Jun/Jul 2008 issue (vol. 2, no. 1)
Feb 1, 2008: cut-off date for inclusion.
Nov/Dec 2008 issue (vol. 2, no. 2)
June 15, 2008: cut-off date for inclusion.
BRIT considers original research papers concerned with systematic botany for publication in J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas (formerly Sida, Contributions to Botany) from many diverse disciplines. Chief among these are: biogeography, cytogenetics, ecology, ethnobotany, floristics, morphology, nomenclature, paleobotany, and palynology.
If you would like your work to have wide distribution, J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas provides it—along with quick turnaround, personal service, and expert advice. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas accepts papers in English or Spanish. All submissions are peer-reviewed. Page costs are $40/page with color pages extra. See below and/or please contact the Editor for the latest information.
Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (issn 1934-5259) is an international journal of systematic botany containing primary research papers sensu lato, including anatomy, biogeography, chemotaxonomy, cladistics, ecology, floristics, genetics & evolution, numerical taxonomy, paleobotany, and palynology. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas is open to all authors anywhere; coverage is not restricted to any geographical area.
All manuscripts submitted to J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas are considered by at least two reviewers. Manuscripts may be submitted in English or Spanish. Page costs are $40 per page but may be waived or reduced under certain circumstances. Please contact the editor and make arrangements before publication. Manuscripts are not rejected due to lack of financial support. Submit manuscripts and editorial questions to Barney Lipscomb, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 509 Pecan Street, Fort Worth, TEXAS 76102-4060, U.S.A. Phones: 1-817-332-4441 voice; 1-817-332-4112 fax. Our electronic mail address is jbrit@brit.org. Access J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas home page at www.britpress.org.
Full-page image/text size is 5˝ × 8 inches (32.5 × 48 picas; 138 × 202 mm). Please submit manuscripts in electronic format as an email attachment. If you wish submissions are also accepted by USPS mail with a single hard copy and on computer disk. Figures/illustrations may be submitted in low-resolution format (jpgs) as email attachments for review purposes only. Upon acceptance for publication, the manuscript may be submitted as an email attachment or returned in the mail with a single hard copy and an electronic copy. If you have figures/illustrations in electronic format they should be submitted in tif format, scanned at the absolute best quality possible. Digital figures may have to be submitted on a CD-ROM disk if they are too large for email. Typically b/w line drawings should be scanned at 600 dpi or higher and b/w half tones and color photos at 300 dpi. If you need your figures/illustrations digitized, the editorial staff at the BRIT Press will be happy handle any electronic digitization needs you have; all original material can be returned if requested.
Consult the latest issue of J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas (or Sida) for format of articles and notes regarding title, author, and address. Ranges of numbers are separated by double hyphens (6--8) OR use an en dash (–). Footnotes, figure legends, appendices, and tables should be on separate pages and inserted at end of manuscript following references. Authors are encouraged to use the APG families, nearly all of which are on /APweb/ which can be accessed through the Missouri Botanical Garden research site (Angiosperm phylogeny).
Every paper should include both an English and Spanish, or another major language abstract.
Label information should be followed for specimen citations in whatever language. Follow whatever unit if measure is provided on the label (metric or English). Use the collector’s last name (or full name) and number or (s.n) and italicize. Abbreviate the months of the year by the first three letters of the month without a period. Example: Texas. Jeff Davis Co.: l mi W of Fort Davis, 3 Jan 1972, Smith 118 (BRIT). Example: BRAZIL. Bahia: Serra da Agua de Rega, 23 km N of Seabra, road to Agua de Rega, ca. 1000 m, 24 Feb 1971 (fr), Irwin et al. 30894 (HB, MBM, MO, NY).
Ageratina thyrsiflora (E. Greene) R. King & H. Robinson, Phytologia 19:227. 1970. Kyrstenia thyrsiflora E. Greene, Leafl. Bot. Observ. Crit. 1:9. 1903. Eupatorium thyrsiflorum (E. Greene) B.L. Robinson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 43:36. 1907. Type: MEXICO. Chihuahua: Southwestern Chihuahua, Aug 1885, E. Palmer 275 (Lectotype, designated here: US, internet image!).
