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Dear plant enthusiasts,</div>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) will host the 20th Smithsonian
Botanical Symposium, “</span><span style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><strong class="x_ContentPasted0" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">New Horizons in the Study of Neotropical Floras</strong></span><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">,”
on 19 May 2023.</span></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">The tropical regions of America—the Neotropics—have long intrigued explorers and scientists who sought to study, catalog,
and explain their incredible biodiversity, which includes more than 100,000 plant species. The origins, evolution, and even species composition of the Neotropical flora are far from understood and are the subject of active research in the face of ongoing habitat
loss and climate change. The 20th Smithsonian Botanical Symposium will feature current research on the natural history, geographic diversity, evolution, and conservation of plants in the Neotropics. Speakers will include scientists who explore this incredible
flora and contribute to our understanding of how and why there are so many plant species in tropical America.</span></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">In addition, the 20th José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany will be awarded at the Symposium to an international
scholar who has contributed significantly to advancing the field of tropical botany. The award is named in honor of Dr. José Cuatrecasas, a pioneering botanist who spent many years working in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian and devoted his career
to plant exploration and taxonomy in tropical South America.</span></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">The Symposium will be in a hybrid format with both online and in-person attendance. The talks will be held at NMNH in Washington
DC, and an evening reception and </span><strong><a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu//research/botany/news-and-highlights/smithsonian-botanical-symposium/call-posters" data-auth="NotApplicable" class="x_ContentPasted0" data-loopstyle="link"><span style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">poster
session</span></a></strong><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"> will take place at USBG. The event is free; there is no registration fee to attend the Symposium. We request all attendees, both in-person
and virtual, to </span><strong><a href="https://smithsonian.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZpJaS8XdSYWBJFkDpXAx1A" data-auth="NotApplicable" class="x_ContentPasted0" data-loopstyle="link"><span style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">register</span></a></strong><span style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><strong class="x_ContentPasted0" style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">.</strong></span></p>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">For more information, including the tentative schedule and the speakers' abstracts and bios, please visit the
</span><b><a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/botany/news-and-highlights/smithsonian-botanical-symposium" data-auth="NotApplicable" class="x_ContentPasted0" data-loopstyle="link"><span style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Symposium
webpage</span></a></b><span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12pt; background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">.</span></p>
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Best regards,</div>
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Gary Krupnick<br>
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<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;font-size:11pt; font-family:Calibri,sans-serif; margin:0">
<b><span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Gary Krupnick, Ph.D. (he/him)</span></b><span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Head of the Plant Conservation Unit</span></p>
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<span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Department of Botany</span></p>
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<b><span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">w</span></b><span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> 202.633.0940
<span style="color:black"> <a href="mailto:krupnick@si.edu" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-loopstyle="link"><span>krupnick@si.edu</span></a></span></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></p>
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<span style="color:#00C1D5; font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION</span></p>
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<span style="color:#00778B; font-size:9pt; font-family:Arial,sans-serif">NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY</span></p>
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