Societies and Periodicals

Botanical periodicals, which were obtained by subscription or through membership in affiliated societies, created communities of readers based on a mutual affinity for plants. Arriving at intervals, periodicals reaffirmed ties among their readership while distributing the latest botanical information, even before it could be printed in books. Botanical periodicals contained articles and reports, presented correspondence from far away countries, celebrated honorary members, advertised books, and offered monetary prizes for the best solution to botanical questions. Editors solicited and compiled submissions from readers to print in upcoming issues, making periodicals sites of information exchange. They also played an important role in building and maintaining communities of scientists or botanophiles; taken in series, periodicals could serve as something of a record of the time spent and knowledge gained botanising together.

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