From aceska at telus.net Thu Apr 1 16:48:21 2010 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 08:48:21 -0700 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # CDXXIII Message-ID: <005401cad1b2$c1f408a0$45dc19e0$@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. CDXXIII April 1, 2010 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- ASSISTED MIGRATION OF PLANTS SYMPOSIUM - CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN A Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium Alsdorf Auditorium Chicago Botanic Garden Glencoe, IL Friday, June 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Become enlightened about assisted migration and its role in fighting plant extinction in this year's Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium. When fragmentation limits migration potential of plants or when natural migration and adaptation rates are outstripped by the pace of climate change, some conservation biologists propose purposeful, human-mediated migration, known as "assisted migration" or "managed relocation," as a way to prevent extinction. In this symposium, we examine this controversial topic from both sides of the issue and suggest ways that the benefits of assisted migration can be maximized while minimizing the costs and risks. Details will be posted as they are confirmed. http://www.chicagobotanic.org/school/symposia/JMP.php BERTRAND RUSSELL ON GOVERNENMENT I am persuaded that there is absolutely no limit to the absurdities that can, by government action, come to be generally believed. Give me an adequate army, with power to provide it with more pay and better food than falls to the lot of the average man, and I will undertake, within thirty years, to make the majority of the population believe that two and two are three, that water freezes when it gets hot and boils when it gets cold, or any other nonsense that might seem to serve the interest of the State. Of course, even when these beliefs had been generated, people would not put the kettle in the ice-box when they wanted it to boil. That cold makes water boil would be a Sunday truth, sacred and mystical, to be professed in awed tones, but not to be acted on in daily life. What would happen would be that any verbal denial of the mystic doctrine would be made illegal, and obstinate heretics would be "frozen" at the stake. No person who did not enthusiastically accept the official doctrine would be allowed to teach or to have any position of power. Only the very highest officials, in their cups, would whisper to each other what rubbish it all is; then they would laugh and drink again. This is hardly a caricature of what happens under some modern governments. The discovery that man can be scientifically manipulated, and that governments can turn large masses this way or that as they choose, is one of the causes of our misfortunes. There is as much difference between a collection of mentally free citizens and a community molded by modern methods of propaganda as there is between a heap of raw materials and a battleship. Education, which was at first made universal in order that all might be able to read and write, has been found capable of serving quite other purposes. By instilling nonsense it unifies populations and generates collective enthusiasm. If all governments taught the same nonsense, the harm would not be so great. Unfortunately each has its own brand, and the diversity serves to produce hostility between the devotees of different creeds. If there is ever to be peace in the world, governments will have to agree either to inculcate no dogmas, or all to inculcate the same. The former, I fear, is a Utopian ideal, but perhaps they could agree to teach collectively that all public men, everywhere, are completely virtuous and perfectly wise. Perhaps, when the war is over, the surviving politicians may find it prudent to combine on some such programme. Bertrand Russell: "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish" MY HOROSCOPE FOR TODAY You cannot force people to change their beliefs. The more you try, the more they will cling to them. But why would you want to change them? The word is actually a better place for its myriad of opinions. Times-Colonist, Victoria - April 1, 2010 ________________________________________________________________ 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 Apr 14 21:23:47 2010 From: aceska at telus.net (Adolf Ceska) Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:23:47 -0700 Subject: [BEN-L]BEN # 425 Message-ID: <001901cadc10$637cef40$2a76cdc0$@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. 