Journal profile · Plant Sciences
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
ISSN 0024-4074 · eISSN 1095-8339 · Oxford University Press · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1969
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society: CAS Zone 2 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.14; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,541; review about 6 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: about 50%; 119 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 2 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Plant Diversity and Evolution, Plant and animal studies and Plant and Fungal Species Descriptions, together about 44.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics and Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society publishes original papers relating to the biology of both plants and fungi. The journal was first published in 1856 and evolved from the societies journal Transactions, which published early papers by Darwin and Wallace. The main criteria for acceptance are the novelty and significance of the paper. The scope of articles that we publish includes but is not limited to: botany; climate change; comparative biology; ecology; evolutionary biology; mycology; phylogenetic inference; plant sciences; systematics. We welcome papers that utilise different techniques and fields of enquiry, and those that show the systematic implications of comparative work. For example, incorporating cytogenetics, developmental biology, morphometrics, palaeobotany, palynology, and phytochemistry. We particularly encourage papers that are integrated across fields and where these comparisons have significance for plant evolution more broadly, as well as the use of novel methodologies. Papers that focus on just one taxon should nonetheless have clear insights for botany more widely. The journal will usually publish new taxa only as a part of larger phylogenetic revisions or monographic works. The journal publishes original articles, short original articles, as well as comments and review papers, including invited reviews.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief Steven DodsworthPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 10%); most named Mainland China 4, United States 4, Germany 4, Spain 4, Brazil 4 (39 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant Diversity and EvolutionAgricultural and Biological Sciences19.9%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.9%
- Plant and Fungal Species DescriptionsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.6%
- Plant Taxonomy and PhylogeneticsAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.8%
- Botany and Plant Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Fern and Epiphyte BiologyAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
- Plant Parasitism and ResistanceAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EBSCO, ProQuest, OCLCPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.14LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.28LetPub ·
- h-index
- 61LetPub ·
- h-index
- 118OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,133OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.81OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 20.13%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 113LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 182,859Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,947 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 87 | 17 | 15 |
| 2025 | 119 | 39 | 145 |
| 2024 | 97 | 57 | 389 |
| 2023 | 103 | 60 | 708 |
| 2022 | 49 | 20 | 401 |
| 2021 | 107 | 32 | 1,414 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 50%LetPub ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer review, at least 2 reviewersPublisher website · model-extracted
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | GBP 2,685 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 100–200 words
- Keywords
- ≤ 10
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Not considered
- papers in numbered series; new taxa in titles; papers 'submitted', 'in review' or 'in preparation'
Article types accepted6
- commentArticle types Editorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
- editorialEditorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
- invited reviewArticle types Editorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
- original articleEditorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
- reviewEditorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
- short original articleArticle types Editorial Original Article Short Original Article Review Invited Review CommentLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use
Natural language processing tools driven by AI do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. Use of AI should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Model summary
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
After manuscript submission, no authorship changes should be made unless there is a substantive reason. The editor and all co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates authorship disputes. Model summary
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and cont…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of interest
Oxford University Press requires declaration of any conflict of interest upon submission online. If the manuscript is published, conflict of interest information will be communicated in a statement in the published paper. Permissions regarding reuse of OUP material Self-archiving policy
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of Data and Materials
The Journal requires all authors, where ethically possible, to publicly release all data and software code underlying any published paper as a condition of publication. Authors are required to include a data availability statement in their paper. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list.…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Third-party copyright
Authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder and be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to reuse in order to reproduce any third party material, including tables, figures, or images, in an article. Model summary
In order to reproduce any third party material, including tables, figures, or images, in an article authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder and be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to this reuse. When seeking to reproduce any kind of third party material authors should request the following: non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
The Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution. Should you wish to publish your art…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
All submissions to the journal are initially reviewed by one of the Editors. At this stage manuscripts may be rejected without peer review if it is felt that they are not of high enough priority or not relevant to the journal. This fast rejection process means that authors are given a quick decision and do not need to wait for the review process. Manuscripts that are not instantly rejected are sen…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
Manuscripts submitted to The Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society may be screened with iThenticate anti-plagiarism software in an attempt to detect and prevent plagiarism. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose part or all of the text has been previously published. Prior to final acceptance any manuscript that has not already been screened may be put through i…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint policy
Authors should aim to communicate ideas and information clearly and concisely, in language suitable for the moderate specialist. Papers in languages other than English are not accepted unless invited. Model summary
Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiv…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1969
- ISSN
- 0024-4074
- Electronic ISSN
- 1095-8339
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 212, Issue 1 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
What CAS zone is Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society is in Zone 2 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Plant Sciences. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.14; CiteScore 4.9, h-index 118.
How long does peer review take at Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society?
Authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 50%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 100–200 words; Keywords: ≤ 10; Reference style: Author–date. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society based?
Of the 39 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 10%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (4), United States (4) and Germany (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society open access, and what is the APC?
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,541.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .