Interest In Botany Research Articles

Roadside wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains

The surprise of the Southern Great is color. From sheltered forest edges to open expanses of prairie, the floor of the Great is dotted with wildflowers in a paintbox of brilliant hues. Color is also the best starting point for identifying wildflowers, and this new field guide brims with color. It focuses on 239 species those species common enough to be called roadside wildflowers and includes 260 of the best color photographs available. To make identification easier for the nonbotanist, the guide is organized by color and then, within each color section, by blooming season. Each of the 239 species is pictured in full color and accompanied by a wealth of information: common and scientific names, a habitat and distribution summary, notes on economic uses and related species, and a concise, nontechnical plant description. (Unavoidable technical terms are defined in a brief glossary.) Many species accounts also include line drawings of fruits or other distinguishing plant characters. Simple keys are provided to allow readers with more training or interest in botany to identify plants by their characteristics. Although it's botanically accurate enough for the most seasoned botanist, Roadside Wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains is written and designed for nonprofessionals, vacationers, wildflower enthusiasts, weekend botanists, and anyone else eager to discover the secrets of the Great Plains.

Agaricales of Brazil Described by J. P. F. C. Montague

Summary. Forty-five species of agaricoid fungi described from Brazil by J. P. F. C. Montagne, based upon field-notes and water-colour illustrations provided by H.-A. Weddell, are considered and their taxonomic position established. Revised descriptions and illustrations are provided. Hugues d'Algernon Weddell was born at Birch House, Painswick, northeast of Stroud in Gloucestershire, England on 22 June 1819. At the age of five years, he moved to Boulogne, France, and his eventual interest in botany led him to Paris where he studied under A.-L. de Jussieu, at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. In 1843 he departed on a collecting expedition to Brazil, where he gathered 3316 numbers before returning to France in 1848. A detailed account on the life of Weddell was provided by Fournier (1880). Amongst the archival material relating to Weddell (mss 221) and deposited in the Laboratoire de Cryptogamie, Musdum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris is a volume of excellent water-colour paintings accompanied by surprisingly detailed descriptive notes written in Latin, based on agaricoid basidiomycetes collected in Brazil. Most relate to material from the states of Goias, Matto Grosso and Minas Gerais, some from Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Sio Paulo, and a few from outside Brazil, namely Bolivia and Paraguay. Montagne (1856) was able to describe, with this material, a number of new taxa although unfortunately there is no evidence of any specimens having been preserved. The plate numbers cited by Montagne in the published account relate to the original paintings, the latter being the holotype material. Weddell included some descriptive information which was not used by Montagne, and the following account provides enhanced descriptions, with the unpublished illustrations here reproduced as line drawings. Where possible, some indication is given on the taxonomic assignment of the species.

Terrariums: Heightening Student Interest in Botany

Research Article| January 01 1978 Terrariums: Heightening Student Interest in Botany Terri K. Clark Terri K. Clark Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar The American Biology Teacher (1978) 40 (1): 49–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/4446135 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Terri K. Clark; Terrariums: Heightening Student Interest in Botany. The American Biology Teacher 1 January 1978; 40 (1): 49–50. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/4446135 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentThe American Biology Teacher Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1978 National Association of Biology Teachers Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

The Svedberg, 1884-1971

The (Theodor) Svedberg, the only child of Elias Svedberg and Augusta Alstermark, was born on 30 August 1884, at Fleräng in the parish of Valbo near Gävle, Sweden. His father was manager at different ironworks in Sweden and Norway, and the family lived at various places in Scandinavia. From his father, who often took him on excursions, he inherited his love for nature and his deep interest in botany. He spent some years, 1900-1903, at the well-known grammar school in Örebro, Karolinska Läroverket, and had there two prominent and understanding teachers, K. Melander and E. Alderz, who allowed him to study by himself in the physical and chemical laboratories of the school in the afternoons after the ordinary lessons. He built a Marconi-transmitter and a Tesla-transformer and arranged some public demonstrations including wireless telegraphy between the two buildings of the school. Later this experience became useful in his first experiments to prepare colloids by oscillating discharges. He was thrilled by all the new discoveries and inventions in physics and chemistry. This made him finally decide to study chemistry and not biology, especially botany, although this subject also had his intense interest.

