The majority (52%) of the first members were from West Virginia, and early leaders included Earl Core, Perry Daniel Strausbaugh, and Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew.
[2] The history of the society was put into the context of Appalachian botanical heritage in a 1994 movie entitled And Who Will Weigh the Mountains.
Larger studies are produced as part of an irregular series entitled Castanea, Occasional Papers in Eastern Botany.
The meetings, held in various southeastern states, include lectures, posters, banquets, and local field trips to botanically interesting areas.
The Richard and Minnie Windler Award rewards outstanding research in the area of plant taxonomy and is given annually for the best article published in Castanea.