Format: ORAL

Orlando Alvarez1, 2, 3

1 The SAR Group, LLC, Florida, USA 2 Plant Biology Department, Herbarium, Michigan State University, Michigan, USA 3 Herbarium, University of Florida, Florida, USA

Plagiarism in botany manifests itself in various forms, ranging from word-for-word replication of a text without due recognition to the appropriation of experimental data and research discoveries; the latter materializes most of the time in new combinations of nomenclature that eliminate and also obscure any original authorship. However, this secondary result could also be an asset to use in a court of law in a civil case for plagiarism or copyright infringement, or both. The consequences of such unethical practices extend beyond academic misconduct because they undermine the foundations of scientific progress and thwart the development of accurate plant classification systems. It is no secret that plant classification within botany has played and will continue to play a fundamental role in expanding our understanding of the diverse plant kingdom, encompassing taxonomy, ecology, and evolutionary biology. However, in our haste to use phylogenetic data to validate, change, or generate new hypotheses about the evolutionary relationships within said plant kingdom, we are once again nullifying all scientific integrity with renewed acts of plagiarism; acts that unfortunately will be overlooked and little criticized and their perpetrators will feel covered, as happened in the past, under the false cloak provided by the international code of botanical nomenclature. The presentation explores specific instances of plagiarism within the large fern family Thelypteridaceae over the past 60 years, and its implications for the reliability of some taxonomic and genomic databases,  as well as for regional floras; all of this hinders true progress in our understanding of the diversity and evolution of Thelypteridaceae. It also emphasizes the need for collective efforts within the scientific community to combat plagiarism in botany.