DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.

14

EDITORIAL

Plants matter: Introducing Plants, People, Planet

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower keen to receive submissions of interdisciplinary research and research
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees of immediate or potential benefit to society, recognizing that such work
Is my destroyer may be conducted in collaboration with for instance: practitioners, pol‐
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose icymakers, social scientists, economists, members of the public, and
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever a range of scientific disciplines. Through the pages of the journal, we
Dylan Thomas, 1934 aim to showcase the most novel and cutting‐edge research involving
plants in the broadest contexts. As an example of this breadth, one
When Dylan Thomas wrote “The Force That Through The Green Fuse forthcoming special issue will explore the phenomenon of “Plant
Drives The Flower,” it is unlikely that he had photosynthesis in mind. Blindness” and will feature contributions from plant scientists, as well
However, the above verse from the poem neatly captures how con‐ as researchers in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, while an‐
nected and intertwined we as humans are with plants and the “forces” other on “Tree Resistance” will feature policymakers and practitioners
of nature. We rely on plants for food, shelter, fuel, and fibers for cloth‐ as well as scientists.
ing, as well as for our gardens, landscape, and artistic inspiration; and The journal’s wide interests are reflected in the varied article
this is all driven by photosynthesis. We live on a planet where life is types we publish, from Research articles and Reviews, to Opinion
powered by plants through photosynthesis on land and in the sea, and pieces, Brief Reports, Interviews, and Editorials, as well as our
one could argue that this is indeed the force that connects us all. Plants, unique Flora Obscura category, which you can read more about
people, and the planet share more than just the same initial, they exist below. Our aim is for Plants, People, Planet to be a vibrant and excit‐
because of the force that through the green fuse drives the flower. ing new forum that appeals not just to the academic community, but
Human civilizations exist because of plants. The transition from to anyone with a general interest in plants. A key element of this will
hunter‐gatherer to farmer, and the development of agriculture has al‐ be the Societal Impact Statements that will accompany each article.
lowed us to grow our settlements into the villages, towns, cities, and These short, accessible statements form an important part of the
megacities we know today. Likewise, the planet’s atmospheric oxygen, ethos of the journal and will be used to help raise the wider profile
which allows us and all other aerobic organisms to breathe and release of authors’ work.
energy from food, has been created by plants. Celebrating and high‐ The New Phytologist Trust’s plan to publish Plants, People, Planet
lighting this deep connection is core to the aim of this new journal. was announced at the International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen,
Plants, People, Planet is a cross‐disciplinary Open Access journal July 2017 (Figure 1a). This was an especially fitting forum for the
from the New Phytologist Trust, which will focus on the interface be‐ launch, as “Plants and Society” was a key theme across the congress,
tween plants, society, and the environment, highlighting plants, and and clearly an area that plant scientists care about deeply, and ap‐
plant‐based research, in its broadest sense. Plants, People, Planet’s preciate as a core area for their attention. The congress featured a
vision is to promote and celebrate all plant‐based research, and our number of outstanding plenary and keynote lectures, as well as five
wish is for the journal to become a natural home for everything new, special public lectures. As part of our first issue, we are delighted
innovative, and exciting in the world of plants that is relevant to so‐ to publish five articles arising from these stimulating public lectures
ciety and people’s daily lives. (Figure 1b).
Highlights of the congress include the ratification of the
• Plants and Society Shenzhen Declaration, which outlines seven priorities for strategic
• Plant Conservation action in the plant sciences. Plants, People, Planet endorses these
• Plant Diversity principles, as fundamental to the journal’s ideology, and as such
• Plant Genomics Applications the Shenzhen Declaration is reproduced in its entirety in this issue
• Plants and Global Change (Crane et al., 2019).
• Plant Natural Assets The Shenzhen Declaration is further highlighted in the article
by Peter Raven, which describes the threats we face, and why the
Plants, People, Planet seeks contributions from across all disciplines, Shenzhen Declaration’s seven action points can help create a sus‐
not just from the broad spectrum of plant sciences. We are especially tainable future (Raven, 2019). In the article, Raven issues a rallying

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2018 The Authors, Plants, People, Planet © New Phytologist Trust

2 | wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ppp3
 Plants People Planet. 2019;1:2–4.
Editorial | 3

(a) (b)

(c)

