EFG Pteridology Prize | Exotic Fern Group

EFG Pteridology Prize Winners, 2026

We are thrilled to reveal this year's results. Following an exceptional standard of entries showcasing incredible dedication to fern study, cultivation and research, our judges reached a unanimous decision to award joint winners for 2026!

Huge congratulations to our joint winners:

Kevin Bannon – ‘From Decant to Replanting: the Fern Collection at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.’

Kevin is a Senior Glasshouse Horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). He currently cares for the display collection of nearly 600 individual plants housed within the historic Palm Houses, as well as the diverse collection cultivated within the tropical propagation glasshouse. Originally from Co. Tipperary, Kevin gained his early horticultural experience in Ireland before undertaking an internship at RBGE in 2019. He returned to the garden in 2021 and has since contributed to the decant of several plant collections as part of the Edinburgh Biomes Project. Most notably, he was involved in the large-scale decant of the Palm Houses in 2021 and their subsequent replanting in 2026, as well as moving the Ferns and Fossils Display Glasshouse collection in 2022. His work has supported the relocation, cultivation and care of multiple display and potted collections throughout an ongoing period of significant change at RBGE.

Víctor M. Saldarriaga – ‘Ferns and Lycophytes of El Romeral (Colombia): From Floristic Research to an Illustrated Field Guide.’

Víctor is a biologist from the Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia) whose work focuses on the taxonomy, biogeography and conservation of ferns and lycophytes. He combines field research, herbarium studies and macrophotography to document plant diversity in montane forest and páramo ecosystems. Alongside his research, he contributes to local environmental education initiatives in his hometown of Angelópolis, aiming to make botanical knowledge accessible to wider communities.

We extend our sincere gratitude to our panel of judges for their time and expertise in reviewing this year’s submissions, as well as a huge thank you to all of our entrants and shortlisted authors for sharing such inspiring work with us. We look forward to sharing select work from our shortlisted authors throughout 2027.

Both winning articles will be available online with our next newsletter and also included in Volume 5 of our journal, The Glasshouse.

For more details on this competition, plus a look ahead to next year’s prize, keep an eye out for our next newsletter.

Kevin Bannon, EFG Pteridology Prize Winner, 2026.

Víctor M. Saldarriaga, EFG Pteridology Prize Winner, 2026.

Call for 2026 submissions

Submissions for this year are now closed. Details on next year’s prize will be released in our next newsletter.

The Exotic Fern Group Pteridology Prize aims to promote emerging botanists, conservationists and horticulturists working with ferns who have a passion for writing and communication. The competition is open to amateurs, students and professionals, with no restrictions on nationality or place of residence. The winning entry will receive £1000.

We welcome submissions of essays, reports or academic papers. Your submission needs to be enlightening, informative and engaging to read, and must celebrate an element of the EFG community mission. Important elements of your writing are analysis, context and perspective, helping the reader to explore and understand the wider implications of your chosen topic.

Abstracts or summaries must be received by 1 April 2026.

Competition criteria 2026

There must be a clear connection between the work and the EFG community mission:
a. Connect: create a safe, open and worldwide community for people passionate about tropical, subtropical and indoor ferns.
b. Learn: develop resources to help people explore their passion, with an ethos of sharing expertise.
c. Grow: research horticultural practice and improve techniques for growing and propagating ferns.
d. Conserve: support exotic fern stocks in public glasshouses and the hobby, promoting an ethical approach to acquiring new accessions.
f. Diversify: expand the species of ferns in cultivation. Encourage public glasshouses and hobbyists to curate specialised collections.
e. Document: record and document accession lists. Collect and share horticultural practice and knowledge.
The work must be unpublished, and candidates must agree to publication by the EFG.
Candidates must be members of EFG and therefore over 18 at the time of submission. There is no cost to join.
Details of the winners and runners-up will be publicly available.
Joint submissions are allowed but one lead author, who is the point of contact, must be identified to the Organising Secretary at the beginning of the submission process. If the winning submission has multiple authors, the prize will be paid to the lead author only.
Entries must follow EFG Submission Guidelines.

How to enter

We must receive abstracts and summaries by email before 23:59 BST on 1 April 2026. You will receive notification if your work has been accepted into the competition by 14 April 2026. Completed submissions will then need to be submitted by email before 23:59 BST on 1 July 2026.

If you are an employee or student and your submission is wholly or partly the result of your employment or coursework, you should ask whether your employer or College will allow you to enter the competition, especially as the EFG will publish the winning submission. If you are allowed, then detail what acknowledgement they would require on the submission.

Submissions must be in English. Candidates can submit video presentations with permission.