Botanical Society of America

Last updated
Botanical Society of America
AbbreviationBSA
Formation1893
Type Non-profit
NGO
Purpose"Promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere." [1]
Headquarters St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Membership
3,059 [2]
Andrea Wolfe (2017–2020)
President Elect
Linda Watson (2018–2021)
Budget
$1.63 million [3]
Website www.botany.org

The Botanical Society of America (BSA) represents professional and amateur botanists, researchers, educators and students in over 80 countries of the world. It functions as a United States nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership society. [4]

Contents

History

The society was first established in 1893 as an outgrowth from the Botanical Club of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at a meeting in Rochester, New York, on August 22, 1892. [5] The organizing principles of the society were the enhancement of the study of plants in North America and to professionalize such efforts. [6] In 1906, the organization merged with the Society for Plant Morphology and Physiology and the American Mycological Society. [7]

Sections

The society has 16 special interest sections:

Former presidents

Former presidents of the society have included:

Publications

The society publishes the following scientific journals:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Botany</span> Science of plant life

Botany, also called plant science(s), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture", "herbs" "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν, "to feed" or "to graze". Traditionally, botany has also included the study of fungi and algae by mycologists and phycologists respectively, with the study of these three groups of organisms remaining within the sphere of interest of the International Botanical Congress. Nowadays, botanists study approximately 410,000 species of land plants of which some 391,000 species are vascular plants, and approximately 20,000 are bryophytes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Esau</span> German-American botanist Ukraine born(1898–1997)

Katherine Esau was a German-American botanist who received the National Medal of Science for her work on plant anatomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dukinfield Henry Scott</span> British botanist

Dr Dukinfield Henry Scott FRS HFRSE LLD was a British botanist. The standard author abbreviation D.H.Scott is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

Edgar Shannon Anderson was an American botanist. He introduced the term introgressive hybridization and his 1949 book of that title was an original and important contribution to botanical genetics. HIs work on the transfer and origin of adaptations through natural hybridization continues to be relevant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant anatomy</span> Study of the internal structure of plants

Plant anatomy or phytotomy is the general term for the study of the internal structure of plants. Originally it included plant morphology, the description of the physical form and external structure of plants, but since the mid-20th century plant anatomy has been considered a separate field referring only to internal plant structure. Plant anatomy is now frequently investigated at the cellular level, and often involves the sectioning of tissues and microscopy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Francis Atkinson</span>

George Francis Atkinson was an American botanist and mycologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Eaton Cummings</span> American cryptogamic botanist

Clara Eaton Cummings was an American cryptogamic botanist and Hunnewell Professor of Cryptogamic Botany at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Mildred Esther Mathias was an American botanist and professor.

Pamela Soltis is an American botanist. She is a distinguished professor at the University of Florida, curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, principal investigator of the Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary Genetics at the Florida Museum of Natural History, and founding director of the University of Florida Biodiversity Institute.

Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest comprehensive research institutions in China. It has led the development of plant science in China since its establishment in 1928. The institute has received three first-level National Natural Science Awards, as well as more than 160 awards at the national and provincial level. With a focus on integrative plant biology, IB-CAS conducts innovative research at the molecular, cellular, physiological, ecological and landscape levels, and develops applications to benefit agriculture and the environment. Its five key research areas are systematic and evolutionary botany, vegetation and environmental change, plant molecular physiology and development, photosynthesis, and the sustainable use of plant resources.

Chirayathumadom Venkatachalier Subramanian, popularly known as CVS, was an Indian mycologist, taxonomist and plant pathologist, known for his work on the classification of Fungi imperfecti, a group of fungi classified separately due to lack of specific taxonomic characteristics. He authored one monograph, Hyphomycetes: An Account of Indian Species, Except Cercosporae and three books, Hyphomycetes, taxonomy and biology, Moulds, Mushrooms and Men and Soil microfungi of Israel, besides several articles published in peer reviewed journals. He was a recipient of many honours including the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the Janaki Ammal National Award of the Government of India and seven species of fungi have been named after him. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1965, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Jan Salick is an American botanist who researches the interaction between humans and plants (ethnobotany) and conservation biology. Her specialisms include alpine environments, climate change, indigenous peoples and traditional knowledge. She is a past-president of the Society for Economic Botany and holds their Distinguished Economic Botanist award. She is also Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and received the Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration. In 2019 she retired as Senior Curator of Ethnobotany at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and now has emerita status.

Shirley Cotter Tucker is an American botanist, lichenologist, and a former Boyd Professor of botany at Louisiana State University. The standard author abbreviation S.C.Tucker is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Blackwell</span> American mycologist

Meredith May Blackwell is an American mycologist, known as one of the world's leading experts on fungi associated with arthropods.

Mary Elizabeth Elliott was a Canadian plant pathologist and mycologist who spent 28 years with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She was known for her work on the taxonomy and physiology of the Sclerotiniaceae; she was also knowledgeable in the identification of mushrooms, a service she offered regularly to the public, and served as president of the Canadian Botanical Association.

John Cameron Semple is a botanist, cytotaxonomist, professor emeritus, and adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. He was born in Boston and earned a degree of Bachelor of Science in 1969 from Tufts University, followed in 1971 and 1972 by Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. Semple is known for his work with members of the tribe Astereae, particularly goldenrods, American asters, and goldenasters, and he maintains the University of Waterloo Astereae Lab website. Semple's wife is Brenda, and in 2013, he named a newly-discovered goldenrod species Solidago brendiae in honor of her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Bixler Heiser</span> American botanist and ethnobotanist

Charles Bixler Heiser Jr. (1920–2010) was a professor of botany, known as a leading expert on the sunflower genus Helianthus. He is also noteworthy as the author of a "series of popular books that did much to promote botany to the general public."

Warren Lambert Wagner is an American botanist, a curator of botany, and a leading expert on Onagraceae and plants of the Pacific Islands, especially plants of the Hawaiian Islands.

Emanuel David "Rudy" Rudolph was a botanist, lichenologist, and historian of botany. He was "the first botanist to conduct diverse experiments on the total biology of lichens in both polar regions".

<i>A textbook of general botany</i>

A textbook of general botany is a botany book first published in 1924 by Gilbert M. Smith, James B. Overton, Edward M. Gilbert, Rollin H. Denniston, George S. Bryan and Charles E. Allen. The textbook gives a broad introduction to the various elements and concepts of general botany.

References

  1. "Botanical Society of America - About the BSA". Botany.org. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  2. http://www.botany.org/bsa/membership/council2012/a_summary.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. http://www.botany.org/bsa/membership/council2012/treasurer.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. Botanical Society of America website
  5. Tippo, Oswald (1958). "The Early History of the Botanical Society of America." Fifty Years of Botany. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 16 September 2012 from Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. Smocovitis, Vassiliki Betty (2006). "One hundred years of American botany: a short history of the Botanical Society of America." American Journal of Botany93(7): 942-952. doi: 10.3732/ajb.93.7.942
  7. "An Historical Overview of the BSA". Archived from the original on 4 February 2007.
  8. Rudolph, Emanuel D. (1982). "Women in Nineteenth Century American Botany; A Generally Unrecognized Constituency". American Journal of Botany. 69 (8): 1353. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1982.tb13382.x. JSTOR   2442761.