425 April 14, 2010 =20 aceska@telus.net Victoria, B.C. ----------------------------------------------------------- Dr. A. Ceska, P.O.Box 8546, Victoria, B.C. Canada V8W 3S2 ----------------------------------------------------------- HELENE (LENI) M. E. SCHALKWIJK-BARENDSEN, 1921=E2=80=932010 MYCOLOGIST, ARTIST, TEACHER. From: J. Ginns ginnsj@shaw.ca with thanks to Else Vellinga for her = suggestions An extraordinary lady, Leni had broad interests and was talented in a = number of fields. And she was a prolific letter writer; using neither = computer nor typewriter. All of the nearly 3 cms thick stack of her = letters to me were hand-written=20 Leni was born August 13, 1921 to a family of horticulturists that = specialized in mainly growing orchids but also roses and other flowers = in Aalsmeer, The Netherlands. Her father was a well known orchid grower = and Leni enjoyed some orchids from her father's greenhouse all the time = she lived in Edmonton. She attended Wageningen University and was = awarded a Masters degree in horticulture. 1949 was an eventful year! In = May her marriage to Johan August Schalkwijk, a forestry student, was = followed by their immigration to Canada. They resided in Edmonton, Alberta but spent many enjoyable months each = year at the cottage on Sandy Lake. By 1968 Leni was avidly collecting = mushrooms and, since she had always liked to sketch and paint, was = rendering them in watercolors. Seven of her paintings can be seen on the = Edmonton Art Club=E2=80=99s gallery. She had exhibitions at the Edmonton = Art Gallery, Museum of Alberta (Edmonton), the Glenbow Museum (Calgary), = Canada=E2=80=99s Museum of Civilization (Ottawa) and several other = locals. Leni soon realized that she was finding quite a number of mushrooms that = she could not find names for. So in 1973 she wrote to mycologist David = W. Malloch at the Canadian National Mycological Herbarium in Ottawa. = This began a 30 association with the mycologists at that centre, esp. = D.W. Malloch, S.A. Redhead, J. Ginns and K.N. Egger.=20 However, her contact with mycologists was not limited to the Ottawa = group, e.g., from 1976 to 1981 she was writing and sending specimens to = A.H. Smith at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. And in 1974 Leni = joined the Netherlands Mycological Society and in 1988 the North = American Mycological Association. She had a number of projects aimed at attracting more people to = mushrooms. Her 1975 booklet _Mushrooms of the Edmonton Area_ treated 16 = common mushrooms, each depicted in a black & white drawing by Leni, = provided an introduction for persons who were beginning to collect or = eat wild mushrooms. During the 1970s and 1980s Leni taught courses in = the field identification of mushrooms. In 1987 she and Randy Currah = founded the Edmonton Mycological Society (since 2007 known as The = Alberta Mycological Society).=20 Leni Schalkwyk=E2=80=99s _Checklist of Alberta Fungi_, published in = 1989, was an annotated list of her collections. Many were of species not = previously recorded in Alberta. Nearly all of the included species were = represented by a voucher deposited in a reputable herbarium, thus making = it possible for future students to confirm the names she and colleagues = used. The author of a number of mycological works, Leni=E2=80=99s most = extensive was the 1991 field guide to 550 mushrooms of western Canada. = The book was illustrated by 107 full-page, color plates of her = watercolors. The plates are 45 x 30 cm with 2 to 11 species per plate = with many species represented by five fruiting bodies. To prepare the = plates Leni used her earlier paintings, each usually depicting one = species, and repainted them to form the plates. The plates show several = widespread mushrooms painted from Arizona, Holland, Ontario, South = Africa, and Spain collections; these distant locals were Leni=E2=80=99s = way of letting readers follow her travels. Following the death of =E2=80=9Cmy best friend,=E2=80=9D Johan in 2004, = Leni moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where her daughter Tilly = lived. Leni died January 31, 2010; her ashes to be spread, next to = Johan=E2=80=99s, in the Alberta forest they loved so well. She is = survived by daughters Johanna, Tilly, and Grace, son Leo, and their = families. