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Editor's Picks

Past IOS President Allen Coombes, Curator of Scientific Collections at Puebla University Botanic Garden, discusses leaf variability in Quercus ceirpes (still image from the documentary)
"Oaks: the Backbone of Mexico" – New Documentary Film
A new documentary by Maricela Rodríguez Acosta
Website Editor | Feb 17, 2026
Quercus miyagii acorn and dried leaves
In Search of Quercus miyagii: A Field Report from Okinawa
A rare oak endemic to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan
Elion Jam | Feb 16, 2026
A moss-covered oak (Quercus orocantabrica) in Mata de Albergaria, Peneda-Gerês National Park, Portugal © Amit Zoran
Amit Zohran's "Oakollective"
Steve Potter reviews a new book that features oaks
Steve Potter | Feb 11, 2026

Plant Focus

Quercus canariensis in Cornwall Park, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand, the champion specimen in New Zealand, planted in the 1920s, 27.2 m tall with a trunk diameter of 209 cm (G. Collett pers. comm. 2026) © Gerald Collett
Species Spotlight: Quercus canariensis Willd.
Antonio Lambe shares his views on this threatened oak native to Iberia and North Africa
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Climate Change and Conservation

By Charles Snyers ... | November 29, 2015

Tomorrow, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP21 opens in Paris.  A couple of days ago, I came across an essay published by Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom, that I found quite interesting.  The essay "Carbon Capture: Has climate change made it harder for people to care about conservation?"was published a few months ago in The New Yorker.  It can be found online here. 

Franzen refers to Woody Allen’s movie Annie Hall, when young Alvy Singer stopped doing his homework because "the universe is expanding." Likewise, our focus on climate change prevents shorter-term conservation intitiatives, writes Franzen. This essay stirred a lot of controversy.