Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

Are you a PhD student ready to publish a paper? Submit your research to our journal today & enter one of our new journal prizes, celebrating PhD student work in #Botany! 🧪🌍👇
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Phylogenomics and intergenomic conflict in a challenging orchid clade (Calypsoinae): monophyly of Corallorhiza, paraphyly of Oreorchis, and resurrection of Kitigorchis Abstract. Heterotrophic plants are among the most recalcitrant from a systematics perspective because of reduced morphological and genomic features, and of

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

Not quite Frankenstein's monster, nuclear sequence capture was used on the orchid subtribe Calypsoinae, making a strong case for the resurrection of Kitigorchis as a sister to Corallorhiza! Read about it below 🌍🧪👇

Who you gonna call? EVOLUTIONARY SCIENTISTS!

Ghost species (no, not species of ghost) are extinct, unknown & unsampled taxa...and they vastly outnumber those included in phylogenetics. This hidden diversity can complicate phylogenetic signals of horizontal gene flow, impacting their study...(1/2)🧪

As a Learned Society, our journals provide vital income that funds our charitable endeavours and community engagement. By reviewing for us, you give back to our community and contribute to our mission of creating a world where nature is understood, valued, and protected. (2/2)

It's #PeerReviewWeek and what better opportunity exists to say a huge thank you to our excellent reviewers from across the globe. It is your hard work & commitment that enables us to continue publishing ground-breaking research in Biology, Botany, Evolution and Zoology. (1/2)

How widespread is pollination by sexual deception of fungus gnats in Pterostylis (Orchidaceae)? Abstract. Pollination by sexual deception has evolved multiple times in the Orchidaceae, with most known cases involving male Hymenoptera as pollinators. T

Did you know male wasps can get tricked by orchids into thinking they're females?

Pterostylis orchids use sexual deception as a pollination strategy, with fungus gnats (Diptera) falling victim, acting as the main pollinators of these deceptive plants! 🌍🧪👇
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Hybrid Day Meeting | Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World Join us at the Linnean Society for a one-day symposium focused on the mechanisms and consequences of variation in organismal resilience

Speaker Spotlight!

Today we're sharing molecular biologist Glenn Yannic, whose research focuses on the consequences of environmental & anthropogenic changes on the genetic diversity of alpine & arctic species.

Book to see Glenn Nov 20 🌍🧪👇
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Hybrid Day Meeting | Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing World Join us at the Linnean Society for a one-day symposium focused on the mechanisms and consequences of variation in organismal resilience

Speaker Spotlight! 📣

Today we're highlighting Chloe Haberkorn, a biologist who specialises in evolutionary genomics, currently in yeast! Her PhD focused on resistance mechanisms in bed bugs (scream).

Come see Chloe on Nov 20 🧪🌍👇
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@chloehbk.bsky.social

Diversity and leaflet anatomical characters evolution of Machaerium Pers. (Fabaceae – Faboideae) Abstract. Taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of Machaerium species have demonstrated overlapping morphological characters that delimit sections and/or clad

Machaerium species morphological characters can help delimit sections or clades, such as the width or shape of their leaflets! Here, their morphoanatomical characters were studied to understand their usefulness for taxonomy & classification! Read more below 🌍🧪👇

Fathers Out Of The Blue: Leatherback Turtles Take a DNA Test Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

New Blog Day! 📣

Who's your daddy? This is the question asked by guest blogger @katyakolesnykova.bsky.social, breaking down Gabriela Bispo & co's paper on leatherback turtle mating systems! A long-time mystery, DNA analysis revealed a surprising truth 🌍🧪👇 A 🧵 (1/6)

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Body shape, a key trait in fish (they'd do wonders on Hinge), varies between geographic regions & sexes, reflecting adaptations to local environments. Here, body-shape variation among 3-spine sticklebacks was studied, revealing shape was mostly affected by sexual dimorphism! How? (1/2) 🧪🌍

Unravelling the cryptic diversity of the low-dispersal land planarian Cephaloflexa bergi to elucidate diversification processes in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Abstract. The terrestrial flatworm Cephaloflexa bergi (Tricladida: Platyhelminthes) is an excellent model for elucidating the evolutionary processes shapin

Terrestrial flatworms have helped uncover the evolutionary processes shaping #Biodiversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, as their limited dispersal & sensitivity to environmental change reflect the evolutionary history of the forest! 🌍🧪👇

Diversity and development of labial tooth row formulae in tadpoles Abstract. Keratinized labial teeth of the oral apparatus are a conspicuous evolutionary novelty of anuran tadpoles. Although several comparative studies ha

Tadpoles have...TEETH?! An evolutionary novelty of anuran tadpoles, the taxonomic distribution of keratinized labial teeth remains a mystery. Yet here, variation in row number was studied in a phylogenetic context!
If you're bitten by a tadpole do you turn into a frog..? 🌍🧪👇

Getting Batty at Battersea Learn how to use bat detectors to spot their squeaky echolocation calls with us, and how to identify different species.

SCREEAEAAEEEEEAAAAAAEAEAAA!!! That's bat for "Join our Bat Walks"! Every Wednesday at dusk in Battersea Park, book your place now (tickets are flying, just like bats...the only mammal to evolve true flight....) 🌍🧪🦇👇

Why Do Birds Have Whiskers? Discover the latest news from The Linnean Society of London.

📣New Blog Day! 🚨

Ever wondered why birds have whiskers? Many theories have been proposed, from eye protection to prey capture, but all lacked conclusive scientific evidence...until now! Guest blogger Michael Sellgren breaks this down in our latest blog, a 🧵(1/6)🌍🧪

www.linnean.org/news/2025/08...

