The Bean Bag

ALBUQUERQUE is studying medicinal legumes, Zornia reticulata Smith, Mimosa pudica L. and Copaifera spp. and would like any information about these (and other) tropical legumes used in popular medicine. Offers information about tropical legumes of Amazonia - José Maria de Albuquerque, Caixa Postal 716, 66.017-970-Belém-Pará, Brasil.

ARAMBARRI A.M., Stenglein, S.A., Colares, M.N., Novoa, M.C. and Vizcaino, C.E. are working on "Leaf epidermal characteristics in Old and New World species of Lotus (Fabaceae: Loteae)". Their purpose is to discover diagnostic characters for future studies.

BEYRA-MATOS continues working on tribe Phaseoleae and defended her PhD thesis on Pictetia (PhD thesis) in November 2000 at Havana University, which was approved by the tribunal of scientific grade at Havana University.

CACCAVARI is undertaking a pollen study of American genera of the Piptadenia Group: Adenopodia, Stryphnodendron, Mimosa, Piptadeniopsis, Microlobius, Piptadenia, Pseudopiptadenia and Parapiptadenia. Flora palinologica del Nordeste Argentino. Needs pollen material of species of the different American taxa of the Piptadenia Group and offers pollen slides of Mimosoideae of Argentina.

FORERO has been up-dating the Mimosoideae in COL (National Herbarium of Colombia) based on monographs by Barneby & Grimes and by Pennington. Studies on the Mimosoideae of Colombia are underway.

HIRSCH is working on genetics of sweet clover (Melilotus albus Medikus) and needs Rhizobium inocula for Gleditsia. She offers M. albus mutants.

KIAM is working on nodulation of legumes in Cameroonian forest zone. Needs lab material for the study of root nodule or any information on nodulation of legumes and offers seed of some Cameroonian legumes such as Pterocarpus and Erythrophleum.

PAVLOVA needs legume research material of Bauhinia L.: B. aculeata L., B. acuminata L., B. cumanensis H.B.K., B. diphylla Ham., B. galpinii Br., B. hookeri Muell., B. jumanensis Fr., B. monandra Kurz., B. purpurea L., B. racemosa Lam., B. rufescens Lam. and especially material of B. tomentosa L., B. variegata L. For each species 20-30 seeds and/or a few coloured photographs of the plants in flower are needed.

PIERGIOVANNI with Nenno is maintaining a germplasm database on Italian landraces of Phaseolus vulgaris L which is available on http://www.ba.cnr.it/~germap14/ilcb/. They offer and need seed material of the same.

PISTRICK needs land races and old varieties of cultivated legumes and its wild relatives. Offers legumes from the Gatersleben genebank (cp. Index seminum). http://fax-serve.ipk-gatersleben.de

PLANCHUELO is Director of a new Economic Botany project that combines studies in seed anatomy and morphology of crop legumes with taxonomic studies of wild species. Needs Herbarium specimens of Lupinus and Crotalaria and offers Herbarium specimens of legumes from Central Argentina.

ROBILLARD offers legume publications The list of titles is available from Library-res@em.agr.ca.

SARAVANAKUMAR is working on comparative studies of proteins, chromosome and DNA of some populations of Vigna spp. Needs material of grain legumes and its wild relatives and information concerning genetics and conservation of grain legumes and its wild relatives. Offering wild relatives of grain legumes literature/seeds such as Vigna and Cajanus.

TUCKER is working on comparative floral ontogeny of Swartzieae and needs young floral inflorescences and buds of Swartzia, other taxa in Swartzieae. Offers reprints of publications on floral development in various legumes.

VANDERBORGHT is maintaining a Phaseoleae - Phaseolinae collections chiefly centred on wild Phaseolus and Vigna species. Offers and needs seed material of the same. List of the taxa included in the collection is available on http://www.bn.fgov.be/research/collections/living/……/phaseolus/index.html.

VAN DER MAESEN is working on Leguminoseae of Benin for the project Flora of Benin (1997-2002). Needs Flemingia, Cajaninae and Millettia from Africa. Offers duplicates from Benin.