Flora

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Simplified schematic of an island's flora - all its plant species, highlighted in boxes.

In botany, flora (plural: floras or florae) has two meanings. The first meaning, or flora of an area or of time period, refers to all plant life occurring in an area or time period, especially the naturally occurring or indigenous plant life. The second meaning refers to a book or other work which describes the plant species occurring in an area or time period, with the aim of allowing identification. Some classic and modern floras are listed below.

The term flora comes from Latin language Flora, the goddess of flowers in Roman mythology. The corresponding term for animal life is fauna. Flora, fauna and other forms of life such as fungi are collectively referred to as biota. In relation to all the flora and fauna of a region, it is collectively referred to as biota.

Flora classifications

Plants are grouped into floras based on region, period, or special environment, climate. Regions can be geographically distinct habitats like mountain vs. flatland. Floras can mean plant life of an historic era as in fossil flora. Lastly, floras may be subdivided by special environments:

  • Native flora. The native and indigenous flora of an area.
  • Agricultural and garden flora. The plants that are deliberately grown by humans.
  • Weed flora. Traditionally this classification was applied to plants regarded as undesirable, and studied in efforts to control or eradicate them. Today the designation is less often used as a classification of plant life, since it includes three different types of plants: weedy species, invasive species (that may or may not be weedy), and native and introduced non-weedy species that are agriculturally undesirable. Many native plants previously considered weeds have been shown to be beneficial or even necessary to various ecosystems.

Bacterial life is sometimes included in a flora [1] [2]. Other times, the terms bacterial flora and plant flora are used separately.

Flora treatises

Traditionally floras are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM or websites. The area that a flora covers may be either geographically or politically defined. They usually require some specialist botanic knowledge to use with any effectiveness.

A flora often contains a diagnostic key. Often these are dichotomous keys. These require the user to repeatedly examine a plant, and decide which one of two alternatives given in the flora best applies to the plant.

Classic floras

Europe
India
Indonesia

Modern floras

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 York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1924.
Central & South America
North America

Asia

China and Japan
Southeast Asia
Indian region and Sri Lanka
  • Flora of Bhutan
  • Flora of Cambodia
  • Flora of Nepalthe Presidency of Madras by J.S. Gamble (1915-36)
  • 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. Hooker
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 Australia
  • Flora of New Zealand 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.; E 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.
  • Croa

sdale, 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. [3]
  • Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie
  • Flore de la Polynésie Française (J. Florence, vol. 1 & 2, 1997 & 2004)

Europe

British Isles

Africa and Madagascar

  • Flore du Gabon
  • Flore du Cameroun
  • Flora of Tropical Africa
  • Flora Capensis
  • Flora Zambesiaca
  • Flora of South Africa
  • Flore du Rwanda
  • Flore de Madagascar et des Comores

See also

External links

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