Book Reviews

Amazonian Cosmos: The Sexual and Religious Symbolism of the Tukano Indians. Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff. 290 pp. illus. University of Chicago Press, Chi- cago, 1971. $12.50.

A translation by the author of his Desano: Simbolismo de los Indios Tukano del Vaupks (1968), this volume will be welcomed by special- ists in a number of disciplines. Ethnobotanists will find that many references to and interpreta- tions of the symbolism of plants - especially the hallucinogenic Banisteriopsis Caapi - both inter- esting and thought-provoking.

The author interprets from a Freudian point of view most of the phenomena he discusses. Those readers whose fields are not anthropology or psychology may often fear that he has over- done many of the sexual symbolisms which are offered as basic to the significance of plants to these Indians. The approach is, however, stimu- lating, novel, and challenging; and, for the first time, the meaning of "magic" plants to a primi- tive society has been probed really in depth. His interpretations, presented in an orderly, inte- grated, and comparative method, very often clar- ify points that have hitherto been confused or obscure.

A few examples will illustrate the way the author has handled the interpretation of the role of some of the plants in Indian belief. Vih6 is s n u f f - whether from Virola or Anadenanthera is not clear, but probably from Virola. The Sun "created VihD-mahse, the Being of Vih6, the hallucinogenic powder, and ordered him to serve as an intermediary so that through hallucinations people could put themselves in contact with all the other supernatural beings. The powder of vih6 itself had belonged to the Sun, who had kept it hidden in his navel, but the Daughter of the Sun had scratched his navel and had found the powder." "The Milky Way is...designated as the 'zone of hallucinations and visions' into which the pay~ [medicine-man] and other persons who take a hallucinogenic drug can penetrate and thereby pass from one cosmic level to another. This zone is dominated by Vih6-mahse...who, in a state of perpetual trance, travels along this celestial way observing the earth and its inhabi- tants." "When he takes vih6, the pay~ enters into the state ofventfiri, of hallucination, which takes him to the blue zone where he meets VihO- mahse."

"Taking yaj~ [Banisteriopsis Caapi] ...is inter- preted as a return to the cosmic uterus, to the 'mine, ' to the source of all things....On awaken- ing from the trance, the individual...has seen everything....Two factors are combined here: trance, or the separation of the 'soul' and its mystical union with the divinity, and, simulta- neously, an acceleration of time. 'To take yajd is to die' and... 'return to the uterus' is considered the anticipation of death."

Sexual symbolism is found not only where we might most logically expect i t - with the halluci- nogenic plants - but also in the interpretation of the mythological role of coca (Erythro• Coca), tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum), all of the food crops and many wild species gathered for eating, and a host of magic herbs and trees. In Indian beliefs the intricate relationship of these plants with the animal world, human evolution, and geological and astronomical ideas of the na- tives are of such novelty that any specialist inter- ested in this theoretical phase of ethnobotany must read and digest thoroughly the 275 packed pages of this monograph.

R. E. S.

Wizard of the Upper Amazon. Manuel C6rdova- Rios and F. Bruce Lamb. 206 pp. 2 maps. Athenaeum, New York, 1971. $6.95

On the surface, this book might not appear to be of prime interest to economic botanists. The numerous references to plants used by Amazo- nian Indians and more especially the interesting data on the hallucinogen ayahuasca provide signi- ficant ethnobotanical information.

Manuel C6rdova-Rios was a Peruvian captured by an unacculturated Amazon Indian group and gradually initiated into many secrets of the tribe. F. Bruce Lamb, an American forester of many years' experience in the New World tropics, has put the story as told by C6rdova-Rios into a beautiful narrative in English. Many experiences and happenings in the story might strain the credulity of all who had not themselves lived amongst Indians in primitive Amazon societies. Indeed, at least one well known anthropologist has cast doubt on the veracity of the narrative; but his objections, at least to me, are not mean- ingful.

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The only disappointment that a botanist finds is Lamb's identification, in the appendix, of the leaves of yaj~, added to the brew made from bark of the stem of Banisteriopsis, as Prestonia ama- zonica. This "identification," common in the literature, has been discredited. The leaves be- long probably to a species ofPsychotria.

R.E.S .

Voeabulario de losNombres Vulgares de la Flora Pernana. J. Soukup. 384 pp. illus. Co- legio Salesiano, Lima, Peru, 1971.

