1993] HOWARD SCOTT GENTRY
Science F o u n d a t i o n s u p p o r t e d s o m e o f his stud-
ies on agaves and tragacanth. In this p e r i o d he
also consulted with the agriventure c o m m u n i t y
that was f o r m i n g in the Southwest. In 1982, the
U n i v e r s i t y o f A r i z o n a Press p u b l i s h e d his " A g a -
ves o f C o n t i n e n t a l N o r t h A m e r i c a . " T h i s m o n -
u m e n t a l v o l u m e o f 670 pages is definitive o f the
genus and will r e m a i n a source o f i n f o r m a t i o n
a n d inspiration for botanists interested in this
v a r i e d and useful desert plant.
D u r i n g this " r e t i r e d " p e r i o d o f H o w a r d ' s long
a n d p r o d u c t i v e life, he spent m u c h t i m e on his
f a m i l y h o m e s t e a d , the G e n t r y E x p e r i m e n t a l
F a r m , at Murrieta, California. H e r e he w o r k e d
at growing red squill as an o r n a m e n t a l , traga-
A Field Guide to the Families and Genera of Woody
Plants of Northwest South America (Colombia, Ec-
uador, Peru). Alwyn H. Gentry. Conservation In-
ternational, 1015 18th Street NW, Suite 1000,
Washington, DC 20056. 1993. xxiii + 895 pp.
$25.00 (paperback). ISBN 1-881173-0101.
I got so excited when I saw this book that I bought
a copy! At this price anyone can afford this practical
addition to plant study in northern South America.
When many publications are devoted to jockeying genes,
theoretical and practical applications of calculus, sub-
stituting modeling for reality, or some other esoteric
part of biology, this down-to-earth useful book is most
welcome.
The book begins with an introduction where Gentry
assures us that it is really easier to identify sterile plants
to family than fertile specimens. He surely does not
expect us to believe that, but his system did work on
the females I tested. The keys are not the sterile di-
chotomies that I expected, but begin with obvious mor-
phological traits like "leaves opposite or whorled (and
compound)" or "leaves simple and alternate." More-
over, the text contains other surprises--there are draw-
ings of many (all?) genera, there are herbaceous genera
as well as woody, and there are lists and figures for
oddities such as leafless achlorophyllous parasites and
saprophytes, whole-tree branching patterns, ant doma-
tia, stilt roots, spines, and the like. Families within the
book are arranged first into monocots and dicots and
then alphabetically within these subdivisions. There is
337
canth, chia, oregano, j o j o b a and o t h e r species in
w h i c h he e n v i s i o n e d s o m e usefulness to society.
A t the t i m e o f his death he was preparing to
return to the f a r m for a n e w season o f w o r k and
m e e t i n g s on these a n d o t h e r n e w c r o p projects.
T h e farm continues u n d e r the direction a n d care
o f Peter M c C r o h a n , f a r m m a n a g e r and close as-
sociate for the last eight years. H o w a r d is sur-
v i v e d by his wife o f sixty years, Marie, two
daughters, R i t a a n d Linnea, and two grandsons.
ANTHONY J. VERBISCAR
A n v e r Bioscience Design, Inc.
Sierra M a d r e , C A
a list of common names (clearly concentrating on Peru)
and another of scientific names. Within each family
there may be mention of extralimital taxa as well. For
example, my first choice was to examine the Convol-
vulaceae. Even Lysiostyles (Guyanan Plateau region
only) is compared with Dicranostyles and Maripa both
of which occur within the range of the book.
I am sure that even the most liberal will find points
of contention. For example, Gentry includes Odonellia
in Jacquemontia. Odonellia was correctly segregated
by Ken Robertson as a genus. Doubtless there are other
examples. Still, this is a minor flaw when compared
with the enormous quantity of information that is
packed into this field guide. Frankly, a North American
might not consider a 10" x 61/2" x 21/16 " book a field
guide, but when it packs a whole library of genera in
South America it fills this role.
Many of the line drawings were stippled too closely
and printed black. This could have been avoided easily.
On the whole, however, the 291 plates, with 4-15 or
so genera per page, are good and useful. Corollas on
many genera were clearly drawn from dried specimens,
but mostly artist Rodolfo Vasquez, a Peruvian Field
Research Associate of the Missouri Botanical Garden,
did a commendable job.
DANIEL F. AUSTIN
DEPARTMENTOF BIOLOGICALSCIENCES
FLORIDA ATLANTICUNIVERSITY
BOCA RATON, FL 33431