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Schalkwyk, H.M.E. 1975. _Mushrooms of the Edmonton Area_. Published by = the author, Edmonton. Reprinted 1977 and 1987. 32 p. Schalkwyk, H.M.E. 1989. _Leni Schalkwyk=E2=80=99s Checklist of Alberta = Fungi_. The Stinkhorn (Edmonton Mycological Club) 3 (1): 1=E2=80=9366. Schalkwijk-Barendsen, H.M.E. 1991. _Mushrooms of Western Canada_. Lone = Pine Press, Edmonton. 414 p. Issued in the United States titled = _Mushrooms of Northwest North America_. Schalkwijk-Barendsen, H.M.E. 1991. _Checklist of fungi to accompany the = book MUSHROOMS OF WESTERN CANADA_. Published by the author, Edmonton. 68 = p. _BRACHYPODIUM SYLVATICUM_ IN BRITISH COLUMBIA From: Jamie Fenneman fennj@hotmail.com =20 In late July of 2008, I discovered a relatively robust and = well-established population of the exotic and highly invasive grass = _Brachypodium sylvaticum_ (Huds.) P. Beauv., also known as the Slender = False-Brome, along roadsides and forest edges of the Cowichan Lake area, = Vancouver Island. This population was quite extensive and occurred along = several kilometers of roadsides west of the community of Youbou. This is = the first record of this species in British Columbia, and suggests that = it is now expanding widely beyond its primary area of infestation in = western Oregon.=20 OCCURRENCE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST _Brachypodium sylvaticum_ is native to Eurasia and northern Africa, and = was first encountered as an exotic species in North America at Eugene, = Oregon in 1939. It has since spread aggressively throughout much of = western Oregon, especially in the Willamette Valley (Eugene, Albany, = Salem, Portland), and currently covers an estimated 10,000 ha of = forested and open habitats in that state. For many decades, B. = sylvaticum was known in North America only from western Oregon(Barkworth = 2007 and False-Brome Working Group 2006), but in 2003 a small population = was discovered in coastal California (San Mateo County) and in 2007 it = was discovered in southwestern Washington (Skamania County, Cowlitz = County). In Washington State it is classified as a Class A Weed = requiring eradication (Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board 2010) = and it is tracked in California (California Invasive Plant Council 2010) = . With the discovery of this species on Vancouver Island, it appears = that it is continuing to spread throughout the Pacific Northwest and = threaten native species and ecosystems.=20 IDENTIFYING FEATURES=20 This is a large and relatively distinctive grass, and is unlike any = other native or naturalized grass in British Columbia. It is a perennial = and loosely cespitose species, with erect or ascending culms reaching a = height of 120 cm or more. The nodes are pubescent (the best = identification character of sterile plants!), and the broad (5-12 mm), = flat, lax leaves are sparsely pilose on both surfaces. The racemes are = suberect to pendent, and contain 3-12 rather distant spikelets arising = directly from the rachis on short (<2 mm) pedicels. The spikelets are = large (2-3 cm in total length), terete, and contain 6-16 (rarely more) = florets. The glumes are unequal, acute, and usually pubescent, with the = lower glumes 6-9 mm long and the upper glumes 8-11 mm long. The lemmas = are 6-12 mm in length, lanceolate, and sparsely hairy on the backs, with = straight or weakly flexuous awns 7-15 mm in length.=20 At first glance, _Brachypodium sylvaticum_ is most reminiscent of the = widespread and common _Bromus vulgaris_ (Hook.) Shear, particularly in = the pendent inflorescence, overall size of the plant, and appearance of = the spikelets. In _Brachypodium_, the spikelets arise singly from the = rachis and are on very short pedicels. _Bromus vulgaris_, in comparison, = has a branched inflorescence with the spikelets at relatively long = pedicels. This allows for relatively easy identification. In fact, this = species is so distinctive that the population on Vancouver Island was = first noticed from a moving vehicle!