Botanical Society of Scotland
The Botanical Society of Scotland (BSS) is the national learned society for botanists of Scotland. The Society's aims are to advance knowledge and appreciation of flowering and cryptogamic plants, algae and fungi. The Society's activities[1] include lectures (mainly held in Edinburgh, but also in other Scottish cities), symposia, field excursions, field projects and an annual exhibition meeting (held jointly with the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) for exchange of information between botanists working in different areas. Its publications include include a twice-yearly newsletter, BSS News, and a scientific journal, Plant Ecology & Diversity. The Society is closely linked to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Scottish universities.[2]
History
It was founded in 1836 as the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, changing its name in 1991, and incorporates the Cryptogamic Society of Scotland, founded in 1875.[3] The Botanical Society of Scotland has been a charity registered in Scotland since 19 February 1918, and became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) (No. SC016283) on 15 April 2014.
Publications
The Botanical Society of Edinburgh published its first journal, Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, from 1844 to 1990. In 1991, this was replaced with Botanical Journal of Scotland, published by Edinburgh University Press, to reflect the change of the society's name to "Botanical Society of Scotland" in the same year. In 2008, to give the journal an international appeal, Botanical Journal of Scotland was in turn replaced by Plant Ecology and Diversity, published by Taylor & Francis.[4] Plant Ecology and Diversity was accepted for inclusion in Scopus in 2010 and it received its first impact factor, 2.053, in 2011.
Notable members
- Albert, Prince Consort
- Queen Victoria, the Society's first Patron
- Alexander Adie
- Alexander von Humboldt
- Cardale Babington
- John Hutton Balfour, the driving force behind the establishment of the Society
- William Brand, founder member
- Robert Brown
- Alexander Bryson
- Alexander Buchan
- William Carruthers
- Thomas Frederic Cheeseman
- Hugh Cleghorn, the "father of Indian forestry", a founder member in 1839, elected President in 1870
- Charles Darwin, author of "On The Origin of Species"
- Alexander Dickson
- Job Bicknell Ellis
- C. H. Gimingham
- Robert Graham, first President of the Society
- Robert Kaye Greville
- Godfrey Howitt
- Edward Janczewski
- Paul Gordon Jarvis FRS, Plant Ecologist, Professor of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Edinburgh
- George Lawson, the "father of Canadian botany", was assistant secretary and curator of the Society
- Lars Levi Læstadius
- Duncan Napier
- Robert Thomson, pioneer of sanitation
- Göte Turesson
- Charles Wyville Thomson, chief scientist on the Challenger Expedition
- Katherine Sophia Kane, the first elected female member of the society
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the Society's current Patron
- Roy Watling MBE, PhD., DSc, FRSE, F.I.Biol., C.Biol., FLS, Mycologist
See also
- Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland
- Flora of Scotland
- Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society
- Scottish Natural Heritage
References
- ↑ "Activities". Botanical Society of Scotland. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ↑ "About the BSS". Botanical Society of Scotland. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ↑ Watling, R. (1986). "150 Years of paddock stools: A history of agaric ecology and floristics in Scotland". Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 45: 1–42. doi:10.1080/03746608608685403.
- ↑ "Plant Ecology & Diversity". Taylor & Francis Website. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
