The Southern Appalachian Botanical Society (formerly the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club) is an American

botanical Botany, also called , 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 wo ...

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

formed in 1935 at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. The focus of the society has gradually changed and now includes the botany of the entire eastern United States, including the

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

biogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

, and

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

of plants. The society has about 500 members.

History

The society was founded in 1935 and produced its first journal in 1936. The majority (52%) of the first members were from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

, and early leaders included

Earl Core Earl Lemley Core (January 20, 1902 – December 8, 1984) was a botanist and botanical educator, researcher, and author as well as a local West Virginia historian. He was founder of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club and editor of its journ ...

Perry Daniel Strausbaugh Perry Daniel Strausbaugh (March 21, 1886 - May 3, 1965) was an American botanist and expert in the flora of West Virginia. Early life Strausbaugh was born near Republic, Ohio on March 21, 1886. When he was 16, he received his teacher's certific ...

, and Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew. The early years of the society were characterized by botanical forays, or expeditions, that served to build relationships and communication among Appalachian botanists and to foster botanical exploration. The society expanded its geographical focus, adapted its governance, and modernized its journal in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the name was officially changed to Southern Appalachian Botanical Society in 1992. The history of the society was put into the context of Appalachian botanical heritage in a 1994 movie entitled ''And Who Will Weigh the Mountains''. The

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

s of the society are housed at West Virginia University.

Publications

The society publishes ''

Castanea The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nut (fruit), nuts they produce. Th ...

'', a quarterly journal of botanical research. The first issue of the society's journal was issued as ''The Journal of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club'' in 1936. Articles cover topics such as the systematics of eastern U.S. plants, rare and endangered plants, local

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

s, changes in species distributions,

physiological ecology Ecophysiology (from Greek , ''oikos'', "house(hold)"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia''), environmental physiology or physiological ecology is a biological discipline that studies the response of an organism's physiology to environm ...

, and the ecological analysis of vegetation types. Larger studies are produced as part of an irregular series entitled ''Castanea, Occasional Papers in Eastern Botany''. The newsletter ''Chinquapin'' was first published in 1993 to provide news about the society, to answer questions about botanical problems, to present informative articles, and to act as an outlet for member questions or observations.

Activities

Each year the society has an April meeting in conjunction with the

Association of Southeastern Biologists The Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB) is a scientific professional organization in the southeastern United States focused on promoting research and education across the biological sciences. The ASB hosts an annual meeting featuring pape ...

and the

Society of Herbarium Curators A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

. The meetings, held in various southeastern states, include lectures, posters, banquets, and local field trips to botanically interesting areas. The society also supports the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, whi ...

Awards

The Richard and Minnie Windler Award rewards outstanding research in the area of plant taxonomy and is given annually for the best article published in ''Castanea''. The Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award recognizes people who have made significant contributions to southern Appalachian botany, to the society, or to botany through professional and public service. The society funds student research projects through the Earl Core Student Research Award. These awards are announced at the annual meeting in April, in addition to an award for the best student lecture presentation and best student poster presentation.

References

External links

*
''Castanea''

''Chinquapin''
{{authority control Botanical societies 1935 establishments in West Virginia Organizations established in 1935 Scientific societies based in the United States