Resources

There are many internet resources available for those interested in plant microremains.

• The Foundation for Archaeobotanical Research in Microfossils - basic information including how to set up a lab, what kind of microscope to purchase, and protocols for isolating and identifying starch grains.
• The International Code for Starch Nomenclature - a list of terminology currently used for describing starch grain morphology.
• The FARM Boards - a bulletin board for discussing nomenclature, methods, unknown microremains, upcoming conferences, and all things related to microremain research.
• Phy-Talk - the mailing list of the Society for Phytolith Research.
• Archaeobotany - a mailing list predominantly for plant macro-remains, but also microremains.
• GRIN Taxonomy for Plants - The US Department of Agriculture's taxonomic ordering of over 46,000 plant species.

Several conferences focus on ancient use of plants

• Society for Economic Botany meetings
• International Working Group on Paleoethnobotany
• Society of Ethnobiology meetings
• Society for Phytolith Research (2011 conference page here)

Several research groups have established databases of microfossils from various areas of the world

• Phytolith Core - The phytolith database of the Research Group for Palaecological and Geoarchaeological Studies
• Phytoliths of the Flora of Ecuador - The phytolith database of the University of Missouri - Columbia's Paleoethnobotany Laboratory.
• Colonial Williamsburg's Phytolith Database
• Old World Reference Phytoliths - From Dorian Fuller at University College London
• WITS Online Phytolith Database - From Lucille Pereira at the University of the Witwatersrand