Ten plant-related topics, from the natural history of Henry Thoreau to the search for new jungle medicine, are scheduled in the Cornell Plantations Fall 1997 Lecture Series, beginning Sept. 18.

All lectures in the series are open to the public at no charge. In addition to its education programs, Cornell Plantations maintains the arboretum, botanical garden and natural areas of Cornell University.

Inaugurating the fall lecture series on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 5:30 p.m. in the Warren Hall Auditorium will be the William H. and Jane Torrence Harder Lecture, presented by Joel Porte, the Ernest I. White Professor of American Studies and Humane Letters at Cornell, will speak on "In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World: The Natural History of Henry Thoreau." A garden gala will follow the lecture.

The Ninth Annual Audrey Harkness O'Connor Lecture completes the fall series on Friday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium of Kennedy Hall. Mark Plotkin, author of "Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice" and executive director of the Ethnobiology and Conservation Team in Arlington, Va., will speak on "Rain Forest Conservation: The Search for New Jungle Medicine."

The 15th Annual William J. Hamilton Jr. Lecture, "New Plants: From Discovery to Market," by Pierre Bennerup, owner of Sunny Border Nurseries, Kenington, Conn., is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the David L. Call Alumni Auditorium.

Eight other lectures are scheduled on consecutive Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Whetzel Room, 404 Plant Sciences Building:

• "The Perennial Border: Building a Seasonal Tapestry of Color, Form and Texture," by Constance Lydon of Lydon Design, Orchard Park, N.Y., Sept. 25.
• "Landscape Architect Ellen Shipman: Her Life and 650 gardens," by Daniel Krall, professor of landscape architecture at Cornell, Oct. 2.
• The Helen Greisen Memorial Lecture, "Rebuilding Central Park: A Management and Restoration Plan," by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, president of Cityscape Institute, New York, N.Y., Oct. 9.
• "Shaker Life: Work that Became Art," by John McGuire, author and historian of New England Basketry Traditions, Geneva, N.Y., Oct. 23.
• "Native American Visions of the Environment: Different Trees in a Different Forest," by Robert Venables, professor in the American Indian Program, Cornell University, Oct. 30.
• "The Unsung Season: Gardens in Winter," by Sidney Eddison, garden writer and author, Newtown, Conn., Nov. 6.

Diversity in the Shade: Ferns for the Modern Landscape" by Peter Podaras, graduate student in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture at Cornell University, Nov. 13.

More information on the Fall 1997 Lecture Series and other programs of Cornell Plantations is available by calling (607) 255-3020.