The Department of Botany was established at Iowa State in 1870 with Charles E. Bessey serving as head. The General Botany Seminar began in 1898 in order to provide a forum for the discussion of botany and science in general. Membership included faculty and students in the Department of Botany and those who have graduated from reputable schools and have distinguished themselves in the field of botany. The Ecology, Physiology and Morphology Seminar was created to foster dialogue for these areas of botany. This collection contains the records for the General Botany Seminar and the Ecology, Physiology and Morphology Seminar. The materials consist of six bound volumes containing meeting minutes, memorials, constitutions and bylaws, correspondence, and programs.

The Department of Botany was established in 1870 with Charles E. Bessey serving as head. In 1871, the Department first offered graduate courses for a M.S. degree in botany, and J.C. Arthur, in 1877, received the first M.S degree issued by the Iowa Agricultural College (Iowa State University). In 1914, the Department initiated a Ph.D. program, and again the Department held the distinction for awarding the first Ph.D. degree at Iowa State, given to Leslie Kenoyer in 1916. In 1918, Ada Hayden became the first woman Ph.D. at Iowa State College (University).

In 1957, an undergraduate curriculum in plant pathology was initiated in the College of Agriculture and the name of the department was changed to the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. A decade later, the department was moved to a new building, Bessey Hall. The Department of Botany became a separate entity again within the College of Sciences and Humanities after the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology split into two departments in 1979.

In 2003, the Department of Botany was merged with the departments of Animal Ecology and Zoology and Genetics to form the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology.

The General Botany Seminar began in 1898 in order to provide a forum for the discussion of botany and science in general. Membership included faculty and students in the Department of Botany and those who have graduated from reputable schools and have distinguished themselves in the field of botany. The Ecology, Physiology and Morphology Seminar was created to foster dialogue for these areas of botany.

The collection (1898-1928) contains the records for the General Botany Seminar and the Ecology, Physiology and Morphology Seminar. The materials consist of six bound volumes containing meeting minutes, memorials, constitutions and bylaws, correspondence, and programs. Loose items from the volumes have been placed into folders.

The collection is loosely arranged into two series for the General Botany Seminar and the Ecology, Physiology and Morphology Seminar.