News published: 15 March 2023

Tropical Botany 2023 at The International Center for Tropical Botany (ICTB) at The Kampong, in collaboration with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Montgomery Botanical Center, and Gifford Arboretum, offers an intensive, in residence course in the biology and systematics of tropical plants for advanced students and professionals.

In 2023, the course will take place in the beautiful new facility of the ICTB at The Kampong in Coconut Grove, where student housing will be provided.

The four-week course has a 45-year legacy teaching the systematics, phylogeny, morphological diversity, economic botany and conservation of tropical seed plants. Students will benefit from the largest living collections of tropical plants in the United States and field trips to nearby natural areas, including the Florida Keys and Everglades, gaining first-hand experience with more than 1,200 tropical plant species from more than 60 families. Students will gain fluency in the phylogenetics of seed plants and the characters that define major clades, allowing them to identify almost any tropical plant at least to family.

In 2023, we add a complementary two-week field course in collaboration with the University of Costa Rica. Students will learn how to design and implement tropical plant diversity and composition monitoring plots across a gradient of habitat types, to process and analyze associated samples and data, and to translate information into peer-reviewed manuscripts, reports and presentations.

Instructors of the course include; Christopher Baraloto, Lucas Majure, Oscar Valverde, Elliot Gardner, Andre Naranjo, Diego Salazar, and Cara Rockwell.

Applications: send to tropics@fiu.edu ASAP and before March 24.

Please include a letter stating reasons for taking the course, CV, and recommendation contact.

Fees: $1500, plus lodging fees at The Kampong ($30/night).

All expenses for students participating in the field practical course will be funded by the course.

Scholarships: available for both US and international students.

Please include a statement describing how you will contribute to tropical plant biology and conservation in your region of study or residence and the amount requested (fees, travel, lodging).

More details about how to apply and information about the course can be found here – for any additional questions, please email tropics@fiu.edu