How will the Orchid Tree of Life advance our understanding of this charismatic group? On 25 November we’re excited to hear from Guest Editor and symposium convenor Oscar A. Pérez-Escobar, leader of this global initiative. Get online or in-person tickets buff.ly/woUYTxz

Symposium | Orchidaceae | Taxonomy, Diversification, and Biogeography

Bringing together contributions that advance our understanding of orchid evolution across taxonomic, temporal, and geographical scales.

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The Mathers Foundation has been championing orchid conservation for nearly a decade. On 25 November its founders, David and Gill Mathers, join our symposium ‘Orchidaceae | Taxonomy, Diversification, and Biogeography’ to share their work. Join us online or in-person - register at buff.ly/dMhsq0k

The Barnadesiodeae plant subfamily (a sister to the daisy family) shows diverse evolutionary adaptations to survive in the mesic & xeric regions of South America, with one adaptation being rapid growth during spring rains to mitigate water loss in drier seasons! Learn more below 🧪 👇 buff.ly/OSVGob3

How will the Orchid Tree of Life advance our understanding of this charismatic group? On 25 November we’re excited to hear from @botjlinnsoc.bsky.social Guest Editor and symposium convenor Oscar A. Pérez-Escobar, leader of this global initiative. Get online or in-person tickets buff.ly/woUYTxz

New Blog! 🚨 As one of Africa's most distinctive primates, over 20 species of bushbaby are recognised in science. But how, and why, did so many evolve? Here, guest blogger Katie Porter answers that question by breaking down a recent study in our Biological journal! Read it below 🧪👇

How Did Bushbabies Become Different Species?

Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

linnean.org

New Blog! 📣 There's not mushroom for fungi in the fossil record, yet here Isabelle Pola discusses the discovery of one of the oldest ever found! From Cretaceous period sedimentary rock, these fossils help to reshape our understanding of how modern ecosystems developed...https://buff.ly/3hp1vOd 🧪

In Early Cretaceous Forests: There's Mushroom for Fossils

Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

linnean.org

Bromeliads are one of the great evolutionary success stories of the neotropics. Explaining how the plant biodiversity evolved is one of the greatest challenges in evo bio. Read this study that confirms the crucial role that hummingbirds played from our Botanical Journal! bit.ly/4h69Z4Z

Hummingbirds and pineapples: why this ancient relationship hits the evolutionary sweetspot

Hummingbirds are responsible for some of the fastest evolution in the plant kingdom.

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On 25 November, our symposium 'Orchidaceae | Taxonomy, Diversification, and Biogeography' will bring together perspectives on orchid evolution. Curated by @latinorchidbot.bsky.social, editor of a Special Issue in @botjlinnsoc.bsky.social, with speakers including Richard M. Bateman.

Symposium | Orchidaceae | Taxonomy, Diversification, and Biogeography

Bringing together contributions that advance our understanding of orchid evolution across taxonomic, temporal, and geographical scales.

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Call for Writers! 📣 Are you a student or early career researcher? Science communicator? Know someone who is? We're looking for our next round of Guest Bloggers for our journal blog The Paper Trail! Check out our vacancies page to apply, and read some of our latest posts here: buff.ly/7JVQmSx 🧪 🌍

Help showcase the breadth of contemporary orchid research and its insights into plant diversification. @botjlinnsoc.bsky.social welcomes your work for its new Special Issue. Learn more and submit: oxford.ly/3PVrBFP

Ever wondered how plants survive across fragmented environments? Reproductive flexibility! In one carnivorous plant Utricularia damazioi, being self-compatible, pollinated by bees & having the ability to self-pollinate if cross pollination fails have helped it survive...🌍🧪👇 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

Reproductive flexibility and plant–pollinator coupling in a carnivorous plant from campos rupestres Utricularia damazioi Beauverd (Lentibulariaceae)

Abstract. Reproductive flexibility can promote plant persistence in fragmented or environmentally restrictive habitats by ensuring seed production under va

doi.org

Happy #VolunteersWeek! Rosie Ryland, graduate ecologist at Arbtech, is our spotlight today, having written a blog for The Paper Trail about anole adaptations in the Andes and featuring in our membership magazine The Linnean! You can read her blog below 👇 🧪 🌍 www.linnean.org/news/2025/06...

Happy #VolunteersWeeks! We're highlighting Ben Raby today, who wrote a guest blog about the use of machine learning to identify salt stress in plants. With a biology background, he's currently studying an MSc in Cleantech Innovation at Imperial! Read his blog 👇 🧪 🌍 www.linnean.org/news/2025/07...

Happy Bank Holiday! Still looking for your daily dose of Linnean journals? Here, germination strategies in a tropical hydrochoric bromeliad were compared between coastal & inland populations, revealing the role of abiotic & biotic pressures across environmental gradients! 🌍🧪

From inland vigour to coastal caution: contrasting germination strategies of a tropical hydrochoric bromeliad

Abstract. Distinct environmental factors can drive divergent selection, shaping contrasting ecological strategies across populations. Coastal habitats char

doi.org

Island hopping is not restricted to holidaying in Greece, but also an evolutionary strategy by Caribbean Pitcairnia - a group of terrestrial plants in the Bromeliad family! Here, it was found they likely radiated from Venezuela to the islands 200,000 years ago... academic.oup.com/botlinnean/a...

