Photo Credit: Ana Penny
Madroño
The Society publishes Madroño, a quarterly scientific journal of peer-reviewed research articles on the natural history of Western American botanical organisms and vegetation, including those of Mexico, Central America, and South America. Original research papers and notes (in English or Spanish) on ecology, systematics, floristics, restoration, conservation biology, and other areas of organismal botany are routinely found in Madroño. We also publish noteworthy collections: a tabulation of range extensions and new species.
All individual members receive Madroño online. Subscriptions to Madroño are available for institutions as part of BioOne Complete. The publication of Madroño is supported by membership dues and institutional subscriptions. Memberships are sold in 12-month intervals.
New Article Types for Madroño
Starting with Volume 73 (2026), Madroño will offer two new article types, Natural History Notes and Commentaries. The first is for new discoveries that botanists should be aware of, while Commentaries are meant to stimulate discussion and reflection. We have also established a policy for authors concerning the use of artificial intelligence tools. Please note that beginning with Volume 73 (2026), Madroño will be an open access journal with new policies concerning article charges.
Natural History Notes
Natural history notes are a new submission category and will be treated as a ‘Note’ like Noteworthy Collections. We will evaluate the value of these notes based on whether the submission seems like a new, persistent feature or event, rather than a singular event. The note should concern unusual, undescribed, or long-term processes or events of interest to the broader botanical audience. There should be some context so readers can understand the observation and why it is considered unusual or undescribed: why is this considered significant? This type of article should have photographs or figures to accompany the note for clarity.
Submissions should be brief and should include a limited number of photographs, figures, and/or tables that are a core part of the observation. The note should be of scientific interest. Follow author’s guidelines for formal aspects of the manuscript such as citations, and alt-text legends. Include sections on Previous Knowledge and Significance.
Commentaries
Commentaries should present ideas, concepts, and criticisms that engage readers. That usually means 1) something provocative, 2) something they didn’t know much about, or 3) something they thought they knew something about but found out they were wrong. So, not necessarily a data paper, not necessarily a review paper, but more a “let’s stimulate the audience” paper. These are invited articles, but if you have an idea for a commentary, first contact the editor with a paragraph describing your idea. There is no set structure for this article type but follow Madroño Author Instructions for formal aspects of the manuscript such as citations, and alt-text legends.
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Photos by Matt Guilliams
Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parker, San Francisco State University,
San Francisco, CA
Copy Editors
Anna Arft
Magdalene Lo
Kristal Waltrous
Associate Editors
Dena Grossenbacher, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Susan Fawcett, University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley
National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalāheo, HI
Justin Luong, Cal Poly, Humboldt
Photos by Ixchel Sarahi Gonzalez Ramirez