Hybrid Day Meeting | Organismal resilience in a rapidly changing world Join us at the Linnean Society for a one-day symposium focused on the mechanisms and consequences of variation in organismal resilience

Speaker spotlight!
@trishschulte.bsky.social studies how fishes' physiology, biochemistry & genetics adapt to challenging environmental conditions, like high temperature.

Hear from her at our symposium on 20 November. Online & in person tickets available.

Submit your research with us or simply join us for our symposium on Organismal Resilience in a Rapidly Changing world! Register via the link below 👇🌍🧪https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/pages/organismal-resilience

On the left, bats are seen flying out of a gap in the forest canopy, and on the right, 3 large flying foxes are hanging upside on a branch.

How, when & where animals move during mating periods can direct gene flow in species. Here, the impact of migratory behaviour on population structure in 17 species of bat was studied, revealing no link to genetic structure or diversity in general! 🌍🧪🦇
Bat to the research...
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Everyone loves tardigrades (especially at the LinnSoc), but is tardigrade love-making affected by water? Here, the effect of anhydrobiosis (life without water) on mate choice & reproductive stress was studied, finding females laid fewer eggs but no delay on mate choice! 🌍🧪
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Cryptic biodiversity challenges assessments of global biodiversity & ecosystem health, including in the ocean. Here, morphology & DNA of Ancistrocheirus lesueurii was studied, revealing ~6 cryptic species! You've gotta be squidding me...🌍🧪🦑 (1/2)
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Occurrence map showing the globe with arrows and images highlighting incidences of the invasive herbs' spread worldwide, and risk areas for further spread.

Bright green leaves and purple flowers are characteristic of the herb, seen here carpeting a forest floor under palm trees, and close up.

Stealthy herb Praxelis clematidea has spread globally from S America over the past 40 years, leading to a need for ecological niche modelling to understand its potential spread under #ClimateChange & offer insight into high-risk invasion areas! Read more below 🧪🌍
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Contrary to expectations, there were high levels of fruit set & seed viability between ecotypes, suggest no reproductive barriers! Floral morphology was different, but this was likely affected by local abiotic conditions...read more below (2/2) 🧪🌍
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Photo of the front of an orchid flower for the species Epidendrum fulgens, showing flower in whole (in orange) and the five individual petals (yellow).

When species exist in different habitats, reproductive barriers & divergence traits may emerge between populations. Here, 8 populations of the orchid Epidendrum fulgens were studied for compatibility & flower morphology, looking for potential reproductive barriers! What was found out? (1/2) 🌍🧪🧵

Noodle Bodies, Gyroscope Ears, and Phantom Girdles | Limb Reduced Lizards Noodle bodies, gyroscope ears, and phantom girdles. Peeking inside the strange, hidden world of limb-reduced lizards

Join us online as Dr Marco Camaiti reveals the hidden world of limb-reduced lizards! Discover how skinks have evolved "noodle-like" bodies, phantom bones & strange internal anatomy...all revealed with cutting-edge imaging. Join us at 12:30pm Wednesday 13th August! 👇🌍🧪

Map of the sampling sites for the frog, showing a globe highlighting Brazil in green, the sampling sites within the forest in orange, yellow, purple and blue, and a small image of the frog itself in the lower right hand corner.

Froget it's Monday by learning about subtropical Proceratophrys frogs! Found in the Araucaria Forest, DNA evidence suggests their diversity is the result of marine transgression, highlighting the role of climate in diversification!

A ribbiting read 👇🐸🌍🧪
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The phylogeny & diversification of bromeliads is shown with a colour image of a bromeliad in situ at the centre, surrounded by a time-calibrated tree and sketches of different seed types on the right hand side.

Bromeliads are one of the most diverse Neotropical flora, but why are they so diverse? Here, molecular phylogeny is used to understand this in 1268 taxa...revealing how geological & climatic events shaped their evolution! 🧪🌍👇
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My bromeli-bad for the lack of puns...

Check out our latest journal cover, provided by @jameststroud.bsky.social linking to our Special Issue on Adaptive Radiation! Want your image to feature on our cover? Submit your manuscript with us today 👇🌍🧪
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Sauropod tracks from the Central Sayr A site, showing in situ tracks overturned to reveal their plantar surface. Sketches of each footprint help identify its shape from the surrounding orange rock.

Life reconstruction images of the feet of the trackmaker, showing the right manus and left pes. Roman numerals indicate digit positions. Illustrated by Khoi Nguyen.

Titanosaur-sum discovery! Well-preserved tracks of Nemegt sauropods from S Mongolia have revealed novel insights into soft tissue anatomy & function, including scales that may have helped with scratch digging on sandy surfaces! 🧪🌍🦕

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@linneansociety.bsky.social

Leaf traits of three species of shrub birch, showing close ups of the veins on the underside of their leaves.

Shrub birches are important components of vast wetlands in NE China, though despite this their taxonomy has remained ambiguous. Using morphological & molecular data, shrub birch populations were genotyped, revealing 2 distinct clades! Find out more 🌍🧪👇
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Five images of the angiosperm Crinum campanulatumin in situ, showing pink flowers pollinated by different species of bee and moth.

Did you know bees like smelly flowers? Research on an aquatic angiosperm Crinum campanulatum revealed a shift from nocturnal pollination by hawkmoths to diurnal pollination by bees, associated with smaller flowers and increased diurnal scent! Find out why below 🧪🌍👇
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