International Maple Society

International Maple Society
Name	International Maple Society
Formation	1978
Type	Nonprofit association
Headquarters	Toronto
Region served	Global
Leader title	President
Leader name	Dr. Margaret Ellis

International Maple Society is an international association dedicated to the study, cultivation, conservation, and appreciation of maples and related taxa. Founded in 1978, the Society connects arborists, botanists, foresters, horticulturists, and collectors across North America, Europe, and Asia through conferences, publications, and conservation initiatives. Its activities intersect with botanical gardens, university research centers, municipal parks, and arboreta worldwide.

History

The Society emerged from collaborations among members of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario, the Arnold Arboretum, and the Canadian Botanical Association following exchanges at the International Botanical Congress and the World Forestry Congress. Early founders included curators affiliated with the Missouri Botanical Garden, researchers from the University of Toronto Department of Botany, and collectors linked to the Royal Horticultural Society and the Smithsonian Institution. Initial meetings were influenced by expeditions to Hokkaido, contacts with researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and planting projects in partnership with the New York Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Milestones include symposia held alongside the International Union of Forest Research Organizations and awards presented at the Chelsea Flower Show and the Frankfurt Plant Fair.

Mission and Objectives

The Society’s mission aligns with conservation priorities endorsed by the IUCN Red List, collaboration frameworks of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and best practices promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Objectives emphasize documentation of Acer diversity, collaboration with the Botanical Society of America, and dissemination of cultivation protocols used by the National Arboretum (United States), the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and regional partners like the Arnold Arboretum and the Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis. The Society engages with standards from the International Plant Protection Convention and partners with seed banks such as the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership.

Membership and Governance

Membership includes professionals from institutions such as the University of British Columbia, the University of Tokyo, the Chinese Academy of Forestry, and the University of Helsinki, as well as volunteers from municipal bodies like the City of Vancouver Parks Board and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The governance structure features an international council elected in triennial ballots modeled after procedures used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Royal Horticultural Society. Advisory committees include representatives from the International Dendrology Society, the Society for Conservation Biology, and the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists. Honorary chairs have included researchers associated with the Smithsonian Institution and curators formerly at the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Activities and Programs

The Society organizes biennial congresses hosted at venues such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany. Workshops held with partners like the International Forestry Students' Association and the European Forest Institute cover propagation techniques used at the New York Botanical Garden and pest management practices promoted by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization. Annual field expeditions have been undertaken to regions including Sichuan, Hokkaido, Brittany, and the Appalachian Mountains, coordinated with local institutions such as the Yunnan Academy of Forestry and the University of Bologna. The Society awards prizes in collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society and publishes prize-winning entries presented at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Research and Publications

The Society publishes a peer-reviewed bulletin and monograph series drawing on research from the Journal of Arboriculture, the Annals of Botany, and the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. Contributors include taxonomists from the Kew Herbarium, ecologists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution studying climate impacts, and geneticists at the Salk Institute and the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. Major projects have mapped Acer phylogenies using methods developed at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and comparative studies following protocols from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Collaborative reports have been submitted to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and datasets shared with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Conservation and Outreach

Conservation initiatives include ex situ collections coordinated with the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, restoration plantings with urban partners such as the City of Toronto and the London Borough of Camden, and in situ conservation projects in collaboration with the Yunnan Provincial Forestry Department and the Hokkaido University Museum. Outreach campaigns have involved outreach through the Royal Horticultural Society networks, educational programs with the Smithsonian Institution and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and public lectures at venues including the Toronto Botanical Garden and the New York Botanical Garden. The Society advocates for policies referenced in discussions at the Convention on Biological Diversity and implements citizen science programs modeled after initiatives by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology and the National Phenology Network.

Category:Botanical societies Category:Conservation organizations