=20 IMPACTS OF _BRACHYPODIUM SYLVATICUM_ ON NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS _Brachypodium sylvaticum_ is capable of completely dominating the = understory of forests as well as open habitats such as meadows, = grasslands, and fields, to the exclusion of almost all competing species = (both native and exotic). It has a very wide ecological amplitude, = especially with respect to light availability, and survives equally well = in both dim forest understories as well as the full sun of open = habitats. It produces copious amounts of =E2=80=9Cseeds=E2=80=9D which = are easily spread through a variety of means. Long-distance seed = dispersal is usually associated with logging activities, roadside = maintenance, and recreational activities (hiking, camping, etc.), while = a large proportion of short-distance dispersal occurs via wildlife = (especially ungulates, such as deer and elk). During invasions, it has = been observed to initially disperse along roadsides and forest edges = before moving into undisturbed forests or open habitats. Infestations = grow from =E2=80=9Cweed epicentres=E2=80=9D, which can be either a = cluster of plants or even a single plant. This mode of spreading renders = control extremely difficult, because even single missed plants can act = as new epicentres for infestation after control efforts have ceased. The = species is of poor palatability for wildlife, and is therefore typically = avoided by these species as a food source. Finally, the dense layers of = thatch that build up in areas of infestation may also alter fire regimes = and increase the risk and rate of spread of wildfires.=20 METHODS OF CONTROL Once established, this species is exceedingly difficult to control. = Herbicides (e.g., glyphosate/Roundup), which are usually applied in late = summer or fall, have proven to be moderately effective in some = environments, but their use near waterways and in sensitive ecosystems = is not ideal. Manual control methods, including mowing and burning, = appear to be ineffective, as does hand removal of individual plants = (except in very small patches). Hand removal is further complicated by = the ability of this species to regenerate from even small root fragments = that might remain in the soil.=20 Although no non-chemical treatments have been found to be effective in = battling this species when used in isolation, a combination of = non-chemical methods (e.g., mowing, hand pulling) with chemical = application has shown some successes. For example, combining a = multi-year mowing regime (mowing in early July) with fall herbicide = treatment has shown to be relatively successful in exhausting the seed = bank while continuously killing the mature and immature plants. However, = given the costs and effort associated with these treatments (especially = for large infestations), preventive measures such as cleaning footware = and clothing after visiting areas with known infestations are likely the = best method for limiting its spread in the Pacific Northwest. Overall, = it appears that containment of known infestations is the best solution = given our current understanding of the control of this species. REFERENCES Barkworth, M.E. 2007. _Brachypodium_. Pages 187-192 in Barkworth M.E., K.M. Capels, S. Long, = L.K. Anderton and M.B. Piep, eds. _Flora of North America, Volume 24, = Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, Part 1_. Oxford = University Press, New York. California Invasive Plant Council. 2010.=20 _Brachypodium sylvaticum_ (slender false-brome). http://www.cal-ipc.org/ip/management/plant_profiles/Brachypodium_sylvatic= um.php =20 False-brome Working Group. 2003.=20 Invasive Plant Alert =E2=80=93 False-brome (_Brachypodium sylvaticum_).=20 Available at http://appliedeco.org/invasive-species-resources/FBWG =20 Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. 2010. _2010 Weed List_.