F I G U R E 1 (a) Chair of the New Phytologist Trust Keith Lindsey announcing the Trust’s plan to publish Plants, People, Planet at the
International Botanical Congress in Shenzhen, China, July 2017. (b) The cover image for issue 1 of Plants, People, Planet. Every spring in
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, millions of Nemophila flower to create an enchanting blue carpet that attracts thousands of admiring visitors.
This image, which depicts a real ‘plants, people, planet event’, encapsulates the power of plants to engage us. (c) Introducing our Flora
Obscura logo, which incorporates a stylised illustration of the world’s biggest flower Rafflesia arnoldii, also known as the stinking corpse lily.
Photograph (a): courtesy of Wei Zhang, (b): courtesy of Tetsuo Wada/Aflo, (c): logo design courtesy of Debbie Maizels and Chris
Thorogood

call for plant scientists, and the wider community, to safeguard the history, one could perhaps say that our coevolution with plants is not
diversity of the planet before it is too late. just biological, it is also cultural.
Barbara Schaal’s article highlights the rich coevolutionary history Moving away from the International Botanical Congress, in the first
of plants and humans and also discusses how this long, mutually ben‐ of our Flora Obscura series Chris Thorogood profiles the unusual genus
eficial relationship is in a precarious state currently (Schaal, 2019). Hydnora (Thorogood, 2019). Flora Obscura articles will feature regularly
Schaal also considers the threats to our future, as well as the chal‐ in the journal and will highlight all that is new and unusual in the world of
lenges and opportunities that face plant scientists today. plants, including newly discovered species, and new or unusual insights
Sandra Knapp’s article explores whether plants need us as much into the biology of plants and their interactions with other organisms
as we need them (Knapp, 2019). Knapp discusses how we can all (Figure 1c). Flora Obscura will also showcase some of the most extraor‐
contribute to creating a society that is in harmony with nature, high‐ dinary plants in the world, such as the very “weird” genus Hydnora, a
lighting the importance of citizen science, and how crop cultivation poorly understood group of parasitic plant and quite possibly the strang‐
and distribution can empower individuals and develop communities. est plant in the world, which once seen is never forgotten.
Huanming Wang Yang, Xiaoling Wang, and Juan Tian’s article Collaboration and networking is centre stage in a Brief Report
views plant science through the lens of genomics (Yang, Wang, & by Dodd and colleagues, which describes the formation of a small,
Tian, 2019). Huanming Yang is a co‐founder of the Beijing Genomics unstructured, international plant science network, which has been
Institute and a key figure in China’s work on the International Human allowed to self‐organize through the aspirations of early career scien‐
Genome Project. In their article, Yang and colleagues discuss how tists (Dodd et al., 2019). The authors consider how networks of this
plants have shaped genomics research. They also note how plants type can help equip the next generation of plant scientists with the
can help us learn more about ourselves and expand our knowledge, necessary breadth of skills and experience required to overcome the
concluding that protecting plant diversity is crucial to furthering this challenges of the 21st century and to progress to leadership roles.
knowledge, especially in the field of drug discovery. In a thought‐provoking opinion piece, Paul Smith outlines the
Peter Crane’s paper explores the enigmatic Ginkgo biloba (Crane, challenges currently faced by botanic garden science (Smith, 2019).
2019). Ginkgo has been a muse to artists, poets, and scientists for Smith suggests that botanic gardens are seen less as scientific in‐
many, many years, and the cultural history presented in this article stitutions and more as visitor attractions, despite the crucial role
is a fascinating insight into one our most revered and widely culti‐ they play at the interface of conservation and research. He issues a
vated tree species. Given this example of a long and complex shared call for action, suggesting that botanic gardens should refocus their
4 | Editorial

1
efforts on producing research with deep societal impact. At Plants, University of Oxford Botanic Garden, UK
2
People, Planet, we are especially keen to receive submissions from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
3
researchers working in botanic gardens, and we recognize the im‐ The New Phytologist Trust, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
portance of the research that is undertaken in these institutions at
Correspondence
all levels.
Simon J. Hiscock, University of Oxford Botanic Garden, Rose Lane,
Original research is presented in the article by Coker and col‐
Oxford, UK.
leagues, who offer a timely meta‐analysis that estimates the mortal‐
Email: simon.hiscock@obg.ox.ac.uk
ity rates of European Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) under the ash dieback
epidemic (Coker et al., 2019). Ash dieback is the result of infection by
the fungus Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, which has devastated ash tree REFERENCES
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ocean.
How to cite this article: Hiscock SJ, Wilkin P, Lennon S, Young
B. Plants matter: Introducing Plants, People, Planet. Plants,
ORCID People, Planet, 2019;1:2–4. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.14

Sarah Lennon http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2860-6480

Bennett Young https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9629-1142

Simon J. Hiscock1
Paul Wilkin2
Sarah Lennon3
Bennett Young3