Alma Gracey Stokey (1877-1968)

Alma Gracey Stokey will be remembered for many things, but perhaps most especially for her enduring interest in the ferns and for her pioneering work on fern gametophytes. In recognition of this outstanding work, the American Fern Society, in 1953, made her its tenth Honorary Member and the first woman to receive this honor. Alma Stokey w:a. born June 17, 1877, in Canton, Ohio, the second of five children of Margaret Purvines and Charles Frederick Stokey. She grew up in rolling, fertile eastern Ohio, which may explain why she was so content to spend most of her life in comparable New England. After High School in Canton, she taught in a public school before entering Oberlin College, then interrupted her studies by teaching to finance her college course, and took her B.A. at Oberlin in 1904, where she remained as an assistant in botany (1904-6). Her interests at college seem to have been as varied as in her later life. She sang in a choral group, as she was to do in others later. Not an athlete, with no hope of making a team, she nevertheless played basketball because practice players were needed. She was interested in foreign languages, and became proficient in Latin, German and French. Her interest in botany began under Dr. Frederick Grover, one of Oberlin's outstanding teachers. She attained her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago under the tutelage of Dr. John M. Coulter and Dr. W. J. G. Land, and published her first botanical articles The roots of Lycopodium pithyoides in 1907 and The anatomy of Isoetes in 1909. In 1908 she came to Mount Holyoke College as an instructor in botany, became an associate professor in 1911 and a full professor in 1916,

Faustino Miranda, 1905–1964

On December 17, 1964, Faustino Miranda died in Mexico City at the age of 59. His death was particularly tragic since it occurred at the prime of his life when he was working to complete a scientific study which was to have been one of his finest botanical contributions. Botanists, not only in Mexico but elsewhere, were eagerly awaiting this work. Faustino Antonio Miranda Gonzalez was born February 19, 1905, in the city of Gijon, Spain, of a family which was already connected with the academic world. His father was a professor of mathematics and the author of texts which were used widely in this field. Miranda attended primary school in Gijon and there also obtained the bachelor's degree at the "Instituto Jovellanos" in 1920, winning the Jovellanos-Habana prize as the best student in his class. Much earlier, however, he had realized that his vocation lay in the field of natural sciences. The proximity to the sea and to the Cordillera Cantaibrica apparently exerted a strong influence upon the sensitive character of the young Miranda. He spent most of his free time either at the nearby seashore or in the mountains near his home. It was during this period that he seems to have developed a keen sense of observation which he maintained throughout his lifetime. In 1921, Miranda moved to Madrid to enroll in the School of Sciences at the Universidad Central. He received the licenciado degree in natural sciences in 1925 and continued his studies for the doctorate. His interest in botany prevailed and he decided to prepare his doctoral dissertation on the algae of the Cantabrian coast. To this end he received financial support from the "Junta para Ampliacion de Estudios e Investigaciones Cientificas de Madrid." As a result of his studies he was awarded highest honors by his university in 1929. After this, Miranda stayed on for three more years working as a fellow at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid. In 1931, he was given a fellowship for six months' study at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. During these three years Miranda published eleven original works, including one based on his doctoral dissertation. In 1930 he was named assistant in the Department of Science at one of the institutes of secondary education in Madrid. In 1932 he was granted the doctor's degree, and at the same time the Ministry of Public Education and Fine Arts gave him the rank of professor (Catedraitico Numerario). On obtaining these documents Miranda left Madrid, teaching for several years in other cities. The lack of positions in Madrid no doubt contributed to these peregrinations, but one must also keep in mind his strong attraction for provincial life and especially his desire to be near the sea, which was his major focus of interest during these years. Miranda achieved by competitive examination the position of professor in the Institutes of Secondary Education at Lugo (1932), Pontevedra (1933), and Gijon (1935). While he was in Pontevedra the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid put him in charge of its Laboratory of Marine Biology of Gilicia, at Marin (Pontevedra). His teaching duties limited his scientific productivity severely, al-

