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Haloph, a Database of Salt Tolerant Plants of the World:
Phytochemlstry.
Vol. 30, No. 4, p. 1355. 1991
Pergamon Pressplc Printedin
Gear
Britam.
SHORT
BOOK REVIEWS
Plant Pathology in Agriculture: by D. PARRY. University Press, Cambridge, 1990. 385 pp. $90.00. lSBN O-521-36351-9.
often very tentative. There is much emphasis today on the medicinal plants of the tropics but it is apparent from this book that those of our own temperate regions still need much further study.
This is two books in one-an introduction to plant pathology and disease control in about 150 pages; followed by a survey of the principal diseases of the major crop plants of European agriculture. Cereals get the fullest treatment with 64 pages on their diseases, followed by the potato (38 pages) and oil seed rape (25 pages) while peas, soya beans, sugar beet and maize all rate some dozen pages. Disease symptoms, e.g. of potato blight, can be recognised from black and white photographs and life cycles of micro-organisms are illustrated in appropriate line drawings. There is a glossary of plant pathological terms, 5 pages of references and a good index. Although principally intended for the undergraduate in agriculture, this is a straightforward and readable account for anyone, including phytochemists. who might wish to find out more about the principal diseases of our crop plants and the current methods of control.
Haloph, a Database of Salt Tolerant Plants of the World: by J. A. ARONSONand E. E. WHITEHEAD. Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1989. 75 pp. no price given. This is a booklet recording some 1560 wild species belonging to 550 genera and 117 families which are halophytes. There is some indication of economic uses, salinity tolerances, photosynthetic pathways, together with bibliographic references. This is a useful listing of all the major salt tolerant plants and readers are invited to contribute any further species that should be added.
Planks
Midicinales
des R&ions
Tempkti
by.
L.
BEZANGER-BEAUQUESNE, M. PINKAS, M. TORCK and
F. TROTIN. Second edition, Maloine Publishers, Paris, 1990. 395 pp. price unknown. ISBN 2-224-02009-O. This is an attractive almost coffee table book for the pharmacognosist or phytochemist. Its format (19 x 27 cm) means that the authors are able to describe each medicinal plant on a single page with a line drawing, a botanical description, a list of active principles and uses, an occasional chemical formula and half a dozen references. Some plants merit more space than this, ginkgo, for example receiving a three page entry with 24 references. The entries are by no means comprehensive from the phytochemical viewpoint but at least the major constituents are usually included. The link between the known plant chemistry and pharmaceutical activity is
Economic and Medicinal Plant Research, Volume 4, Plants and Traditional Mediciw: edited by H. WAGNER and N. R. FARNSWORTH.Academic Press, London, 1990. 174 pp. E32.00. ISBN 0-12-730065-l. I must admit a sense of disappointment when picking up this volume to find that it is the Proceedings of a Symposium rather than a series of commissioned reviews, as in previous volumes. Nevertheless this volume does provide an overview of the current status of traditional medicine in a variety of tropical and subtropical countries. Indeed, the chapters range from Panama, Samoa and Mexico in the American sphere, through Ghana in Africa to India, China, Japan and Thailand in Asia. There is an introductory chapter by 0. Akerele from Geneva describing the work of the World Health Organisation does in this area. The final chapter by A. M. Schmidt from Chicago deals with the vexed question of registering medicinally useful plants for over the counter use in the States. The Diatoms, Biology and Morphology of tbe Genera: by F. E. ROUND, R. M. CRAWFORD and D. G. MANN. University Press, Cambridge, 1990.747 pp. $250.00 ISBN O-521-36318-7. Bizarre, enigmatic, arresting, intricate-how else can one describe the fascinating variety of shapes and patterns taken up by these minute organisms which are abundant in all aquatic ecosystems and even occur in a number of terrestrial environments? Leafing through this volume of illustrations from the scanning electron microscope, one is reminded of certain surrealist paintings or the work of abstract artists. Certainly nature is prodigal in the way that carbon and silicon are put together in these astonishing surface patterns. This is clearly a master work having taken 12 years to assemble. After a 130 page general introduction, there follows the generic atlas, each genus receiving a two page spread with a column of description and three columns of micrographs. The book concludes with appendices dealing with the description of new taxa and there are both general and taxonomic indexes. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the phytochemistry of these plants, but almost everything else one could want is included.
School of P lant Sciences, University
1355
of Reading.