Although there are several helpful publica- tions which one may use as aids in identifying or in getting leads to the identity of Peruvian plants from common names, none is so nearly complete as this new dictionary. Soukoup, who has been at work on this topic now for many years, is to be congratulated and thanked for producing such a helpful volume. Not only is the work inclusive but it has been well proofread in both the list of vernacular terms and technical Latin names. A number of good line drawings in the text add to its utility.

R. E.S.

Common Wild Flowers of Minnesota. Gerald B. Ownbey; illustrations by Wilma Mon- serud. 331 pp. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1971. $9.75.

Tinted paper, an uncrowded format, and a wildflower montage on the binding all contribute to the artistic effect of this volume, consistent with its main feature, the drawings of 325 wild- flowers. Details, such as underground parts so often neglected by artists, are frequently shown. The text is very brief but does include a fairly detailed statement of Minnesota distribution. The families are arranged alphabetically by scien- tific name within the monocots and dicots. This, I fear, will be hardly more helpful than any other arrangement to the "picture-book amateur," who is unlikely to know that he should look for a pondweed under "Zosteraceae" (not Potamoge- tonaceae or Najadaceae) or for Dutchman's breeches under "Fumariaceae."

Any book is a challenge to confirmed nit- pickers like this reviewer, who was amused to learn that the base of the stem of Senecio platten- sis "is usually lost as the stems grow older" - presumably leaving the plant suspended in mid-

air. It might also be noted that the corolla lobes of Gentiana andrewsii are shown longer than the plaits - thus according with some other illustra- tions of that species, e.g., the one in Gleason's flora, but not with descriptions (or nature).

Species treated include one sedge, no grasses or woody plants, all three local aralias, and even a few "weeds." For a wildflower book, the selec- tion is quite representative - although all in- cluded species are hardly " c o m m o n " in Minne- sota (e.g., Pinguicula vulgaris, Nelumbo lutea, Clay tonia car oliniana ) .

EDWARD G. VOSS University o f Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Diseases and Pests of Ornamental Plants. Pascal P. Pirone. 4th ed. 546 pp. illus. The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1970. $12.00.

This is the fourth edition of a book previously authored by Pirone, Dodge, and Rickett in its third edition (1960). The page size of this edi- tion, enlarged over those previous, is now two- column, although the basic format and chapter titles remain the same.

The book begins with a chapter devoted to a classification of diseases based on symptoms and causal agents. This is followed by a chapter on bacteria and fungi with descriptions of the major groups of fungal pathogens. The third chapter considers the major groups of insects and other animals as plant pests, and the fourth deals with the control of diseases and pests. The major portion of the book (Part II) consists of an alpha- betical list of plants followed by a description of their diseases and pests and of methods to con- trol these. Plants are listed by their generic name. Common names, when used, follow in parenthe- ses. Dr. Pirone has completely updated the sec- tion on pest control chemicals and now lists at least twice as many materials as before, including such recent fungicides as benomyl. New figures as well as new host plants and new diseases have been added.

Mistakes are difficult to find in this book - which is to be expected for a fourth edition. However, PCNB (Terraclor) is in fact recom- mended for ground treatment under camellia bushes to control petal blight, although the au- thor cautions to use it only "in soils free of plants." Dr. Pirone was apparently unaware of the latest work (1968) on yellow strapleaf of

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chrysanthemum - he still lists the cause as un- known. Although the identity of the causal mi- croorganism or toxin in natural infections is not known, the disease syndrome was reproduced by inoculating plants with the fungus Aspergillus wentii and its culture filtrates.

Diseases and Pests of Ornarnental Plants is the most comprehensive book available on this sub- ject and is definitely recommended for the audi- ence intended, i.e., "everyone interested in grow- ing plants." This includes the professional as well as the amateur botanist. This book should be especially useful to research and extension work- ers in plant pathology and horticulture and also to county agricultural agents.

GORDON E. HOLCOMB Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Shinners' Spring Flora of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area Texas. Lloyd H. Shinners. 2nd ed. 514 pp. illus. Prestige Press, Fort Worth, Texas, 1972. $8.00.

Spring Flora of the Dallas-Fort Worth Area Texas includes "all flowering plants known to grow wild within 50 miles of Dallas and Fort Worth...and to flower between January 1 and the first week in June. Most cultivated woody plants (except coniferous evergreens) and many herba- ceous ones are also included." First published in 1958, it has now been reprinted in a format somewhat smaller (because of less generous mar- gins) than the original. Though called a "second edition," the 1972 version has only a very few minor changes from the 1958 text.