Eupatorium arborescens M.E. Jones, Contr. West. Bot. 12:43. 1908. Type: MEXICO. Chihuahua: Sierra Madre Mts., Guayanopa Canon, 3600 ft alt., in the Tropical Life Zone, 24 Sep 1903, M.E. Jones s.n. (Lectotype, designated here: RSA-POM 41799, photocopy!; isolectotype: RSA-POM 41800, photocopy!).
Koanophyllon palmeri (A. Gray) R. King & H. Robinson, Phytologia 22:150. 1971. Eupatorium palmeri A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 21: 383. 1886. Gray did not cite a specific collection but noted “type locality, ‘shady places high up in mountains above Batopilas.’” Type: MEXICO. [Chihuahua]: Southwestern Chihuahua, Aug–Nov 1885, Palmer 144 (Lectotype, designated here: GH!; isolectotype: US, internet image!).
Eupatorium thyrsiflorum var. holoclerum B.L. Robinson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 43:36. 1907. Type: MEXICO. Durango: City of Durango and vicinity, Apr–Nov 1896, E. Palmer 755 (holotype: GH; isotypes: MO!, US, internet image!).
Eupatorium solidaginifolium A. Gray, Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 3(5) [Pl. Wright. 1]:87. 1852. Type: UNITED STATES: “Collected in Expedition from Western Texas to El Paso, New Mexico, May–Oct, 1849, by Charles Wright” [as on label], Wright 256 (holotype: GH, photocopy!; isotype: GH, photocopy!).
Chromolaena bigelovii (A. Gray) R. King & H. Robinson, Phytologia 20:208. 1970. Eupatorium bigelovii A. Gray in Torrey, Rep. U.S. & Mex. Bound. Survey, Bot. 75. 1859. Type: UNITED STATES: [locality uncertain but probably along the Texas-Coahuila boundary, 1848–1855], J.M. Bigelow 12 (probable holotype: GH, photocopy!).
Bellis ciliata Raf. var. triflora Raf., New Fl. N. Amer. 2:25. 1837. Astranthium integrifolium (Michx.) Nutt. var. triflorum (Raf.) Shinners, Sida 2:348. 1966. Type: UNITED STATES. Texas. Fannin Co.: 4 mi N of Bonham, sandy ditch bank, 10 Jun 1945, L.H. Shinners 7842 (Neotype, designated here: SMU!).
Erigeron peregrinus (Banks ex Pursh) Greene var. thompsonii (Blake ex J.W. Thompson) Cronquist, Brittonia 6:144. 1947. Erigeron thompsonii Blake ex J.W. Thompson, Rhodora 34:238. 1932. Type: UNITED STATES. Washington: Grays Harbor Co.: open bog near Lake Quinault, 10 Jul 1931, J.W. Thompson 7336 (holotype: US!; isotypes: GH!, K, MO!, UC).
Use the author abbreviations as given in the Author Abbreviations compiled at the Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1992). Use et or the ampersand (&) between two authors; for more than two authors, restrict to the first one followed by et al. Do not italicize or underline in the manuscript the terms et, et al., ex, or in.
Plant names in the text should include authorship or clearly state the botanical nomenclature being followed.
Please provide a Latin diagnosis for each new taxon. After the Latin diagnosis, an English or Spanish version is recommended highlighting the diagnostic characters. Write plant descriptions as incomplete sentences with phrases separated by semicolons.
Please present ALL figures (maps included) as a unified, single sequence of figures. A scale should be in or on the illustration or photograph; reduction will automatically reduce the scale and subject proportionately. In halftones, sharp glossy photographs with good contrast are necessary for good reproduction. You may also submit graphic materials in electronic format (tif, jpg, high res PDF, or other graphic image formats). IF you are submitting your own digital scans, typically b/w line drawings should be scanned at 600 dpi or higher and b/w half tones and color photos at 300 dpi at the size of reproduction (approx. 5" wide). Please consult the latest issue and/or the editor for additional information if need. Color figures can be used but an additional cost maybe charged. Color slides/transparencies may be submitted for scanning. Please submit color prints or low resolution images for reviewing purposes. Captions and figures should be placed at the end of manuscript after references. PLEASE do not submit final figures embedded in text documents. This fine for review purposes but not for printing purposes.
