The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) "promotes research and teaching in the taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of vascular and nonvascular plants." One particularly useful online service from ASPT is a Current News section which provides information about a variety of relevant post-docs, internships, and fellowships; awards and other funding opportunities; upcoming meetings and...

The aims of the Aquatic Plant Management Society (APMS) "are to assist in promoting the management of nuisance aquatic plants, to provide for the scientific advancement of members of the society, to encourage scientific research, to promote university scholarship, and to extend and develop public interest in the aquatic plant science discipline." The APMS website contains information about...

The Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) provides a bounty of biological and taxonomic information regarding Australian plant and fungi species. Acting as a clearinghouse for online information about plants and fungi, ABRS connects to such resources as the Flora of Australia Online, Checklist of Australian Lichens, Interactive Catalogue of Australian Fungi, Census of Freshwater Algae in...

To borrow shamelessly from Benjamin Franklin, guacamole is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. The Agricultural and Natural Resources people at the University of California-Riverside would seem to agree. In this Web site devoted solely to the lovely avocado, readers can learn all about the history and horticulture of this subtropical fruit (that's right -- fruit). Features include...

Hosted by the Burke Museum of National History and Culture, and the University of Washington Herbarium, this website features 5,713 beautiful photographs of 1,183 plant species found in the many diverse ecosystems of Washington State. Site visitors may browse for plant species by scientific or common name, genus, and family. The website also offers an identification key and a search engine with...

The animal kingdom may have its egg-laying platypus, but the plant kingdom is not without its own odd twists on taxonomy. If movies like Little Shop of Horrors are any indication, carnivorous plants like the Venus flytrap, sundew, and pitcher plant never fail to spark the imagination. The following set of Web sites presents a brief introduction to carnivorous plants and includes loads of great...

This Plants in Peril website was created by the Center for Plant Conservation as a "guide to exploring biodiversity and rare native plant conservation for middle school educators." The site contains clear, concise informational pages on subjects like What is Biodiversity?, Plants and People, and Challenges of Saving Plants in Peril. Additionally, the site offers teacher guidelines for four plant...

For those interested in the types of plants found in the desert ecosystem, this Web page from the online magazine DesertUSA.com will be a useful guide. Photos and descriptive features of several desert plants are provided in an alphabetical index or can be found through the online field guide organized by flower color. An interesting section also focuses on the types of adaptations that allow...

With this recently updated Web site from the Flying Turtle Company (created by David Watson), learning about photosynthesis is almost fun -- definitely more engaging than what the standard biology textbook has to offer. Fantastic illustrations and light-hearted narrative make the complicated biochemical processes of photosynthesis much easier to absorb. In addition to providing comprehensive...

With this Web site from Florida Plants Online, you don't need to be a botanist to tell poison ivy apart from its benign look-alike, Virginia creeper. Photos and detailed identification tips, as well as numerous links to additional information, help readers learn how to avoid "one of nature's most dreaded plants." The site also includes information on how to diagnose a poison ivy reaction...