JEFFREYB. HARBORNE
Vol. 30, No. 4, p. 1355. 1991
Pergamon Pressplc Printedin
Gear
Britam.
SHORT
BOOK REVIEWS
Plant Pathology in Agriculture: by D. PARRY. University Press, Cambridge, 1990. 385 pp. $90.00. lSBN O-521-36351-9.
often very tentative. There is much emphasis today on the medicinal plants of the tropics but it is apparent from this book that those of our own temperate regions still need much further study.
This is two books in one-an introduction to plant pathology and disease control in about 150 pages; followed by a survey of the principal diseases of the major crop plants of European agriculture. Cereals get the fullest treatment with 64 pages on their diseases, followed by the potato (38 pages) and oil seed rape (25 pages) while peas, soya beans, sugar beet and maize all rate some dozen pages. Disease symptoms, e.g. of potato blight, can be recognised from black and white photographs and life cycles of micro-organisms are illustrated in appropriate line drawings. There is a glossary of plant pathological terms, 5 pages of references and a good index. Although principally intended for the undergraduate in agriculture, this is a straightforward and readable account for anyone, including phytochemists. who might wish to find out more about the principal diseases of our crop plants and the current methods of control.
Haloph, a Database of Salt Tolerant Plants of the World: by J. A. ARONSONand E. E. WHITEHEAD. Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1989. 75 pp. no price given. This is a booklet recording some 1560 wild species belonging to 550 genera and 117 families which are halophytes. There is some indication of economic uses, salinity tolerances, photosynthetic pathways, together with bibliographic references. This is a useful listing of all the major salt tolerant plants and readers are invited to contribute any further species that should be added.
Planks
Midicinales
des R&ions
Tempkti
by.
L.
BEZANGER-BEAUQUESNE, M. PINKAS, M. TORCK and
F. TROTIN. Second edition, Maloine Publishers, Paris, 1990. 395 pp. price unknown. ISBN 2-224-02009-O. This is an attractive almost coffee table book for the pharmacognosist or phytochemist. Its format (19 x 27 cm) means that the authors are able to describe each medicinal plant on a single page with a line drawing, a botanical description, a list of active principles and uses, an occasional chemical formula and half a dozen references. Some plants merit more space than this, ginkgo, for example receiving a three page entry with 24 references. The entries are by no means comprehensive from the phytochemical viewpoint but at least the major constituents are usually included. The link between the known plant chemistry and pharmaceutical activity is
Economic and Medicinal Plant Research, Volume 4, Plants and Traditional Mediciw: edited by H. WAGNER and N. R. FARNSWORTH.Academic Press, London, 1990. 174 pp. E32.00. ISBN 0-12-730065-l. I must admit a sense of disappointment when picking up this volume to find that it is the Proceedings of a Symposium rather than a series of commissioned reviews, as in previous volumes. Nevertheless this volume does provide an overview of the current status of traditional medicine in a variety of tropical and subtropical countries. Indeed, the chapters range from Panama, Samoa and Mexico in the American sphere, through Ghana in Africa to India, China, Japan and Thailand in Asia. There is an introductory chapter by 0. Akerele from Geneva describing the work of the World Health Organisation does in this area. The final chapter by A. M. Schmidt from Chicago deals with the vexed question of registering medicinally useful plants for over the counter use in the States. The Diatoms, Biology and Morphology of tbe Genera: by F. E. ROUND, R. M. CRAWFORD and D. G. MANN. University Press, Cambridge, 1990.747 pp. $250.00 ISBN O-521-36318-7. Bizarre, enigmatic, arresting, intricate-how else can one describe the fascinating variety of shapes and patterns taken up by these minute organisms which are abundant in all aquatic ecosystems and even occur in a number of terrestrial environments? Leafing through this volume of illustrations from the scanning electron microscope, one is reminded of certain surrealist paintings or the work of abstract artists. Certainly nature is prodigal in the way that carbon and silicon are put together in these astonishing surface patterns. This is clearly a master work having taken 12 years to assemble. After a 130 page general introduction, there follows the generic atlas, each genus receiving a two page spread with a column of description and three columns of micrographs. The book concludes with appendices dealing with the description of new taxa and there are both general and taxonomic indexes. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the phytochemistry of these plants, but almost everything else one could want is included.
School of P lant Sciences, University
1355
of Reading.
JEFFREYB. HARBORNE