Tables and appendices should be presented as a unified, single sequence of tables and appendices. Placement order of figures, tables, and appendices immediately following references: 1) tables, 2) figures, 3) appendices.
This includes all of the literature cited in the text and may include other article citations the author may deem desirable. Normal text references should be cited as follows: ‘Ricketson and Pipoly (1997) stated...’ or ‘the latest revision (Ricketson & Pipoly 1997)’ when reference is used as authority for a statement. When there are three or more authors use only the name of the first author followed by et al.: ‘Barrie et al. (1992a) stated’. References at the end of the article are arranged alphabetically and chronologically making use of a,b, etc. if an author had more than one publication in a given year. Author's names are printed in Cap/small caps, NOT ALL CAPS; please type author names in Cap/small cap or in Cap/lower case except for initial capitals. Only the first letter of the initial word, proper nouns, and proper adjectives of titles should be capitalized. Please note there is no space between initials of authors. For journal abbreviations, use Botanico-Periodicum-Huntianum. Reference examples:
Barrie, F.R., C.E. Jarvis, and J.L. Reveal. 1992a. The need to change Article 8.3 of the Code. Taxon 41:508--512.
Ricketson, J. and J. Pipoly. 1997. A synopsis of the genus Gentlea (Myrsinaceae) and a key to the genera of Myrsinaceae in Mesoamerica. Sida 17:697--707. [author’s names in cap/lower case]
Crawford, D.J. 1983. Phylogenetic and systematic inferences from electrophoretic studies. In: S.D. Tanksley and T.J. Orton, eds. Isozymes in plant genetics and breeding, Part A. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Pp. 257--287. [author’s names in cap/small cap]
Sivinski, R.C. and K. Lightfoot (eds.). 1995. Inventory of rare and endangered plants of New Mexico. New Mexico Forestry and Resources Conservation Division. Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Misc. Pub. No. 4.
When the following abbreviations are used the period is omitted. Distance: mm, dm, cm, m, km, ft, mi; directions (in caps): S, N, E, W, months: first 3 letters only, Jan, Feb, etc. Example: Potter Co.: 2 km W of Dot, 5 Jun 1971, Smith 118 (SMU).
Refer to Sida 21(3):1663. 2005.
Recommendation: Consider acknowledging the herbaria consulted for any data in your paper as this acknowledgment might help herbaria and institutions justify their existence and support either from their own institution or from granting agencies. In a time where herbaria are merging and even dying, let’s not take them for granted.
Floristic papers are important, but they need to be more than a list of plants, they need added value, they need meat and context added. Such papers should emphasize the uniqueness of the floristic study area, physical characteristics, cultural and historical information, land use history, climate, major vegetational habitats, rare/endangered/special concern taxa, new county records, state records, disjuncts, invasives, etc. Lists in and of themselves are not that useful. Annotate your list as much as possible. The more annotations you can add to the checklist the more value it will have. A list that provides ecological notes on rare and endangered taxa or other noteworthy taxa, State and Federal status on any rare and endangered species, and highlights and notes any endemics, disjuncts, or significant geographic distribution records, etc., is so much more valuable and useful. Conservation issues are also important and any information and discussion on such would add considerable value to the paper.
Also note which and how many species are state-listed by the Heritage Program if they exist. Summarize how many taxa occur in various classes of county numbers, which is informative for conservation of the state’s flora.
Range extension papers will ONLY be considered for publication when the taxon being reported represents a new state record, significant disjunct, documented exotic/invasive, rare and/or endangered or is a rare endemic.
Email the editor Barney Lipscomb barney@brit.org.
