American Society of Plant Taxonomists

The American Society of Plant Taxonomists (ASPT) is a professional botanical organization established in 1935 to advance the study and practice of plant taxonomy. Its stated purpose is broad: to foster education and research in plant taxonomy while also supporting the disciplines, collections, and scientific methods that contribute to taxonomy and herbarium work. In this context, taxonomy includes the identification, classification, description, naming, and evolutionary interpretation of plants, while herbaria provide the preserved specimen collections and associated data that underpin much of that research. ASPT operates as a scholarly society rather than as a consumer-facing commercial brand. It connects botanists, systematists, herbarium professionals, students, and related researchers through publications, recognition programs, and the exchange of scientific knowledge. The organization is incorporated in Wyoming, and its office is associated with the Department of Botany at the University of Wyoming. The available reference material does not identify a separate commercial parent company, controlling owner, or public listing. The society’s principal publication is Systematic Botany, a quarterly journal covering research relevant to plant systematics and taxonomy. ASPT also publishes Systematic Botany Monographs, an irregular series intended for longer or more specialized scholarly contributions. These publications give the society an enduring role in communicating taxonomic research and maintaining a professional forum for the field. Recognition of achievement is another central part of the ASPT identity. The Asa Gray Award honors outstanding accomplishments related to the society’s objectives. Its recipients include prominent figures in plant systematics and allied botanical disciplines, with the award recorded in the reference material from Rogers McVaugh in 1984 through Charlotte M. Taylor in 2025. The Peter Raven Award recognizes exceptional efforts to communicate botanical knowledge to people outside the scientific community. Its listed recipients include educators, curators, outreach specialists, and researchers, and the award was not presented in 2012 or 2013 according to the supplied records. ASPT’s role has therefore developed across several connected functions: supporting professional scholarship, sustaining taxonomic and herbarium research, publishing peer-reviewed and monographic work, and encouraging communication between botanical specialists and broader audiences. Its work is relevant to biodiversity documentation, conservation science, natural-history collections, botanical nomenclature, and the interpretation of plant diversity. The supplied sources do not provide detailed membership totals, a full current officer list, revenue information, or a detailed account of geographic membership. Accordingly, the organization is best characterized as an active U.S. scientific society with an international scholarly relevance rather than as a conventional product or service brand.

The American Society of Plant Taxonomists was formed in 1935 during a period when plant taxonomy, systematics, and herbarium science were becoming increasingly organized as professional and academic fields. Its founding purpose, as described in its bylaws, was to encourage education and research in plant taxonomy and in the related areas that support taxonomy and herbarium practice. This remit placed the society at the intersection of field botany, specimen-based research, comparative morphology, nomenclature, and the classification of plant diversity. Rather than functioning as a commercial enterprise, ASPT developed as a learned society serving specialists and the institutions in which botanical research is conducted. Its activities have included scholarly publication, professional recognition, and the dissemination of botanical knowledge. The society is incorporated in Wyoming, with its office located through the Department of Botany at the University of Wyoming. The available material does not state that the university owns the society; the relationship described is an office affiliation. Publishing became one of ASPT’s principal means of supporting the field. The society publishes Systematic Botany as a quarterly journal, creating a continuing venue for research in plant systematics and taxonomy. It also publishes Systematic Botany Monographs on an irregular basis, allowing longer or more specialized studies to appear outside the journal’s regular schedule. Together, these publications reflect the society’s role in maintaining a formal scholarly record for the study of plant relationships, classification, and diversity. ASPT also built a tradition of recognizing contributions to botanical science and communication. The Asa Gray Award is presented for accomplishments pertinent to the society’s goals. The supplied award history begins with Rogers McVaugh in 1984 and includes later recipients such as Arthur Cronquist, Peter Raven, Vicki Funk, Michael Donoghue, Douglas and Pamela Soltis, and Charlotte M. Taylor in 2025. The Peter Raven Award was established to recognize exceptional efforts to reach non-scientists. Its recorded recipients include Peter Raven, Sandra Knapp, Barney Lipscomb, Susan Pell, Tanisha Williams, and W. John Kress in 2025. The supplied list records no award in 2012 and 2013. Across its history, ASPT’s institutional contribution has been to connect taxonomic research with professional community-building and communication. Plant taxonomy is foundational to naming and documenting biodiversity, while herbarium collections preserve evidence used in identification, revisionary studies, conservation assessments, and evolutionary research. By supporting publications and honoring both scientific accomplishment and public engagement, the society has maintained a role that extends beyond a single academic department or publication. The available references do not provide a complete chronological account of governance, membership expansion, major conferences, or changes in publishing infrastructure. They also do not identify individual founders, current officers, financial figures, or a separate corporate ownership structure. Those details remain unconfirmed.

• 2025

  Latest award recipients in the supplied record

  [1]American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org

  Charlotte M. Taylor received the Asa Gray Award and W. John Kress received the Peter Raven Award in the 2025 entries supplied for the society.

• 2012

  Peter Raven Award not presented

  [1]American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org

  The supplied award history records no Peter Raven Award recipient for 2012.

• 2000

  Peter Raven Award recipient series begins in the supplied record

  [1]American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Raven is listed as the recipient of the Peter Raven Award in 2000.

• 1984

  Asa Gray Award history begins in the supplied record

  [1]American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org

  Rogers McVaugh is listed as the first recipient in the supplied sequence of Asa Gray Award recipients.

• 1935

  Society established

  [1]American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org

  The American Society of Plant Taxonomists was formed to promote education and research in plant taxonomy and related fields, including herbarium science.

A scholarly society dedicated to advancing plant taxonomy and systematics through research support, specialist publishing, herbarium-related knowledge, professional recognition, education, and public outreach.

• Quarterly scholarly journal

  Systematic Botany

  Systematic Botany is ASPT’s quarterly botanical journal. It provides a continuing scholarly outlet for research in plant taxonomy and systematics, including work concerned with classification, relationships, identification, and the broader scientific fields that support the study of plant diversity. As a society publication, it is one of ASPT’s main mechanisms for disseminating specialist research.

• Irregular scholarly monograph series

  Systematic Botany Monographs

  Systematic Botany Monographs is an irregular publication series associated with ASPT. Its format is suited to substantial or specialized botanical studies that require more space than a standard journal article. The series complements the society’s quarterly journal and extends its role in preserving and circulating detailed taxonomic and systematic research.

• Professional award

  Asa Gray Award

  The Asa Gray Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments relevant to the goals of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. It is the society’s principal honor for exceptional achievement in plant taxonomy, systematics, and closely related botanical work.

• Outreach award

  Peter Raven Award

  The Peter Raven Award honors a botanist who has made exceptional efforts to communicate botanical knowledge to non-scientists. It recognizes the public-facing and educational dimension of plant science alongside ASPT’s research mission.

1. 1American Society of Plant Taxonomistsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2American Society of Plant Taxonomists official websiteaspt.net