Ernest John Maskell, 1895-1958

Ernest John Maskell was born in Cambridge on 1 February 1895. He went to the Cambridge County School (now Cambridgeshire High School for Boys) with a scholarship. His brothers recall that he was very studious, generally preferring a book to games, in which, however, he played his part. His studious inclination, aided by a retentive memory, reaped its reward of prizes. He became a school prefect, in which capacity he showed a quality he retained throughout his life: a marked ability to get on with his juniors, his equals, and his seniors. He had the privilege of being taught by Dr M. Dawson who later became H.M. Inspector of Schools. She encouraged and stimulated his early interest in botany, and Maskell always, and rightly, held her in high regard. When he reached the Sixth Form, or a little later, he, with nine others, formed ‘The Honourable Order of the Upper Ten’ whose motto was ‘Speak truth, live pure, right wrong, follow the Christ the King’. One of their rules was ‘That it be incumbent upon every Knight to correspond with every other and with the Rev. C. J. N. Child at least every Christmas’. Many did so maintain contact. Another rule was ‘That the Order continue until the death of the last Knight’—Maskell’s was the first death. He maintained his connexion with his old school by serving on the Old Boys Society, of which he became President. He was also, for a long time, one of the members of the Governing Body of the school appointed by Cambridge University. At the age of eighteen he went to Emmanuel College as an Entrance Scholar. In 1915 he was placed in the First Class of Part I of the Natural Sciences Tripos and was awarded the Frank Smart Prize in Botany. At this stage his academic studies were interrupted by his joining the Friends’ Ambulance Unit. In this service he formed a close friendship with a Fellow of his college, Mr L. H. G. Greenwood, who writes: ‘I first came to know him when he was an undergraduate here before 1914, but I remember little about that time. We became close friends during the war at the military hospital in York, mainly staffed by the Friends’ Ambulance Unit, of which we were both members. In the often trying conditions of service there, his unselfish and co-operative friendliness, together with his complete efficiency, did much to make things go smoothly and happily. Later, for a shorter time, we were together at the hospital in Courtrai also run by the Unit, and the same remarks apply to his service there.’