Island hopping: dispersal of Pitcairnia L’Her. (Bromeliaceae) through the Caribbean islands

Abstract. Pitcairnia, a group of terrestrial and mesophytic plants, is the second largest genus in the Bromeliaceae family, with over 400 species distribut

academic.oup.com

Harsh conditions & challenges imposed by fragmented habitat often restrict gene flow & increase genetic structure in alpine plants. Here, the first population genetic study of the Notothlaspi plant ground in NZ revealed historical periods of contact & isolation amongst species! 🌍🧪 buff.ly/juytPxs

Male ferns of the Drypoteris affinis complex pose a problem for taxonomists & botanists alike, as ploidy level (number of complete chromosome pairs) is key for species ID, but this complex has di-, tri-, tetra- & pentaploid taxa! Stomatal length increases with ploidy, but can this be a proxy? (1/2)

Pollen, the silent enemy of many around this time of year, is good for more than simply using as an excuse for crying (we see you Tracy Beaker)... Here, the pollen of 17 species of Cryptangieae were described using an electron microscope, helping to identify species! 🌍🧪👇

Investigating palynotaxonomy and evolutionary trends in Cryptangieae (Cyperaceae)

Abstract. Cryptangieae represent a monophyletic and morphologically coherent group, which are poorly understood regarding palynological aspects. Considerin

doi.org

Biased sampling of Lauraceae, a family with over 3000 species, means its diversification history remains poorly understood despite its prevalence in the tropics. Here, plastome sequencing of 16 genera significantly improves our understanding, revealing divergent spatial patterns! 🌍🧪

Differential plastome diversification of the Lauraceae between tropical regions of Asia and America

ABSTRACT. The Lauraceae, a diverse family with over 50 genera and 3000 species, exhibit exceptional species richness in tropical regions of Asia and Americ

doi.org

Rare & endemic to the Balkan Peninsular, Ferula heuffelii is a star amongst herbarium collections from the 19th & 20th Century. Yet, its phylogenetic position remains mysterious, leading to this paper discussing the difficulties in reconstructing the phylogeny within this genus 🧪🌍👇

Conflicting phylogenetic signals obscure the taxonomic position of Ferula heuffelii (Apiaceae), a rare Southeast European endemic

ABSTRACT. Ferula heuffelii (Apiaceae) is a rare endemic species of the Balkan Peninsula, with herbarium specimens collected from a few localities, often du

doi.org

Orchid-you not, while plant translocations can help mitigate extinction risk, they are often unsuccessful due to a failure to take their ecology into account. Yet for one orchid (Caladenia formosa), understanding its threats, pollinators & population viability offered some help! buff.ly/S488fic

📣 Call for writers! Are you an early career researcher? University student? Science communicator? Know someone who is? We're always looking for new Guest Bloggers to contribute to our journal blog The Paper Trail! Have a read below, or check out our vacancies page to apply. buff.ly/7IohkLQ

It's common knowledge by now that human activity has a negative impact on species, affecting conservation & #Biodiversity. This can be exacerbated in transition zones, where species limits are unknown. The genus Petunia inhabits one such zone...a 🧵(1/2) 🧪🌍

Processes of evolution can change over time, resulting in compositional & exchange rate tree heterogeneity...curious to know what the means for phylogenetics? Check out this paper 👇🌍🧪 doi.org/10.1093/evol...

For #Conservation to be successful & focused, accurate taxonomy is critical (and we're not just saying that because we're a Linnean Journal). Using range-wide sampling & genome-wide analyses, the species boundaries of Grevillea brachystylis was assessed, helping to do just that! 🌍🧪👇

📣 Call for Volunteers! Are you an early career researcher? University student? Science communicator? Know someone who is? We're always looking for new Guest Bloggers to contribute to our journal blog The Paper Trail! Find out more about it & apply below 👇🌍🧪

Vacancies

Explore the wealth of content available within The Linnean Society of London's website.

linnean.org

It might be the year of the fire horse now, but you know what came first? Sphenophyllales...an extinct clade of HORSEtails important for ground cover & understory of tropical Carboniferous peat swamps! A new species is described here from Illinois, check it out 🌍🧪🐎 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

Why not publish your research with a Society Journal? 🧪🌍 The Linnean Society is committed to publishing high-quality and ground-breaking scientific research across the four themes of botany, zoology, biology and evolution, striving to make these accessible & engaging to a global audience. 🧵(1/4)

Usually there's not mushroom for #FossilFriday in our Botanical journal, but this week we're in luck! Fossils in sedimentary rocks have revealed the co-oldest gilled mushroom forming fungus, and it's pretty spectacular! Check it out 🧪🌍🍄 doi.org/10.1093/botl...

As a Society Journal, it's not just the work that we publish that's important, but what that work goes on to support. This blog post sums up our role as a place for research perfectly: we help to shape the very systems through which people access knowledge...a 🧵(1/3) 🧪🌍 buff.ly/OymWe9o

Guest Post — Societies 2030: The Community Advantage in an AI-First World - The Scholarly Kitchen

Today's guest bloggers call for society publishers to recognize their unique role in shaping the systems researchers use to discover and evaluate knowledge.

scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org