Flora (book)
Encyclopedia
A Flora is a book
or other work which describes the plant
species
occurring in an area or time period, often with the aim of allowing identification. Some classic and modern floras are listed below.
Traditionally floras are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM
or website
s. The area that a flora covers can be either geographically or politically defined. Floras usually require some specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness.
A flora often contains diagnostic keys. Often these are dichotomous keys
, which require the user to repeatedly examine a plant, and decide which one of two alternatives given in the flora best applies to the plant.
Flora produced at a local or regional level rarely contain identification keys. Instead they aim to impart more detailed understanding of the local status and distribution of that area's plants. Maps showing species distribution may be included, and nowadays are computer-generated from biological database
s. Specific reference may be made to new arrivals and historic records in order to impart understanding of the changes in an area's vegetation over time.
India
Indonesia
Central & South America
North America
Southeast Asia
Indian region and Sri Lanka
Middle East and western Asia
Rest of Europe
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
or other work which describes the plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
occurring in an area or time period, often with the aim of allowing identification. Some classic and modern floras are listed below.
Traditionally floras are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
or website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s. The area that a flora covers can be either geographically or politically defined. Floras usually require some specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness.
A flora often contains diagnostic keys. Often these are dichotomous keys
Identification key
In biology, an identification key is a printed or computer-aided device that aids the identification of biological entities, such as plants, animals, fossils, microorganisms, and pollen grains...
, which require the user to repeatedly examine a plant, and decide which one of two alternatives given in the flora best applies to the plant.
Flora produced at a local or regional level rarely contain identification keys. Instead they aim to impart more detailed understanding of the local status and distribution of that area's plants. Maps showing species distribution may be included, and nowadays are computer-generated from biological database
Biological database
Biological databases are libraries of life sciences information, collected from scientific experiments, published literature, high-throughput experiment technology, and computational analyses. They contain information from research areas including genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, microarray...
s. Specific reference may be made to new arrivals and historic records in order to impart understanding of the changes in an area's vegetation over time.
Classic floras
Europe- Flora LondinensisFlora LondinensisFlora Londinensis is a book that described the flora found in the London region of the mid 18th century. The Flora was published by William Curtis in six large volumes...
, William CurtisWilliam CurtisWilliam Curtis was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire.Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural history. The publications he prepared effectively reached a wider audience than early works on the subject had intended...
. EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
1777–1798 - Flora GraecaFlora GraecaFlora Graeca was a publication of the plants of Greece in the late 18th century, resulting from a survey by John Sibthorp and Ferdinand Bauer...
, John SibthorpJohn SibthorpJohn Sibthorp was an English botanist.He was born in Oxford, the youngest son of Dr Humphry Sibthorp , who from 1747 to 1784 was Sherardian professor of botany at the University of Oxford....
. (England) 1806–1840 - Flora DanicaFlora DanicaA product of The Age of Enlightenment, Flora Danica is a comprehensive atlas of botany, containing folio-sized pictures of all the wild plants native to Denmark, in the period from 1761-1883....
, Simon Paulli. DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, 1847. - Flora Jenensis, Heinrich Bernhard Rupp GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 1718. - Flora Scorer, Paolo Di Canio. 1723.
- Flora Suecica, Carolus LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
. 1745.
India
- Hortus indicus malabaricus, Hendrik van RheedeHendrik van RheedeHendrik Adriaan van Rheede tot Drakenstein was a military man and a colonial administrator of the Dutch East India Company and naturalist. Between 1670 and 1677 he served as a governor of Dutch Malabar and employed 25 people on his book Hortus Malabaricus, describing 740 plants in the region...
1683–1703
Indonesia
- Flora Javae, Carl Ludwig BlumeCarl Ludwig BlumeCharles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
and Joanne Baptista Fischer. 1828.
Americas
Caribbean- Britton, N. L., and Percy Wilson. Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Volume V, Part 1: Botany of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Pandanales to Thymeleales. New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: New York Academy of Sciences, 1924.
Central & South America
- Flora Brasiliensis
- Flora of São Paulo in Brazil
- Flora de Chile
- Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica
- Flora of Ecuador
- Flora of Guatemala
- Flora de Nicaragua
- Flora of Peru
- Flora of the Guianas
- Flora of Panama
- Flora del Paraguay
- Flora of Suriname
- Flora Mesoamericana (1994-ongoing) Introduction
- Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana
- Flora Neotropica (1968-ongoing) Organising committee website.
North America
- Flora of North America
- Kearney, Thomas H. Arizona Flora. University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
, 1940. - Hickman, James C., editor. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
, 1993. - Hultén, Eric. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants. Stanford University PressStanford University PressThe Stanford University Press is the publishing house of Stanford University. In 1892, an independent publishing company was established at the university. The first use of the name "Stanford University Press" in a book's imprinting occurred in 1895...
, 1968. - Radford, Albert E. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina PressUniversity of North Carolina PressThe University of North Carolina Press , founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina....
, 1968. - Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of WashingtonUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
Press, 1973. - Chadde, Steve W., and Steve Chadde. A Great Lakes Wetland Flora. 2nd ed. Pocketflora Press, 2002. ISBN 0-9651385-5-0
- P. D. Strausbaugh and Earl L. Core. Flora of West Virginia. 2nd ed. Seneca Books Inc., 1964. ISBN 0-89092-010-9
- Ann Fouler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block. The Plants of Pennsylvania. University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8122-3535-5 - Nathaniel Lord Britton and Hon. Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. In three volumes. Dover PublicationsDover PublicationsDover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...
, 1913, 1970. ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Asia
China and JapanSoutheast Asia
- Flora of Thailand
- Florae Siamensis Enumeratio
- Flora Malesiana (1984-ongoing) About Flora Malesiana.
