With assistance from the International Palm Society and NSF, Cornell University and its Bailey Hortorium will host an international symposium on the biology and evolution of palms. Fields of coverage include systematics, biogeography, palynology and anatomy, pollination and hybridization, preliminary DNA analyses, ecology, and economic uses. A major goal of the meeting is to chart new paths of research on this important group of tropical plants. Further, the meeting will coincide with publication of a monumental encyclopedia of palm biology, Genera Palmarum, research for which has been supported by NSF for several years. The travel grant will help cover expenses for nine foreign scientists from Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America, a truly international gathering, all of whom will give presentations at the meetings. The symposium is organized by Drs. Natalie Uhl, a world-recognized expert on palm biology, and David Young, the director of the Bailey Hortorium, a major center for many years of palm research.
