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Hallucinogens, Shamanism and Modern Life by Jonathan OttReview by: B. LowyEconomic Botany, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1979), pp. 458-459Published by: Springer on behalf of New York Botanical Garden PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4254122 .

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458 ECONOMIC BOTANY [VOL. 33

term, they could conceivably search much of chapter 10 before locating the term. A bettersystem would be to have all terms arranged alphabetically in one glossary rather thanhaving them placed under 28 different topics. The authors include in Appendix 1 a glossaryof Latin and Greek terms from which epithets have been derived. This does not sufficefor a good morphological glossary, however, since many morphological terms are notincluded.The second part, chapter 11, is a listing of major indices and world-wide revisionaryand floristic treatments. North American taxonomic literature, arranged by taxonomic andecological groupings, is included in Appendix 2.The last part of the book, chapters 12-14, includes treatments of selected families ofpteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. The family discussions for gymnospermsand angiosperms include field recognition characteristics, brief descriptions, distributionaldata, and economic features. The families of pteridophytes, however, are only brieflydiscussed; they should have been discussed in as much detail as the gymnosperms andangiosperms. Appendix 3 includes a complete listing of angiosperm families according tothe system of Cronquist and a reproduction of the angiosperm classification of Thorne.The paper and binding are of good quality, and the price is reasonable for a college text.The book, in general well prepared for a beginning plant systematics text, will serve as agood reference for advanced undergraduate students and a passable one for beginninggraduate students.

ROBERT R. HAYNES, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA

Hallucinogens, Shamanism and Modern Life. Edited by Jonathan Ott. 149pp. illus. Journalof Psychedelic Drugs 11(1-2). STASH, 118 South Bedford Street, Madison, Wisconsin,1979. $15.00.During the past few decades, studies in ethnobotany have provided an exceptionallyrich field of investigation for some heretofore unexplored or poorly understood interrela-tionships between man and the plants of which he makes ceremonial use. The findings ofspecialists in such widely diverse disciplines as botany, anthropology, chemistry, archeol-ogy, linguistics, and even musicology have yielded convincing evidence that further illu-minates magico-religious aspects of human behavior vis a vis the plant world.This issue of Jolurnal of Psychedelic Drugs presents 14 papers that stress various facets

of the chemically distinct, naturally occurring psychotropic drugs found in numerousspecies of flowering plants and fungi. A paper by Weston La Barre, "Shamanistic Originsof Religion and Medicine," is a brief but erudite and engrossing statement on a subject hetreats extensively in his memorable book The Ghost Dance. A second arresting paper byLa Barre, a survey of "Peyotl and Mescaline," concerns the hallucinogenic cacti thathave been used in solemn ritual for centuries by many indigenous Americans. In anotherchapter, Albert Hofmann relates "How LSD originated" and offers a first-hand narrativeof his serendipitous discovery of 1943 and its consequences. Although LSD does not occurnaturally, closely related chemical counterparts are found in some plants, notably in thenarcotic morning-glories and in the ascomycetous fungus Claviceps purpuirea. The ritualuse of Claviceps has recently been linked with the ancient Greek Eleusine Mysteries,referred to enigmatically in the Homeric hymns about the 8th century B.C. An article byRichard E. Schultes includes over 100 hallucinogenic plants and documents their earliestbotanical description. In another paper he discusses "Evolution of the Identification ofthe Major South American Narcotic Plants," giving examples from the Erythroxylaceae(Erythroxylon coca), Myristicaceae (Virola spp.), Leguminosae (Adenanthera spp. andMilnosa spp.), Malpighiaceae (principally Banisteriopsis spp.), and Solanaceae (Latuapulbifolia). Schultes reminds us of the importance of vigorously pursuing these studies

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1979] BOOK REVIEWS 459

now, 'before the race with acculturation or extinction of indigenous cultures is lost for-ever."The most novel and revealing paper is by a native Ojibway shamaness who tells "astory of Miskwedo, that red-topped mushroom which is the spiritual child of NokomisGiishik, Grandmother Cedar, and of Nimishomiss Wigwas, our Grandfather Birch." Themushroom, of course, is Amanita muscaria, now also magically associated with the tra-ditional beliefs of a native North American tribe. This discovery came about as a resultof the pertinaceous inquiries of R. Gordon Wasson in collaboration with his colleague ReidKaplan.There is a good deal more deserving of mention, including a fine paper by Jose LuisDiaz on the "Ethnopharmacology and Taxonomy of Mexican Psychodysleptic Plants,"one on "Botanical Perspectives on Coca" by Timothy Plowman, and one on "Chemistryof Phenethylamines Related to Mescaline" by Alexander T. Shulgin.In summary, this collection of essays offers an authoritative overview of some of thefascinating subject matter of ethnobotany.

B. Lowy, LoUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

Practical Fungal Physiology. Peter M. Robinson, 123 pp. illus. John Wiley and Sons, NewYork, 1978. $9.50.The use of fungi as tools to demonstrate principles of physiology, genetics, reproduction,respiration, and other life processes has been common in biology laboratories for manyyears. The abundance of data now available in these and related fields of research makes

it possible to select experiments of various degrees of difficulty appropriate for use eitherby beginning or more advanced students.The experiments chosen in this book were designed for "an undergraduate course inmycology." The author has included work on spore germination, hyphal growth, colonydevelopment, reproduction, nutrition, morphogenetic substances produced by fungi, stal-ing and colony morphology, mycostasis, and continual culture. Nearly all the experimentsrequire no more in the way of apparatus than one may reasonably expect to find in a well-equipped laboratory, and full explanations are presented of the principles to be demon-strated. Procedures to be followed are explicit and are given in some detail, and there areadequate references to pertinent literature.Alert, well-prepared students in an introductory course in fungal physiology shouldprofit from pursuing the experimental work offered in this carefully written, illustratedmanual.

B. Lowy, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA

Marine Mycology: The Higher Fungi. Jan Kohlmeyer and Erika Kohlmeyer. 690 pp. illus.Academic Press, New York. 1979, $59.50.In the annals of taxonomic mycology, some monographs, because of their scope, depth,

and excellence, have earned the respect and admiration of specialists and students alike.Among authors of the past, the works of Bulliard, Fries, Persoon, and Thaxter, to mentiona few of the illustrious mycologists that immediately spring to mind, conspicuously belongin this category. A critical examination of contemporary monographs would reveal thatmany of them also merit high praise and that some are even destined to become classicsin their field.The researches of Jan and Erika Kohlmeyer on marine fungi began more than 2 decadesago. Their numerous publications are noted for the meticulous care and complete docu-