=20 http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/documents/weed%20lists/State_Weed_List_2010.pdf=20 EVERLASTING THORN (_PYRACANTHA COCCINEA_), ANOTHER WOODY INVASIVE FOR = ONTARIO? From: Paul M. Catling (1) and Michael J. Oldham (2) (1)Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environmental Health, Biodiversity, = Saunders Bldg., Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C6 = Canada catlingp@agr.gc.ca=20 (2) Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre, Ministry of Natural = Resources, Peterborough, Ontario. michael.oldham@ontario.ca=20 No species of _Pyracantha_ is listed as an escape from cultivation in = Ontario (Catling 1997, Newmaster et al. 1998). However, _Pyracantha = coccinea_ M. Roemer, was reported by Gregory (2003) from the Niagara = Gorge, and later by Oldham (2010) as a rare escape in the Niagara region = on the basis of Gregory=E2=80=99s report. A specimen supporting these = reports, determined by P.W. Ball and confirmed by us, is located at = TRTE. The specimen is without fruit and cannot be determined to variety The next escaped plant of _Pyracantha coccinea_ was found approx. 16 km = to the west. This 0.5 m tall shrub occurred in vacant land with a = variety of weedy plants including _Centaurea_ spp. in gravelly soil at = the St. Catherines train station. The site appears to have always been a = train yard and the plants in the immediate vicinity are aggressive weeds = and well known escapes, with no plants that persist after cultivation. = The circumstantial evidence thus strongly suggested that the shrub was = an escape from cultivation. This fruiting specimen was identified as = var. _lalandii_ Dipp (see below). On 28 February 2010 when the shrub = was noticed it had characteristic dark greenish-red leaves and orange = fruit making it very conspicuous in white snow. At a distance it = appeared to be a scraggly Red Cedar (_Juniperus virginiana_). Since = there was only a single plant in a habitat destined for development in = the near future (Stationmaster, pers. comm.) it did not appear to be a = serious threat. However the early stages of spread of this low shrub = could easily go undetected. The abundant fruit and thorny stems would = likely provide some advantage to a spreading invasive and dispersal by = birds could enable rapid and long distance colonization. DISTRIBUTION Everlasting Thorn was reported (sub _Cotoneaster pyracantha_ (L.) Spach) = by Fernald (1950) to be escaped from cultivation in the eastern US north = to Pennsylvania (Fernald 1950). It is now well established in the south = (Nesom 2010) and also known to be naturalized in New York (Nesom 2010) = and has been reported as naturalized in British Columbia, first by = Scoggan (1978) and more recently by Douglas et al. (1999). The native = range extends from southern Europe to western Asia and it is naturalized = in Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan (Nesom 2010). =20 _Pyracantha coccinea_ is available in many nurseries in southern Ontario = and is reported as capable of growth to hardiness zone 6, but some = cultivars are listed as hardy north to and including zone 4. It is = recommended as a hedge, ground cover and for general landscaping. Among = the advantages listed are long-lasting attractive berries, = trespass-inhibiting thorns, and twigs that resist consumption by deer. =20 THREATS With climate warming it is conceivable that this southern naturalized = plant will begin to escape from cultivation more widely in Canada. This = may be hastened by the increasing urbanization of rural areas which = leads to a strong development of horticultural flora, a major source of = alien and invasive plants. Although the berries are sometimes reported to be attractive to birds, = overripe _Pyracantha_ berries cause disorientation in waxwings leading = to excessive mortality (Fitzwater 1988). In the south, the naturalized = plants sometimes form impenetrable thickets that exclude other species = (M. Klyn, Texas Parks and Wildlife, pers. comm.). IDENTIFICATION _Pyracantha coccinea_ is easily distinguished from the somewhat similar = species of Cotoneaster by its crenate leaf margins. Other useful = identification features are the persistent leaves, small fruits (ca. 1 = cm) in short, broad more or less flat-topped clusters, 5 connate = pistils, 5 nutlets each with two fertile ovules, and leafy thorns. = _Pyracantha coccinea_ differs from other escaped and commonly cultivated = species of _Pyracantha_ in North America by in its glabrous leaves with = crenate margins and pointed tips (Nesom 2010). The var. lalandii = apparently differs from the typical variety in being more vigorous and = hardier and has less deeply crenate leaves and larger fruit that is = orange-red instead of bright red (Rehder 1937, Bailey 1949). The = relationship between this and _Pyracantha crenulara_ (D. Don) M. Roemer = var. _crenulata_ (see Ku and Sponberg 2003) is unclear.