Hawaiian Botanical Society

Hawaiian Botanical Society
Name	Hawaiian Botanical Society
Founded	1920
Location	Honolulu, Hawai‘i
Fields	Botany, Conservation, Ethnobotany

Hawaiian Botanical Society The Hawaiian Botanical Society is a scientific organization based in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, dedicated to the study, documentation, and conservation of Pacific and Hawaiian flora. It connects researchers, curators, land managers, educators, and community members through publications, meetings, field trips, and collaborative programs. The Society interfaces with museums, universities, botanical gardens, government agencies, and non‑profit organizations to promote plant science, native plant restoration, and cultural plant knowledge across the Hawaiian Islands and the broader Pacific region.

History

Founded in 1920, the Society emerged amid a period of botanical exploration that included figures associated with Bishop Museum, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Charles Noyes Forbes, Joseph F. Rock, and collectors tied to U.S. National Herbarium. Early meetings attracted botanists connected to University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaii Board of Agriculture, and visiting scholars from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Smithsonian Institution, and New York Botanical Garden. Through the 20th century the Society collaborated with curators from Arnold Arboretum, Missouri Botanical Garden, and field researchers who contributed to floristic surveys in places such as Haleakalā, Mauna Kea, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, and Lanaʻi. Notable members and correspondents included those associated with the work of Ernest H. Wilson, Lucien Marcus Underwood, Harold St. John, and botanists linked to Island Biology studies and Pacific biogeography. The Society’s history intersects with conservation milestones involving Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, and early endemism assessments by researchers from Kew Gardens and California Academy of Sciences.

Mission and Activities

The Society’s mission emphasizes plant taxonomy, systematics, and conservation of endemic and native species such as taxa studied by specialists from Smithsonian Institution and University of California, Berkeley. It supports ethnobotanical research tied to practitioners connected with Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hale Ho‘ike‘ike at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, and cultural protocols observed by kupuna affiliated with Kamehameha Schools. Activities include coordination with National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Nā Ala Hele, and restoration partners like The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. The Society also facilitates workshops involving herbarium curators from Bishop Museum Herbarium, University of Hawaiʻi Herbarium (HAW), and technicians trained in specimen curation used by scholars at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Australian National Herbarium, and National Herbarium of New South Wales.

Publications

The Society publishes peer‑oriented and outreach materials including a journal that has featured papers by researchers affiliated with Pacific Science, Systematic Botany, Madroño, and contributors from University of Hawaiʻi Press. Articles have documented floristic inventories, new species descriptions by authors connected to International Plant Names Index registrants, and conservation assessments used by IUCN Red List evaluators and managers at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Monographs and field guides produced in collaboration with editors from Island Press, illustrators who have worked with Smithsonian Libraries, and photographers whose work appears in collections at Bishop Museum support identification efforts. The Society’s newsletters circulate news about grants from institutions such as National Science Foundation, projects conducted with USDA Forest Service, and reports relevant to managers at Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Conservation and Research Programs

Conservation efforts are coordinated with agencies and organizations including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, County of Hawaiʻi, and non‑profits like Hawai‘i Botanical Gardens and Kupu. Research programs link to scientists at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of California, Santa Cruz, and international collaborators from University of Auckland and University of Queensland. Projects address threats from invasive taxa discussed in reports by Plant Conservation Alliance, control strategies informed by studies from USDA APHIS, and restoration methods adopted by teams working with Heʻeia State Park and community groups supported by Kamehameha Schools. The Society has participated in seed banking initiatives similar to efforts at Millennium Seed Bank Partnership and genetic studies conducted with laboratories at Harvard University and Stanford University.

Membership and Governance

Membership comprises botanists, horticulturists, curators, land managers, educators, and students associated with institutions such as Bishop Museum, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Kapiʻolani Community College, and volunteer networks tied to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park. Governance is typically overseen by an elected board with officers who have affiliations with National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii Conservation Alliance Foundation, and regional herbarium directors from Bernice P. Bishop Museum. Committees coordinate finances, field trip planning, publications, and liaison work with funders such as National Endowment for the Humanities when projects intersect with cultural documentation, and with scientific funders like National Science Foundation for research grants.

Events and Outreach

Regular events include symposia, monthly meetings, and field trips to sites such as Nā Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, Waimea Canyon State Park, Manoa Valley, and restoration sites on Kauaʻi. The Society partners with cultural and educational organizations like Hawai‘i Alliance for Arts Education, Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools, and community groups from Molokaʻi and Lanaʻi to deliver native plant workshops, seed exchange fairs, and identification training used by volunteers who support projects at Kōkeʻe State Park and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Outreach extends to museum exhibitions co‑curated with Bishop Museum, public talks held at Hawai‘i State Library, and collaborative initiatives with international conferences such as meetings of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy and regional gatherings like Pacific Science Association sessions.

Category:Organizations established in 1920 Category:Botanical societies