Journal profile · Plant Sciences
South African Journal of Botany
ISSN 0254-6299 · eISSN 1727-9321 · Elsevier · SOUTH AFRICA · Quarterly · Founded 1982
South African Journal of Botany: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.1; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,750; review about 144 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: about 75%; 633 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
South African Journal of Botany is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, Essential Oils and Antimicrobial Activity and Plant Diversity and Evolution, together about 22.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Official Journal of the South African Association of BotanistsThe South African Journal of Botany, an international interdisciplinary journal for plant sciences, publishes original papers that deal with the classification, biodiversity, morphology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology, biotechnology, ethnobotany and other botanically related aspects of species that are of importance to southern Africa. Manuscripts dealing with significant new findings on other species of the world and general botanical principles will also be considered and are encouraged.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Plant Sciences
Editor-in-chief James Stephen BoatwrightPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 1%); most named South Africa 52, Czechia 7, Italy 6, United Kingdom 2, India 2 (82 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science7.9%
- Essential Oils and Antimicrobial ActivityAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.6%
- Plant Diversity and EvolutionAgricultural and Biological Sciences7.4%
- Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.6%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6%
- Plant tissue culture and regenerationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.9%
- Botany and Plant Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.4%
- African Botany and Ecology StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
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 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 3.1LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.6LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 48LetPub ·
- h-index
- 116OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,141OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.21OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 53.42%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 601LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,241 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 463 | 153 | 123 |
| 2025 | 633 | 183 | 1,264 |
| 2024 | 706 | 487 | 4,393 |
| 2023 | 690 | 688 | 7,237 |
| 2022 | 626 | 626 | 8,452 |
| 2021 | 492 | 492 | 9,365 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
144 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 6 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 75%LetPub ·
- First decision after review
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 144 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 12 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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 | USD 2,750 / EUR 2,570 / GBP 2,200 / JPY 341,080 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers2, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted8
- original researchReviews, Short-Reviews, Research Papers and Technical Notes will be considered.Reviews: Review submissions must include a file outlining the motivation behind s…Length not stated
- research paperReviews, Short-Reviews, Research Papers and Technical Notes will be considered.Reviews: Review submissions must include a file outlining the motivation behind s…Length not stated
- research papersResearch Papers: should report the results of original research.Length not stated
- reviewReviews, Short-Reviews, Research Papers and Technical Notes will be considered.Reviews: Review submissions must include a file outlining the motivation behind s…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews, Short-Reviews, Research Papers and Technical Notes will be considered.Length not stated
- short-reviewsShort-Reviews: are reviews updating the scientific community on important advances in the plant sciences.Length not stated
- technical noteReviews, Short-Reviews, Research Papers and Technical Notes will be considered.Reviews: Review submissions must include a file outlining the motivation behind s…Length not stated
- technical notesTechnical Notes: these will not exceed two printed pages and include only one table or one figure.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in manuscript preparation upon submission; AI tools may not be listed as authors. Model summary
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
Submission implies the work has not been published previously and is not under consideration elsewhere. Model summary
For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration;…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interest
All authors must disclose competing interests. Model summary
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors should complete the declaration of compe…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the Editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints can be shared anywhere at any time; sharing on a preprint server will not count as prior publication. Model summary
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- SOUTH AFRICA
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1982
- ISSN
- 0254-6299
- Electronic ISSN
- 1727-9321
- Society / sponsor
- South African Association of Botanists
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about South African Journal of Botany
What CAS zone is South African Journal of Botany in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, South African Journal of Botany is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 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 South African Journal of Botany?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.1; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 116.
How long does peer review take at South African Journal of Botany?
The publisher reports about 144 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 75%”. 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 South African Journal of Botany?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Author–date; Highlights: Required. 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 South African Journal of Botany based?
Of the 82 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (52), Czechia (7) and Italy (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index South African Journal of Botany?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, South African Journal of Botany is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is South African Journal of Botany open access, and what is the APC?
South African Journal of Botany is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,750.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .