XX International Botanical Congress

In June this year, just over three thousand botanists from around the world attended the 20th International Botanical Congress at the IFEMA Convention Centre in Madrid, Spain.

The IFEMA Convention Centre facilitated over three thousand participants in the course of the week.

In the week prior to the main program, proposals to amend The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants were discussed and voted on.

Participants of the nomenclature section.

The main program consisted of several symposia and workshops, often running concurrently across many different lecture halls. The plenary lectures and symposia covered an incredibly diverse range of subjects, including taxonomy, molecular phylogenetics, conservation, paleobotany, invasive species, climate change, biogeography, citizen science and ethnobotany, to name a few. Poster sessions were mostly held during morning tea and lunch, covering an equally diverse range of topics.

Dr. Sandra Knapp delivering one of the first plenary lectures.

Research posters covering a huge diversity of subjects were displayed in the main hall.

Australian researchers were well represented at the conference, with over 50 researchers attending. The CSIRO Publishing (https://www.publish.csiro.au/) booth acted as an unofficial meeting point for the Australian contingent over the course of the week.

Australasian Systematic Botany Society (www.asbs.org.au) members in front of the CSIRO Publishing booth in the main hall.

Conferences of this scale also represent great networking events, with important new connections made and ideas shared over lunch and the conference dinner.

Lunch in the main hall.

Conference dinner.

All in all, the conference was a fantastic learning and networking experience that was a catalyst for innovation and growth in all fields of botanical knowledge. If you attended the XX International Botanical Congress, we'd love to hear your favorite moments and takeaways in the comments below!