=20 NOMENCLATURAL SUMMARY _Pyracantha coccinea_ M. Roemer, _Fam. Nat. Syn. Monogr._ 3 : 219. 1847. The name is conserved (nom, cons.) against the heterotypic synonym = (Vienna ICBN, Art. 14.4 & App. IV) _Mespilus pauciflora_ Poir., nom. = rej. (Mu=C3=B1oz and Aedo 1998, Brummit 2000). nom. nov. for _Mespilus = pyracantha_ L.=20 Synonyms include: _Mespilus pyracantha_ L., _Sp. Pl._ : 478. 1753. =20 _Crataegus pyracantha_ (L.) Medik, _Gesch. Bot._ 84. 1793. _Mespilus pauciflora_ Poir. in Lamarck, _Encycl._ 4 : 441. 1798.=20 _Cotoneaster pyracantha_ (L.) Spach, _Hist. Veg. Phan._ 2: 78. 1834.=20 See also (Mu=C3=B1oz and Aedo 1998) SPECIMEN EXAMINED: ONTARIO: Regional Municipality of Niagara: vacant = ground at St. Catherines train station, 43.14849=C2=B0N, = -79.25839=C2=B0W, P.M. Catling, B. Kostiuk, 28 Feb. 2010 (DAO); = limestone ledge along the Niagara Gorge at Sir Adam Beck Generating = Station, (approx. 43.13654=C2=B0N, -79.05082=C2=B0W, accuracy likely = correct to within 2 km) D.R. Gregory, 4 June 2003 (TRTE). =20 LITERATURE CITED Bailey, L.H. 1949.=20 _Manual of cultivated plants =E2=80=93 most commonly grown in the United = States and Canada._ The MacMillan Company, New York. 1116 p. Brummitt, R. K. 2000.=20 Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 49. _Taxon_ 49: 268. Catling, P.M. 1997. The problem of invading alien trees and shrubs: some observations in = Ontario and a Canadian checklist.=20 _Canadian Field-Naturalist_ 111: 338-342. Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger & J. Pojar. 1999.=20 _Illustrated flora of British Columbia, vol. 4, Dicotyledons = (Orobanchaceae through Rubiaceae)._ British Columbia Ministry of = Forests, Victoria, BC. 427 p. Fernald, M.L. 1950.=20 _Gray=E2=80=99s manual of Botany, 8th ed._ American Book Company, New = York. 1632 p. Fitzwater, W.D. 1988.=20 _Solutions to urban bird problems._ Proceedings of the thirteenth = vertebrate pest conference, University of Nebraska. Pp. 254-259.=20 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/vpcthirteen/52 =20 Gregory, D. 2003.=20 _Sir Adam Beck Natural Areas Survey._ Ontario Power Generation.=20 Ku T. and S.A. Spongberg. 2003 (online).=20 _Pyracantha._ _Flora of China_ 9: 108 - Page 108. Science Press = (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press.=20 Online at = http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=3D2&taxon_id=3D127748 =20 Mu=C3=B1oz G. F. and C. Aedo. 1998. (1335) Proposal to conserve the name _Pyracantha coccinea_ against = _Mespilus pauciflora_ (Rosaceae). _Taxon_ 47:171=E2=80=93172. Nesom, G. 2010.=20 _Pyracantha_ (Rosaceae) naturalized in Texas and the southeastern United = States. _Phytoneuron_ 2010 =E2=80=93 2: 1-6.=20 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/PDF/PDF09/Pyracantha.PDF=20 Newmaster, S. G., A. Lehela, P.W.C. Uhlig, S. McMurray, & M.J. Oldham. = 1998.=20 _Ontario_ plant list. Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario = Ministry of Natural Resources (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario), Forest = Research Information Paper 123.=20 Oldham, M. J. 2010. _Checklist of the vascular plants of Niagara Regional Municipality._ = Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. 212 p.=20 Rehder, A. 1937. _Manual of cultivated trees and shrubs hardy in North America._ = MacMillan Co., New York. 930 p.=20 Scoggan, H.J. 1978. =20 _The flora of Canada, part 3 =E2=80=93 Dicotyledoneae (Saururaceae to = Violaceae)_. National Museum of Natural Sciences Publications in Botany = 7(3): 547-1115.=20 NEW FLORA OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND From: Adolf Ceska aceska@telus.net=20 Sell, Peter & Gina Murrell. 