The Spring Flora is a well-done work. As an identification guide it is valuable even beyond the area for which it is intended. Such utility aside, though, the book is well worth owning for the delightful preface and appendixes ("I. Sum- mary of Technical Terms," "II. Use of Keys," "III. Scientific and Common Names" [includ- ing rules and examples for pronunciation of Lat- in names and remarks on rules of nomenclature], " I V . C o l l e c t i n g Herbar ium Specimens," "V. Natural History of Plants," "VI. Conser- vation," and "VII. Background of the Book" ["I have often remarked that the first edition of this book will be a Flora of the Main Highways, the second will include the back roads, and per- haps the third will begin to cover the country"] ).

The late Lloyd Shinners, certainly one of the most astute and productive of North American

plant taxonomists, projected and worked on sev- eral floras. The Spring Flora is the only one of these its author ever finished. I think he was fond - even proud - of the work. He would have been pleased to see it reprinted.

J .W.T.

Foundations of Plant Geography. Stanley A. Cain. 556 pp. illus. Facsimile of 1944 edition. Hafner Publishing Company, New York, 1971. $11.95.

In this work Dr. Cain remarked: "I had no intention of writing a descriptive plant geogra- phy. This is rather an inquiry into the founda- tions of the science of plant geography. I have made an effort to survey the related fields of science for concepts and working methods which are useful in an interpretation of the phenomena of plant distribution. Many of these materials are from the fields of paleontology, taxonomy, evo- lution, genetics, and cytology." Dr. Cain's pur- pose is carried out masterfully - and fascinating- ly in 30 chapters that are divided into five parts: "Introduction," "Paleoecology," "Areog- raphy," "Evolution and Plant Geography," and "Significance of Polyploidy in Plant Geogra- phy."

This basic text has been out-of-print for a number of years (except for a photocopy issue by University Microfilms). The Hafner reprint is well made and is quite reasonably priced. That Foundations of Plant Geography is available again is welcome indeed.

J .W.T.

Phloem Transport in Plants. Alden S. Crafts and Carl E. Crisp. 481 pp. illus. W. H. Free- man & Company, San Francisco, 1971. $12.50.

Phloem is traditionally one of the most inac- cessible and difficult tissues to study. Its cell types are still not completely understood; the "transfer cells" of Gunning and Pate were dis- covered only recently. Concerning the sieve tube elements, several questions remain problemati- cal. How does their conductive function relate to the peculiar structural features such as loss of the nucleus and most but not all of the organelle complement? Why is any cytoplasm retained, and does it play a part in conduction? Why should a cell develop an elaborate perforated end

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wall, in which the perforations contain at least a thin film or tubules of cytoplasm? And of what adaptive value is it that transport is so readily disrupted in the phloem?

The authors of this book combine expertise in physiology and structure of phloem with famil- iarity with the voluminous literature on move- ment of assimilates, hormones, and exogenous substances in the plant. They present a survey of the current state of knowledge on phloem func- tion and evaluate the main theories of transport. They stress the general misunderstanding about "plugging" of sieve tube elements, which now is generally accepted as a wound phenomenon and not the normal condition in the intact plant.

The book is organized into three sections: the first includes cell structure, degeneration or dis- function phenomena, phloem plugging, phloem exudation studies, and the path of translocation in the plant. The second section reviews in detail and assesses the recent experimental work on movement of assimilates, hormones, and exoge- nous materials. The third section evaluates vari- ous theories to explain phloem transport. Indices are provided to authors, subjects, reference pa- pers, common names of plants and their pests, and chemical terms and trade names.

Several themes are used to unify for the reader the confusing and seemingly conflicting research evidence on transport. The authors use the source-sink analogy of Mfinch to explain differ- ing paths of movement in phloem at different times of year. This concept helps to explain the mechanisms of herbicide action, which the au- thors document with a thorough review of work on tracers. It also explains why work on phloem in excised stems or segments is of dubious signifi- cance.

The authors evaluate theories in which diffu- sion, cyclosis, and surface migration are used to explain phloem transport, but they reject these in favor of the mass flow theory. The extremely rapid flow (up to 300 cm/hr) of assimilates in the phloem remains puzzling but seems best ex- plained on the basis of a turgor gradient devel- oped osmotically, with conduction occurring through essentially open pores in the end walls of the sieve tubes.

This book will be welcomed as an up-to-date text on translocation and as a reference for teach- ing plant function.

SHIRLEY C. TUCKER Louisiana State University

Baton Rouge, Louisiana