LOOKING BENEATH THE SURFACE

by Mary Langeland, University of Florida, Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants, APIRS

As the one who assigns keywords and categories to the thousands of articles, books, and miscellaneous printed materials for the Aquatic and Invasive Plant Information Retrieval System (APIRS), I thoroughly enjoy the occasional "oddity" that crosses my desk. After reviewing and cataloguing hundred of "regular articles" published in refereed journals or reports by government agencies or books written by earnest authors on the value of biodiversity or environmental implications of plant invasions, imagine my delight when an out-of-the-ordinary piece of literature appears in the stacks of papers and books cluttering my office. It causes me to take stock and, so to speak, "look beneath the surface."

The human face of science usually characterizes these serendipities. The sheer delight and joy that the researcher experiences rarely shines through in the scientific literature - it is de rigueur to be detached and unbiased. But, as humans, we are not just workers; rather, we respond to our work and our environment.

Let me share one such gem with you - Flowers of Marsh and Stream by Iolo A. Williams (Penguin Books, Ltd., Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 1946). Williams saw that

… the winter ponds and streams have their beauty of vegetation, too - not on the banks or near the shores, where the coots and water hens tread sodden alleyways among the dead and broken stems and leaves of Typha and Sparganium, but in the clear depths where the tufts of water starwort wave rhythmically to and fro as the current glides past. On a winter’s day they can, seen through the glistening pellucid stream as one peers down to its sandy bottom, seem the greenest thing in the whole landscape. (p. 5)

This kind of writing attracts attention because of its insight into why the scientist or researcher does what they do. Perhaps you have stood on the banks of a clear stream and seen the incomparable beauty of the natural world, your heart was touched and a desire to protect, preserve and understand this priceless treasure was born and you were lead to seek a career in the environmental sciences. In that moment your spirit sought to understand the mystery behind the creation, behind "the greenest thing in the whole landscape.”

Editor’s Note: Mary Langeland has performed one of our most important functions at APIRS for the last fifteen years: the cataloging of literally thousands of citations in the APIRS database. Mary truly looks beneath the surface to understand the mystery behind the creation. She is an invaluable asset both to us and to all users of the APIRS database. Thankyou, Mary!

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