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DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
The Plant Press
From The Plant Press, Vol. 29, No. 1, January 2026.
The 23rd National Botanical Symposium to explore 250 years of American Botany
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Department of Botany, the United States Botanic Garden, and Smithsonian Gardens will hold the 23rd National Botanical Symposium (formerly Smithsonian Botanical Symposium), “American Botany: 250 years of Discovery,” on May 29, 2026.
The 18th century not only saw the founding of our nation but also the founding of American botany as it transformed from European explorers looking for plants to supply European gardens, to a new age of homegrown botanists and horticulturists. The American government sent out expeditions to explore the expanding frontier and bring back plants and document indigenous knowledge about them. America has a unique flora that has undergone dramatic changes in composition and distribution. From indigenous people managing land with fire, to the 20th century loss of keystone species like American chestnut to disease, our national flora has changed enormously as a result of land use and movement of people. These changes have brought great biological, cultural, and economic impacts. Botanical research is in an exciting era of big data from new technologies. New plant species continue to be discovered in the U.S. and the environmental processes that make and shape our flora are increasingly understood, especially across landscapes. The Symposium will celebrate the centuries of endeavors and successes to document and explain our flora with speakers who provide insight into research on the plants, biomes, history, and botanical exploration of the United States.
In addition, the 23rd José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany will be awarded at the Symposium to an international scholar who has contributed significantly to advancing the field of tropical botany. The award is named in honor of Dr. José Cuatrecasas, a pioneering botanist who spent many years working in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian and devoted his career to plant exploration and taxonomy in tropical South America.
The Symposium will feature invited speakers giving afternoon presentations in the Q?rius Science Education Center of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C., for both in-person and virtual guests. The talks will be followed by a poster session and evening reception for in-person guests at the Conservatory of the U.S. Botanic Garden.