Daniel Nickrent (Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale) designed and now maintains this comprehensive and attractive site, which covers in great detail the very specific field of parasitic plants. Users must be acquainted with the terminology of the field, including nomenclature, to use the site effectively. A number of excellent color photographs of parasitic plants are included; especially striking are the pictures of Rafflesia, the world's largest flower. The site is well arranged and easily navigated. Housekeeping sections are clear and concise (e.g., Navigating the Site, Using the Information on These Pages, Why Have These Pages?, and details about authors). A glossary and an extensive list of parasitic plant specialists arranged by the kind of plant which each studies are also included. Specialists' e-mail and Web page links are provided. A link to an upcoming conference important to this field is displayed. The heart of the site is its very detailed Orders and Families pages, where each page includes distribution maps, species information, DNA information, descriptions of each family/order, and lengthy bibliographies. Another good section is Phylogenetic Relationships, illustrated in great detail with colorful and clear charts and graphs. A section of DNA/RNA includes links to GenBank and other molecular data. This site is now included as a BioMedLink. Over the course of several weeks, a small number of links died or were moved. Highly recommended for graduate students or faculty with interests in this area.
-- M. S. Muskiewicz, University of Massachusetts at Lowell

SIUC / College of Science / Parasitic Plant Connection
URL: http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/awards.html
Last updated: 01-Oct-05 / dln