The International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) is composed of international organizations with interests in botany, mycology, phycology and related fields. The IABMS is the body charged with ensuring the ongoing continuance of International Botanical Congresses (IBC).

 

For a professional society to be an official member of IABMS it is necessary to also be a scientific member of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS). The list of member societies belonging to IABMS is provided below. Because membership in IUBS is required for a professional society to join IABMS we have established an “Affiliate Member” status, which will allow organizations that are not members of IUBS to participate in IABMS activities and receive communications from IABMS. Being informed of International Botanical Congress plans and other international initiatives is important to all botanical, mycological and phycological communities, regardless of whether their professional society is regional, national, or international in scope.

 

The International Botanical Congress is the most important interdisciplinary convention in the plant sciences, including botany, mycology, phycology, systematics, ecology, paleontology, conservation, ethnobotany, agriculture, horticulture, and related fields. The IBC provides unique opportunities to bring together scientists and students from many countries to share their research. Rapid advances in knowledge about plants, including their history, uses, interactions with other organisms, and role in the ecosystem, are becoming more important than ever to the stability and sustainability of the human endeavor and life on Earth. The IBC is the most prestigious international convention for sharing such knowledge. The Congresses are held every six years. 

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The most recent Congress was held in Madrid, Spain. The Nomenclature Section was held July 15-19, 2024 and the Botanical Congress was held July 21-27, 2024. The next IBC will be held in Cape Town, South Africa in July 2029. More details to follow soon.

 

IABMS had its origin in 1987 at the XIV International Botanical Congress in Berlin and became more clearly established in 1993 with a formal constitution at the XV IBC in Yokohama. The goals of IABMS are 1) to promote the exchange of information between member organizations and coordinate and further their aims and efforts; and 2) to encourage international scientific organizations with an interest in botany, mycology, phycology and related fields and are not yet members of IUBS, to apply for Scientific Membership in the Union so that they may participate in the Association.

 

The primary responsibility of the IABMS is to ensure the continued organization of International Botanical Congresses. In choosing a venue for a future International Botanical Congress an invitation for the submission of letters of interest to organize the IBC is published in relevant journals and distributed to member societies and other organizations that traditionally participate in the congresses. Invitations to prepare a full proposal are then issued to qualified authors of letters of intent. Full proposals are reviewed by a committee composed of IABMS members. The committee will make a recommendation that will be presented to the IABMS Board. If the Board approves the recommendation it will then be presented to the General Assembly of the IABMS, which is concurrent with the final plenary session of the next International Botanical Congress for approval. The invitation for letters of interest is published three years in advance of the next IBC. 

 

The Chair and Secretary of IABMS are elected at the IBC and serve six year terms until the next IBC. IABMS officers are Dr. Patrick S. Herendeen, Chair, and Dr. Jiří Kvaček, Secretary, and Dr. Gonzalo Nieto Feliner, President of the 2024 XX IBC. Other board members are the presidents or appointed representatives of IABMS member societies.

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Official IABMS Member Societies

Biodiversity Information Standards - TDWG

International Association for Lichenology - IAL

International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences - IAPPS

International Association of Botanic Gardens - IABG

International Association for Plant Taxonomy - IAPT

International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction Research - IASPRR

​International Association of Wood Anatomists - IAWA

International Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants - ICNCP

International Commission on the Taxonomy of Fungi

International Committee on Bionomenclature - ICP

International Council for Medicinal & Aromatic Plants - ICMAP

International Federation of Palynological Societies - IFPS

International Mycological Association - IMA

International Organisation for Succulent Plant Study - IOS

International Organisation of Palaeobotany - IOP

International Phycological Society - IPS

International Seed Testing Association- ISTA

International Society for Horticultural Science - ISHS

International Society for Mushroom Science

International Society for Plant Pathology

International Society for Tropical Root Crops – ISTRC

International Society on Microbial Ecology - ISME

Organisation for the Phyto-Taxonomic Investigation of the Mediterranean Area - OPTIMA

World Federation for Culture Collections - WFCC

 

IABMS Affiliate Societies

Work in progress (available soon)