As a basic teacher's guide to the study of plants in their environment, this document serves primarily as a starting point for outdoor education with an American Indian emphasis in the State of South Dakota. The State is divided into three broad environmental categories or "biotic communities" (Prairie and Plains, Woodlands, and Wet…

This paper describes open-ended experimentation with the fungus Pilobolus for laboratory work by high school students. The fungus structure and reproduction is described and sources of the fungus are suggested. Four areas for investigation are suggested: the effect of a diffuse light source, the effect of a point light source, the effect of light…

Provided is a dichotomous key to the common genera of marine algae and angiosperms which are taken aboard the Orange County Floating Marine Laboratory. It is designed primarily for use by junior and senior high school students. Drawings of representative members of the various genera are included. This work was prepared under an ESEA Title III…

This instructional package contains two plant life units developed for the Dade County Florida Quinmester Program. "Plant Life in the Backyard" introduces the student to the more familiar plants in South Florida. Emphasis is placed on the economic value of local plants, plant propagation, and photosynthesis. "The Green Plant"…

Presents an attempt to explore plant chimeras and to demonstrate the separation of genetically distinct tissue in a chimera using an easily grown scented geranium plant. (HM)

Experiments are described in which inhibitors are used to investigate the timing of transcription and translation of the messenger RNA for the enzyme invertase. It is suggested that plant tissue slices provide adaptable material with which to study enzyme induction, protein synthesis, and cell differentiation at sixth-form level. (Author/MA)

Discusses problems in selecting the correct herbicide for use in controlling aquatic weeds, considering specificity, size of the market, fear of trace contaminants, and herbicide resistance in weeds. Also summarizes some successful herbicides, providing a table listing mode of action of some herbicides used for control of aquatic plants. (JN)

Clearing is a simple and rapid technique in which 75 percent lactic acid is used to remove pigments and cytoplasmic contents of fresh leaves, enabling microscopic view of various internal leaf layers. Procedures for using the technique (which helps students gain a more thorough understanding of plant anatomy) are given. (DH)

Describes a demonstration designed to help students better understand the response of plant and animal cells to hypotonic solutions. The demonstration uses a balloon inside a flexible, thin-walled cardboard box. Air going in corresponds to water entering by osmosis, and, like real cells, if stretched enough, the balloon will burst. (DH)

Unlike animals, which heal, trees compartmentalize by setting boundaries that resist the spread of invading microorganisms. Discusses the creation of new walls by anatomical and chemical means in response to death of a branch or pruning. Points out that genetic control of compartmentalization has resulted from evolution of resistant species. (DH)

Two methods for examining leaf structure are presented; both methods involve use of "superglue." The first method uses the glue to form a thin, permanent, direct replica of a leaf surface on a microscope slide. The second method uses the glue to examine the three-dimensional structure of spongy mesophyll. (JN)

A database had been developed for the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden's Living Plant Collection using Statistical Analysis System software. Implementation procedures, data dictionary maintenance, data entry, updating, and reporting are described. (JN)

Describes a useful instrument designed to increase student participation and class discussion. Based on student response to the system while it was being used, student feedback, and personal experience, the push-button system installed in the laboratory was determined to be a success. (JN)

This report focuses on the prospects and possibilities for using biomass as an energy source for the United States. However, the greatest potential for utilizing biomass as fuel exists in energy-starved developing nations, since it appears possible to develop biomass technologies keeping capital inputs low in relation to labor inputs. (BT)

This book is Laurie Thorp's dirt-under-the-fingernails ethnography of four years in an elementary school garden and the ways in which this garden catalyzed cultural transformation and inspired hope, growth, and community. Filled with photographs, sketches, poetry, and journal entries, Thorp's engaging book describes the educational benefits of…