The Southern Appalachian Botanical Society was founded in 1936 as a club for botanists in West Virginia and the surrounding area. Since that time we’ve grown into a regional botanical society with hundreds of members across more than 14 states. Each year we provide students and professional members of our society with monetary awards for and recognition of outstanding research or contributions to botany. Our peer-reviewed journal Castanea, published since our founding, continues to be one of the most important contributions our society has made to southeastern botany.
The Southern Appalachian Botanical Society supports botany, professional botanists, and botany students in the United States. Each year, we provide professional and student scholars with thousands of dollars of support for ongoing research and in recognition of outstanding contributions to botany. Our journal Castanea serves professional and amateur botanists by reviewing and publishing scientific papers related to botany in the Eastern United States.
We welcome article submissions from members and nonmembers, students and professionals.
Learn more about our peer-review process, submitting papers, and other publication details.
Castanea and the Chinquapin newsletter are publications of our sponsor organization, the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Castanea takes its name from the genus of the American Chestnut tree, Castanea dentata.
This now critically endangered tree once made up 35% of the Eastern forests before being devastated by a blight that destroyed up to 4 billion American Chestnut trees.
Our archives provide members digital access to Castanea, Chinquapin (the SABS newsletter), and Occasional Papers in Eastern Botany.
Castanea was first published in 1936 by The Southern Appalachian Botanical Club and is now in its 84th volume.
In 1993 the Society began publishing Chinquapin, which carries letters to the editor, endowment news, wild ideas, botanical gardens, notes on specific plants, botanical excursions and other exciting topics.
Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura) is a dioecious tree native to China and Japan. Although imperiled in parts of its natural distribution, the species has become quite
Houstonia montana Small (Rubiaceae) is a federally-listed herbaceous perennial known only from 16 populations across the rock outcrops and grassy balds of North Carolina, Tennessee,
We welcome scholarly articles by students and professionals
Everything an author needs to know about submitting a scholarly article to our editors and our peer-review and publication process.
We are dedicated to helping botany students succeed and make valuable contributions to the field.
Castanea Journal wouldn't be possible without the time and expertise of our esteemed Editorial Board members.