2006/07/01 by Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #History of Science and Natural History #Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies #Plant and animal studies #Biology #Botany
paper · doi:10.3732/ajb.93.7.942
openalex publication_date 2006/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This paper offers highlights from the 100 (plus) years of the Botanical Society of America (BSA) and draws extensively on the archives of the BSA. In addition to examining the founding of the society and the attempt to "professionalize" botany in late 19th century America, the paper also explores the complex relations between the BSA and a number of related societies in the United States, the Society's struggle to create a coherent identity for itself, the place of botany as a whole in the context of the burgeoning biological sciences in the 20th century, and the changing role of the BSA in an international context. The paper assesses both the achievements and the challenges facing the BSA. It closes by offering some historical reflections on the status of "botany" as a science and the historical significance of terms like "plant biology" and "plant science."