- Flora of the Malay Peninsula
- Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêt-Nam
Indian region and Sri Lanka
- Flora of Bhutan
- Flora of the Presidency of Madras by J.S. Gamble (1915–36)
- Flora of Nepal
- Bengal Plants by D. Prain (1903)
- Flora of the upper Gangetic plains by J. F. Duthie (1903–29)
- Botany of Bihar and Orissa by H.H. Haines (1921–25)
- Flora of British India (1872–1897) by Sir J.D. HookerJoseph Dalton HookerSir Joseph Dalton Hooker OM, GCSI, CB, MD, FRS was one of the greatest British botanists and explorers of the 19th century. Hooker was a founder of geographical botany, and Charles Darwin's closest friend...
Middle East and western Asia
- Flora of Turkey
- Flora Iranica
- Flora Palaestina:
- M. Zohary (1966). Flora Palaestina part 1.
- M. Zohary (1972). Flora Palaestina part 2.
- N. Feinbrun (1978). Flora Palaestina part 3.
- N. Feinbrun (1986). Flora Palaestina part 4.
- A. Danin, (2004). Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina Area (Flora Palaestina part 5).
- Online updates: http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?lang=en&action=showfile&fileid=14005
Australasia
- Flora of AustraliaFlora of Australia (series)The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
- Flora of New ZealandFlora of New ZealandThis article relates to the flora of New Zealand, especially indigenous strains. New Zealand's geographical isolation has meant the country has developed a unique variety of native flora...
series:- Allan, H.H. 1961, reprinted 1982. Flora of New Zealand. Volume I: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons. ISBN 0-477-01056-3.
- Moore, L.B.; Edgar, E. 1970, reprinted 1976. Flora of New Zealand. Volume II: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Monocotyledons except Graminae. ISBN 0-477-01889-0.
- Healy, A.J.; Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand Volume III. Adventive Cyperaceous, Petalous & Spathaceous Monocotyledons. ISBN 0-477-01041-5.
- Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.;Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand Volume IV: Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons. ISBN 0-477-02529-3.
- Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000. Flora of New Zealand Volume V: Grasses. ISBN 0-478-09331-4.
- Volumes I-V: First electronic edition, Landcare Research, June 2004. Transcribed by A.D. Wilton and I.M.L. Andres.
- Galloway, D.J. 1985. Flora of New Zealand: Lichens. ISBN 0-477-01266-3.
- Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A. 1986. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume I. ISBN 0-477-02530-7.
- Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A. 1988. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume II. ISBN 0-477-01353-8.
- Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A.;Racine, M.M. 1994. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume III. ISBN 0-477-01642-1.
- Sykes, W.R.; West, C.J.; Beever, J.E.; Fife, A.J. 2000. Kermadec Islands Flora - Special Edition. ISBN 0-478-09339-X.
Pacific Islands
- Flora Vitiensis Nova, a New Flora of Fiji
- Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i, Warren L. Wagner and Derral R. Herbst (1991) + suppl. http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/pacificislandbiodiversity/hawaiianflora/supplement.htm
- Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie
- Flore de la Polynésie Française (J. Florence, vol. 1 & 2, 1997 & 2004)
Europe
British Isles- Morton, O.1994. Marine Algae of Northern Ireland. Ulster Museum, Belfast. ISBN 0-900761-28-8Osborne MortonOsborne Morton is a former phycologist in the Ulster Museum. Morton retired in 2007.Morton was educated in Belfast and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied Botany under Professor D.A. Webb. His final year thesis involved research on marine algae, the interest in seaweed having developed...
- Stace, Clive Anthony, and Hilli Thompson (illustratorIllustratorAn Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
). A New Flora of the British Isles. 2nd ed. Cambridge University PressCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
, 1997. ISBN 0-521-58935-5. - Beesley, S. and J. Wilde. Urban Flora of Belfast. BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of BelfastQueen's University of BelfastQueen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB...
, 1997. - Killick, John, Roy Perry and Stan WoodellStan WoodellStan Woodell was a British botanist.Stanley Reginald John Woodell was born in Shepherds Bush,London. He obtained a degree in Botany from Durham University and also studied the pollination biology of the genus Primula for his PhD at the same university. He was a University Lecturer in Botany at...
. Flora of Oxfordshire. Pisces Publications, 1998. ISBN 1-874357-07-2. - Bowen, HumphryHumphry BowenHumphry John Moule Bowen was a British botanist and chemist.Bowen was born in Oxford, son of the chemist Edmund Bowen. He attended the Dragon School, gaining a scholarship to Rugby School and then a demyship to Magdalen College, Oxford...
. The Flora of Dorset. Pisces Publications, 2000. ISBN 1-874357-16-1. - Flora Celtica Plants and people in Celtic Europe
Rest of Europe
- Flora EuropaeaFlora EuropaeaThe Flora Europaea is a 5-volume encyclopedia of plants, published between 1964 and 1993 by Cambridge University Press. The aim was to describe all the national Floras of Europe in a single, authoritative publication that helped readers identify any wild or widely cultivated plant in Europe to the...
at the site of The Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh Flora Europaea - Flora of Europe
- Flora iberica
- Flora of Acores
- Flora Danica
- Flora of RomaniaFlora of RomaniaAll the genera and species of plants found in Romania are presented in "The Flora of Romania Illustrated determinator of vascular plants" vol I Romanian Academy Publishing House, 1977.-Division Pteridophyta: KingdomDivisionClassFamilyGenus...
Africa and Madagascar
- Flore du Gabon
- Flore du Cameroun
- Flora of Tropical Africa
- Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Flora Capensis
- Flora Zambesiaca
- Flora of South Africa
- Flore du Rwanda
- Flore de Madagascar et des Comores