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| International Organization for Succulent Plant Study | |
|---|---|
| Name | International Organization for Succulent Plant Study |
| Abbreviation | IOS |
| Formation | 1950 |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Headquarters | The Netherlands |
| Region served | Worldwide |
| Membership | Individual and institutional |
| Leader title | President |
International Organization for Succulent Plant Study is an international learned society dedicated to the study, conservation, cultivation, and taxonomy of succulent plants. Founded by botanists, horticulturists, and collectors, the organization fosters collaboration among institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the United States Botanic Garden, and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium. Its work intersects with botanical gardens, herbaria, and research institutes including the Smithsonian Institution, the Natural History Museum, London, the New York Botanical Garden, and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
The organization's origins trace to post‑World War II exchanges among specialists linked to the International Botanical Congress, the Royal Horticultural Society, the Linnean Society of London, and regional societies like the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and the Sociedad Colombiana de Cactus y Suculentas. Early figures associated with its founding included curators and taxonomists from the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, the British Museum (Natural History), and universities such as University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, and University of California, Berkeley. Through the decades the organization has collaborated with conservation programs in institutions like the IUCN, the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, and the World Wildlife Fund.
The organization promotes objectives similar to those advanced at meetings of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. It facilitates research projects with partners like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Herbarium, the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, the National Museum of Natural History (France), and the Australian National Botanic Gardens. Activities encompass field expeditions linked to regions such as the Atacama Desert, the Namib Desert, Mexican Plateau, and the Cape Floristic Region, cooperation with botanical expeditions previously organized by the Royal Geographical Society, and collaborations with seed banks including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and national repositories.
Membership includes individual specialists, institutional members drawn from the Jardin Botanique de Montréal, the Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, university departments at University of Barcelona, University of Bonn, University of São Paulo, and professional bodies such as the American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Governance follows a council model with officers comparable to those in the Kew Guild and advisory panels collaborating with the International Association for Plant Taxonomy and the Society for Ecological Restoration. Regional sections mirror structures used by organizations like the Botanical Society of America, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
The organization issues journals, monographs, and newsletters that circulate among libraries such as the Bodleian Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Library of Congress. Its periodicals feature contributions from authors affiliated with the University of Zurich, University of Vienna, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of Cape Town, and research programs at the Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de las Huastecas. Published work often cites herbarium specimens from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Herbarium (K), the United States National Herbarium (US), and the Herbarium Berolinense (B) and collaborates with editorial boards resembling those of the Journal of Ecology, Taxon, and the American Journal of Botany.
The organization convenes international congresses and symposia held in partnership with host institutions such as the University of Lisbon, the University of Pretoria, the Universidad de Chile, and the University of Arizona. Past venues have included botanical garden campuses like the Jardín Botánico de Buenos Aires, the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and events have featured keynote speakers from establishments like the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London. Conferences coordinate with allied meetings such as the International Botanical Congress and regional gatherings organized by the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and the Sociedad Española de Cactus y Crasas.
Conservation projects are conducted in partnership with conservationists from the IUCN SSC Plant Specialist Group, national parks administrations such as South African National Parks, the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), and NGOs like Conservation International. Horticultural training and ex situ conservation programs align with the missions of the Montreal Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes, the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, and university botanical collections at Cornell University. Initiatives include seed banking, propagation protocols shared with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, and restoration efforts modeled on projects undertaken by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the United Nations Environment Programme.
The organization contributes to taxonomic revisions and nomenclatural proposals submitted to repositories and committees like the International Association for Plant Taxonomy and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Collaboration with taxonomists from the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid, the Instituto de Biología (UNAM), the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales has produced monographic treatments, keys, and type specimen designations that are cited alongside work from the Herbarium Pacificum and the Field Museum. Its taxonomy efforts frequently intersect with conservation assessments used by the IUCN Red List and regional floras such as the Flora Europaea and the Flora Mesoamericana.
Category:Botanical societies Category:Plant taxonomy organizations