types inside the front cover of =
Mushrooms
of the Pacific Northwest. For individuals with some experience with
mushrooms, the starting point is the written key to morphological groups =
on
page 38 which leads the reader to the various color coded sections of =
the
book. Each section begins with a key the genera included in that group.
There are no keys to species, which in my view makes sense since there =
are
probably over 5,000 species in the Pacific Northwest, far more than =
could be
keyed out in any affordable field guide.=20

In the part of the book dealing with the mushrooms, each section begins =
with
a discussion of the general physical features of the mushrooms in the =
genus
covered followed by a description of our current understanding of the
evolutionary relationships of  the mushrooms in that section to other =
major
groups of fungi. The descriptions of species do not follow the usual =
pattern
of giving the dimensions, features and color of the cap, then gills, =
then
stalk, etc. but instead follow a discussion format that I feel gives the
readers a good sense of what to look for in each species described. They
also give the most recent older name for species that have recently been
renamed, discuss when a species or even a group of mushrooms needs more
study before a name or names can be accurately applied, and anticipate =
some
name changes that we can expect to see soon. Good edible species and
seriously poisonous species are discussed in considerably more detail =
than
the other mushrooms.

I was surprised at the number of species included that were new to me. =
All
of my favorite groups of edibles were included as were all of the =
poisonous
mushrooms that I worry about people accidentally picking. The =
photographs,
almost all by Steve Trudell were excellent educational images, generally
showing the critical features needed for identification, though in some
cases the small size of the images made it hard to discern an important
feature though the images were the same size as those found in most =
recent
field guides. I would also have liked to see 500 or 600 pages devoted to =
PNW
mushrooms so that the authors could have squeezed in more species. =
However,
given the limitations of space and budget, I think that the authors did =
a
great job in picking what to illustrate while still giving the reader a
sense of what is out there that could not be described in just one book.
[excerpt from a review by Michael W. Beug in The _Mycophile_, summer =
2009]


FASCINATING TREATMENT OF THE MUSHROOM GENUS _PHAEOCOLLYBIA_
From: Ian Gibson [ig@islandnet.com]

Lorelei L. Norvell and Ronald L. Exeter. 2009. _Phaeocollybia of Pacific
Northwest North America_. US Department of Interior, Bureau of Land
Management, Salem Oregon. 229 p. Price: US$71.

To order this publication, call 503-375-5646.

This is one of the most beautifully laid out and illustrated mushroom =
books
ever produced. It will remain the main information source on this genus =
in
the Pacific Northwest for many years to come. The macroscopic and
microscopic keys have spent years in development and testing. The =
species
descriptions bring together Norvell=92s accounts scattered through the =
journal
literature and her own assessments of species described by others in =
less
detail.

The Pacific Northwest is a particularly rich area for Phaeocollybia. Its =
25
species are mostly endemic and constitute almost a third of the =
world=92s
species. Phaeocollybia has a reputation for favouring old growth =
forests,
making it a focus of conservation efforts and research. Norvell and =
Exeter
collaborated on research showing that while clear-cutting and heavy =
thinning
appear to affect phaeocollybia fruiting adversely, moderate thinning =
(e.g.
leaving 200-300 trees per hectare) does not appear to do so.

Ron Exeter and Lorelei Norvell continue the standard of artistic and
scientific excellence that they achieved (with Efr=E9n C=E1zares) in =
Ramaria of
the Pacific Northwestern United States, another publication by the same
Bureau of Land Management office.

Introductory chapters include accounts of distribution and ecology, =
biology
and development, taxonomy, and identifying characteristics. After the =
well
organized macroscopic and microscopic keys to Pacific Northwest
Phaeocollybia, there are detailed descriptions of each of the 25 =
species.
The descriptions contain full macroscopic and microscopic details, and =
are
well illustrated with photographs, drawings, and charts distinguishing =
close
species. At the end is a bibliography and glossary. All the sections =
have
color-coded page edges.

A glance at the curriculum vitae of Lorelei Norvell shows why she =
brought so
many talents to the making of this publication. Her PhD dissertation is =
on
Phaeocollybia and she is the current editor of Mycotaxon. Contributions =
to
mycology are protean. In addition, she has an MA in Slavic languages and =
a
secondary education teacher=92s certificate, and in her fine art days =
she
owned a leaded glass studio. It is not clear whether she was helped by =
being
President of the Chamber Music Society of Oregon.

Norvell=92s wide-ranging curiosity is evident in her digging =
explorations of
the long pseudorhizas that extend into the soil from Phaeocollybia
fruitbodies. She describes the development of the fruitbodies from under =
the
ground and the different forms of pseudorhizas. Particularly notable is =
her
discovery of universal veil remnants not previously documented for the
genus. (A sesquipedalian might say that she established phaeocollybian
monovelangiocarpy.) There is a glossary.

Ron Exeter is one of those photographers who always make you want to =
look at
his next photograph. The care and creativity that he applies to his
photographs is also evident in his scientific work. Norvell and Scott
Redhead also contributed many fine photographs.

The authors thank many other people including Joe Ammirati and Scott =
Redhead
both as mentors and =93our reviewers dedicated to removing errors, =
hyphens,
and whimsy from these pages=94. Fortunately they were not completely
successful in their last task. The last sentence concerns O2, a =
particularly
rich research transect for Phaeocollybia, =93The authors have designated =
Oz as
an official phaeocollybian Garden of Eden.=94 The last illustration =
shows a
cat with the label =93Senior Systems Administrator=94.
[Wasn't it Lorelei who lured the Rhine sailors to their death? - AC, BEN
Editor]

________________________________________________________________
=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/
________________________________________________________________