Plants of China and Japan, foods of South America, tree rings of the Mediterranean and gardens of New England are among the topics for this fall's free Wednesday night lecture series sponsored by Cornell Plantations at Cornell University.

All lectures except the first in the series begin at 7:30 p.m. in the James Law Auditorium of Schurman Hall in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and all are open to the public at no charge. The series may be taken for college credit as Horticulture 480.

• Sept. 9, 5:30 p.m., Warren Hall Auditorium B45: "Nature is a Stranger Yet," the second annual William H. and Jane Torrence Harder Lecture by Robert Morgan, the Kappa Alpha Professor in the English department at Cornell.
• Sept. 16: "Food Gifts of the Pre-Incas" by Robert Russell, professor emeritus of art history, Jersey City State College, and Helen Ross Russell, environmentalist, ethnobotanist and author.
• Sept. 23: "Well-Sweep Herb Farm: Tour of Rare and Unusual Herbs," the 10th annual Audrey Harkness O'Connor Lecture by Cyrus Hyde, co-owner of Well-Sweep Herb Farm, Port Murray, N.J.
• Sept. 30: "Splendor in the Grasses" by Kathleen Nelson, owner, Kathleen Nelson Perennials, Gaylordsville, Conn.
• Oct. 7: "Trees and Timber in the Ancient Mediterranean World" by Peter Kuniholm, professor of the history of art at Cornell.
• Oct. 14: "Worldwide Perennials: The People Behind the Plants," the 16th annual William J. Hamilton Jr. Lecture by Steven M. Still, professor of horticulture, Ohio State University.
• Oct. 21: "Negotiating the Rapids of Garden Preservation" by John T. Fitzpatrick, graduate student in floriculture and ornamental horticulture at Cornell.
• Oct. 28: "Lives, Literature and Landscapes: Plantswomen Celia Thaxter and Sarah Orne Jewett" by Nancy Wetzel, principal, Garden Services, South Berwick, Maine.
• Nov. 4: "The Beauty of Extra Whiteness: Contemplating the Japanese Garden" by Leonard Mirin, professor of landscape architecture at Cornell.
• Nov. 11: "Modern Plant Exploration in the People's Republic of China," the Class of 1938 Lecture by Kris Bachtell, director of collections and grounds, Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Ill.

Cornell Plantations grounds are open to the public, free of charge, from dawn to dark each day. For more information on the lecture series or other activities, call (607) 255-3020. Or visit the Cornell Plantations web site at http://www.plantations.cornell.edu to learn "What's Blooming at Plantations" and get the online guide to the Plantations Path as well as schedules of Plantations classes and special events.