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 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.
Contents
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. 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. Plant Ecology and Diversity was accepted for inclusion in Scopus in 2010 and it received its first impact factor, 2.053, in 2011.