In Memoriam Philotheus Boehner, O. F. M. 1901-1955

IN MEMORIAM PHILOTHEUS BOEHNER, 0. F. M. 1901-1955 VlTTith a deep sorrow and a sense of irreplaceable loss, the members " of the Franciscan Institute announce the passing of their co-founder and first Director, Rev. Fr. Philotheus Boehner, O. F. M. Coronary thrombosis ended the earthly life of Fr. Philotheus shortly after midnight , Sunday, May 22, 1955, terminating a great scholarly career. Heinrich Boehner was born February 17, 1901, in Lichtenau, Westfalia . He entered the Franciscan Order in 1920, becoming a member of what is now Holy Cross (Saxonia) Province in Germany, and receiving the name Philotheus. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1927. At the time of his ordination he was so ill with tuberculosis that his life was despaired of. However, it was precisely during the long months of rest as a sick man that he began his career as a medieval scholar, for it was then that he translated E. Gilson's work on Saint Bonaventure, and despite many difficulties had the translation published under the title Der heilige Bonaventura, Hellerau, 1929. Against all expectations Fr. Philotheus completely recovered his health and was sent to the University of Münster (1929—1933) to work for the doctorate in biology. During this time he completed the translation of another book of Gilson's, Introduction à l'étude de St. Augustin, under the title: Der heilige Augustin, Eine Einführung in seine Lehre, Hellerau, 1930. In 1933 Fr. Philotheus received the doctor's degree and published his dissertation, Über die thermonastischen Blütenbewegungen bei der Tulpe, in Zeitschrift der Botanik, 26 (1933) 65—107. Although later it was philosophy that absorbed most of his time, he kept up his interest in botany and was becoming well known in the United States as a bryologist. His collection of mosses, gathered in the vicinity of Cattaraugus County, New York, and his articles in Saint Bonaventure's Science Studies, are noteworthy contributions to bryology . Occasionally he lectured in botany for the biology department at Saint Bonaventure University. 8 Franciscan Studies??? 102In Memoriam From 1933 to 1939 he was lector of Philosophy for his province, and spent some time in such centers of scholarly activity as Quaracchi, Rome, and Paris. In 1936 he completed the translation of a third book of Gilson's, under the title of Die Mystik des heiligen Bernhard von Clairvaux, Wittlich, 1936. These translations naturally brought about a close friendship between Fr. Philotheus and Professor Gilson, and eventually resulted in their collaboration on Die Geschichte der christlichen Philosophie, published in Paderborn, 1937. In 1954 this work appeared in its third edition under the title Christliche Philosophie von ihren Anfängen bis Nikolaus von Cues. Early in 1939 Fr. Philotheus was invited by Professor Gilson to lecture in palaeography at the Pontifical Institute in Toronto. When World War II broke out in September, 1939, his friends advised him to leave Canada. At the same time Fr. Thomas Plassmann, O. F. M., then president of Saint Bonaventure College, invited him to give lectures in Franciscan philosophy, and in the summer of 1940 Fr. Philotheus began the work that led to the founding of the Franciscan Institute. From that time on he remained at Saint Bonaventure, gradually building up the Institute into a centre of international Franciscan scholarship. In 1948 the Institute was formally established as a Studium Generale in virtue of the approval of its statutes by the Definitorium Generale in Rome (November 15, 1948), and it was primarily because of the Institute that Saint Bonaventure College was raised to status of University in 1951. Fr. Philotheus was an excellent lecturer in logic, in the philosophy of Saint Augustine and Saint Bonaventure, in epistemology, and especially in the philosophy of William Ockham. His penetrating and challenging observations, his sure grasp of the subject under discussion, and above all his placid and subtly humorous presentation of disconcerting facts gave his lectures a distinction and charm that never failed to impress those who had the ability to follow them. It is interesting to note that one of his first students is the now famous Trappist-author Thomas Merton. Fr. Philotheus was known primarily, however, through his writings. He contributed numerous articles to...

Frederick Tom Brooks, 1882-1952

Frederick Tom Brooks, Emeritus Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, died at his home in Cambridge on 11 March 1952. A West- countryman by birth and upbringing, he never lost his innate interest in the countryside or his love of Somerset, and his robust figure, purposeful gait, marked west-country ‘burr’, and infectious, hearty laugh remained an outward sign of this to the end. Brooks was born at Wells on 17 December 1882, the youngest in a family of five children, three of them girls. At the age of twelve he entered Sexey’s School, Bruton, and there the traits that later typified his life were either implanted in him or were brought to light under the influence of a youthful headmaster, Mr W. A. Knight, who was to prove himself so truly a pioneer of nature study and of science teaching in secondary schools. The school, like its headmaster, was young—it had been opened only three years previously— but new ideas were already being put to the test. Botany rambles, for instance, formed part and parcel of the school curriculum, as it was right they should do in a district so richly endowed with a wealth and variety of flora. Small wonder, therefore, that inspired and guided by an unusual headmaster, Brooks became the first of a long succession of pupils from the school who subsequently made their mark in the botanical world. He was never slow to attribute his abiding interest in botany and his ardour as a field botanist to this early encouragement. Knight was, in fact, the first of three men who profoundly influenced his interests and career, for it was not only a love of nature that was stimulated in him during his schooldays. He, like all his fellow pupils, was taught, among other things, not only to work but also how to work, even at unpalatable tasks; to play as well as work with zest; to overcome difficulties and become self-reliant; and to be thorough: and these are the qualities, together with determination and resolution, that later stood out in Brooks for all to see.

