Novon publishes short articles whose primary purpose is the establishment of nomenclature in vascular plants and bryophytes. All articles are peer-reviewed by qualified, independent reviewers. This journal is published by the Missouri Botanical Garden as part of its mission to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environments, in order to preserve and enrich life.

The Missouri Botanical Garden was founded in 1859 by the successful English businessman Henry Shaw and is the oldest botanical garden in the United States. Within its 79 acres are spectacular display and demonstration gardens and rare collections of botanical, horticultural, and historical materials, as well as architecturally and historically significant buildings. Today the Garden is a major cultural institution, a designated National Historical Landmark, and a world-renowned botanical research center. The Missouri Botanical Garden Press, an integral part of the Garden's research division, has a history of over 100 years of scientific publications. Since the publication of the Trelease article in 1890, the program has grown phenomenally. It includes two scientific journals, a series of books on various aspects of botanical research, and several floras that cover botanically significant areas of the world. The Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Garden's primary scientific journal, was founded in 1914 and concentrates on systematic botany and taxonomy. The Annals is known for its traditional monographs and revisions of plant genera, as well as cutting-edge articles on molecular phylogenetics, and for its themed issues, on topics such as the origin of modern terrestrial ecosystems and recent discoveries in the plant, animal, and other kingdoms. Novon, a journal for botanical nomenclature, began in 1991 and contains papers establishing new nomenclature in vascular plants and bryophytes. The number of pages continues to grow from year to year, an indicator of the important niche in the botanical systematics community filled by this journal. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden were started in 1978 as a way of making lengthy botanical works available as well-made, stand-alone volumes. The series includes several single-topic treatises, as well as ongoing titles, such as the Moss Flora of Central America, Icones Pleurothallidinarum, Index to Plant Chromosome Numbers, and many more. MBG Press is also the proud publisher of several regional and national floras, including those of China, Mesoamerica, Nicaragua, the Venezuelan Guayana, Panama, and more. For a full listing see https://www.mbgpress.org/.