2009. _Flora of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 3: Mimosaceae =E2=80=93 = Lentibulariaceae._=20 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. xxvii+595 p. ISBN = 978-0-521-55337-7 [hard cover] US$260.00 Ordering information: = http://www.cambridge.org/series/sSeries.asp?code=3DFGBI =20 >From the cover: =E2=80=9CPlanned in =EF=AC=81ve volumes, this critical =EF=AC=82ora = provides a de=EF=AC=81nitive account of the native species, naturalised species, frequent garden escapes and casuals = found in the British Isles. Full keys and descriptions will enable the user to = name all plants occurring in the wild, plus some ornamental trees and shrubs. For = the =EF=AC=81rst time detailed accounts of all the large apomictic genera = are given and many infraspeci=EF=AC=81c variants included. Each species entry begins with = the accepted Latin name, synonyms and the common English name. A detailed description = follows, including information on =EF=AC=82owering period, pollination and = chromosome number. Separate descriptions are given for infraspeci=EF=AC=81c taxa. = Information on the status, ecology and distribution (including worldwide distribution) of the = species and infraspeci=EF=AC=81c taxa is also given.=E2=80=9D =20 The work is an outstanding continuation of the modern British floras = that started (at least for me) with Clapham et. al. (1952) and followed = with Stace (1991, 1997). While Stace=E2=80=99s two editions omitted = apomictic species, many of the infraspecific taxa and most of the = hybrids, this flora deals with them in full. With full treatments of = infraspecific taxa, Sell & Murrell=E2=80=99s Flora reminds me of = _Rothmaler=E2=80=99s Kritischer Band_ of the _Exkursionsflora of = Deutschland_ (see Jager & Werner 2005). There the apomictic taxa were = dealt with differently in the various =E2=80=9CBand # 4=E2=80=9D = editions, but that=E2=80=99s always better than to ignore them. =20 =20 In the Acknowledgements Dr. Sell mentions the inspiration = Stace=E2=80=99s flora had on him. He also hints that a new edition of = _Hybridization and the Flora of British Isles_ is being prepared a group = of botanists under the direction of C.A. Stace. This volume is a wonderful, user-friendly work. Treatments of apomictic = taxa and infraspecific variation and an extensive bibliography makes = this work indispensible not only for the British Isles, but also for = other regions with circumpolar species or with European introductions. = It is a pity that the high price makes it out-of-reach to many of the = students who could profit from this scholarly work. Sell and Murrell's book is the third volume of the five-volume _Flora = of Great Britain and Ireland._ Like the five-volume Hitchcock, et al., = _Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest_, Cambridge Press has been = publishing their volumes backwards, from the fifth one to the first. The = first (or last?) three volumes have been published so far. =20 =20 Here are the published titles in the series: 1997: Volume 5, Butomaceae-Orchidaceae (ISBN 978-0-521-55339-1) = =E2=80=93 28 families, 233 genera, 769 species, 93 subspecies, 148 = varieties, 22 formae and 182 hybrids 2006: Volume 4, Campanulaceae-Asteraceae (ISBN 978-0-521-55338-4) = =E2=80=93 7 families, 146 genera, 1098 species, 130 subspecies, 162 = varieties, 27 formae and 51 hybrids 2009: Volume 3, Mimosaceae-Lentibulariaceae (ISBN 978-0-521-55337-7) = =E2=80=93 59 families, 299 genera, 996 species, 187 subspecies, 308 = varieties, 102 formae and 235 hybrids The two volumes not yet published are: Volume 2: Capparaceae-Grossulariaceae (ISBN 978-0-521-55336-0) Volume 1: Lycopodiaceae-Salicaceae (ISBN 978-0-521-55335-3) To view some introductory chapters go to http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/53384/frontmatter/9780521553384_fron= tmatter.pdf=20 References Clapham, A.R., T.G. Tutin & E.F. Warburg. 1952. _Flora of the British Isles._ Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Jager, E.J. & K. Werner (2005):=20 _Rothmaler - Exkursionsflora von Deutschland, Band 4, = Gef=C3=A4=C3=9Fpflanzen, Kritischer Band._ Ed. 10. =E2=80=93 Spektrum = Akad. Verlag, M=C3=BCnchen. Stace, C. A. 1991.=20 _New Flora of the British Isles._ Cambridge University Press, = Cambridge, UK. Stace, C. A. 1997.=20 _New Flora of the British Isles._ 2nd edition. Cambridge University = Press, Cambridge, UK. ________________________________________________________________ =20 Subscriptions: http://victoria.tc.ca/mailman/listinfo/ben-l=20 Send submissions to aceska@telus.net=20 BEN is archived at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/=20 ________________________________________________________________