Fantasi och verklighet på de äldre Mariebergsfajanserna

Summary The decorations on the faience from the two Swedish potteries Rorstrand and Marieberg are quite dissimilar. While the former has for a long time adopted the baroque design with ‘Indian flowers”, which is found on imported Chinese and Japanese porcelain, the latter launched right from the be‐ginning (1758) the so‐called “Deutsche Blumen”. The form and decor of the earlier Marieberg faience in particular have, therefore, a more strongly na‐turalistic strain, as has often been emphasized. The artistic leader of the factory, J. L. E. Ehrenreich, has been given the credit for this naturalism, which has been taken as an indication of his great interest in botany—an interest which was, moreover, not unusual in the Linnean epoch. There has also been a strong inclination to see behind this naturalism real‐life studies from the gardens of that time. While fruits and birds conform fairly closely to Nature, a close study of the different flowers which appear on the oldest faience pieces (1758–66) re‐veals th...

Prof. John Borg

THE death, on May 4, is reported of Prof. John Borg, the most renowned of Maltese botanists. He was formerly superintendent of agriculture, professor of natural history in the University, and director of the Botanic Garden in Malta. From these official posts he retired in 1933; but up to his death he maintained his interests in botany and agriculture, and he held the title of emeritus professor of natural history in the Royal University.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew : New Director Prof. E. J. Salisbury, C.B.E., F.R.S.

THE appointment of Prof. E. J. Salisbury as director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew will give general satisfaction. Like one of the most successful of its directors, Sir William Thiselton Dyer, Prof. Salisbury began his career as a teacher of botany, having held with distinction the Quain professorship of botany in ”University College, London, for many years. His earlier interests in botany were in the field of plant ecology, to which he made a number of first-rate contributions. His study of the vegetation of Blakeney Point, Norfolk, led him to take a special interest in the distribution of plants in the neighbouring parts of the country and resulted in an excellent account of the East Anglian flora published in the Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalist Society. His work on the distribution of plants directed his attention to the gradual disappearance from some of our counties of many interesting plants, and his account of the “Waning Flora of Britain” expresses his concern in the matter, and has caused him to take an active part in the preservation of the flora of Britain.

Calvin Henry Kauffman

Calvin Henry Kauffman was born March 1, 1869, on a farm near Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Here his close contact with nature early developed an interest in botany. While still in prepratory school he studied the flora about Lebanon and started his herbarium of flowering plants. However, during his undergraduate years at Harvard, he specialized in languages and devoted but little attention to science, taking three courses in chemistry and one in botany. He received the A.B. degree from Harvard in 1895.

Calvin Henry Kauffman

Calvin Henry Kauffman was born March 1, 1869, on a farm near Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Here his close contact with nature early developed an interest in botany. While still in prepratory school he studied the flora about Lebanon and started his herbarium of flowering plants. However, during his undergraduate years at Harvard, he specialized in languages and devoted but little attention to science, taking three courses in chemistry and one in botany. He received the A.B. degree from Harvard in 1895.

Flower and Grass Calendars for Children

THE idea of making use of children's ability for committing verse to memory to introduce a few facts regarding the time of flowering and habits of plants, and thereby to stimulate their interest in botany, is commendable. The stanzas are short, and each is prefaced by a heading. There are four objects to be sought in such a calendar—the first to get true measure and cadence, the second to give good rhyme, the third to choose the correct month of flowering, and the fourth to introduce any striking facts regarding the character or habitats of the plants. The weakness of Miss Fry's verses lies chiefly in the measure, which is apt to be halt or forced; in this respect the grass calendar is more pleasing. As pointed out, the stanzas may and should be altered to suit the flowers in different localities.

Abbildungen der in Deutschland und den angrenzenden Gebieten vorkommenden Grundformen der Orchideen-arten

THIS is a series of sixty coloured plates representing the orchids which occur in Central Europe. The introduction and the text are from the pen of Dr. Kränzlin, who tells us at the outset that the book is not intended for professed botanists, but for those who take an interest in botany, or who possess a love of flowers. For this reason it is, we suppose, that the minutiæ of anatomical structure and the details of physiology are but lightly touched on. The reader, however, has put before him in a very clear way the principal points in the morphology of this most interesting group, together with an account of the conformation of each species..