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How to identify Plants & Plant Life
- databases​ & reference books

How to Identify a Plant
Using the digital online databases where plants are recorded and Flora which are published.
Plus relevant and helpful books

This page covers  the following in this order:
  • Flora - links to networks for accessing the online database of a specific Flora
  • Plant Organisations - those supporting the development of information about plants - including online access
  • Flora by Place - access to online listings about the Flora found in specific places - organised by continent, countries, regions and habitats (except the UK comes first!)
  • Flora by Plant Family - database listings for specific plant families - indicating identified species within that family

​This page started out because I wanted to identify a plant and keep a site where I bookmarked all the useful sites I found
- but it snowballed! ​Now it's a resource beyond what I need - but I hope it will be helpful to those wanting to identify a plant. ​It continues to be a work in progress - I have an idea to reference different plant families!

THANKS to all the members of the Botanical Artists Facebook Group - who have been an enormous help in suggesting relevant sites that they find useful and use.

Caveat - I'm not a botanist and it may well include mistakes in terms of terminology or taxonomy - however I'm learning!  Please contact me if you spot a mistake.

The banner image is part of the RHS Gold Medal Winning exhibit by Işık Güner GM of Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile in 2014. This is part of the project by the Royal Botanical Garden in Edinburgh to develop a complete flora for the Woods and Forests of Chile. ​Brochure about the book produced about the Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile

Important!

One of the critical issues with plants is that names can change over time.

Hence you need to
  • try and work from the latest version of any database of plants; and
  • keep an eye out for updates / changes to the names of plants recorded in the database.
More about Names
  • This is The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes.
  • FIND OUT MORE about Plant Names and Botanical Latin on this website

FLORA
​

The Plant List - a working list of all known plant species. This listing of species of Vascular plant (flowering plants, conifers, ferns and their allies) and of Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) aims to be comprehensive in due course.
  • The Plant list was created due to collaboration and by combining multiple checklist data sets held by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, Missouri Botanical Garden and other collaborators. 
  • This is ​How to use the Plant List
The Plant List includes:
  • 1,064,035 scientific plant names of species rank
  • of which 350,699 are accepted species names.
  • 642 plant families and
  • 17,020 plant genera.
Picture
Screenshot of the Home Page of The Plant List
A Global Strategy for Plant Conservation was adopted in 2002 by the 193 governments who are Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. One aspect of the Strategy is to complete a World Flora of the estimated 400,000 species of vascular plants on Earth.
The World Flora Consortium aims to develop an online database - based on ongoing projects to map the Flora of different countries.
  • World Flora Online -  Target 1 of the updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity was the need to develop “An online flora of all known plants.”
  • eFloras.org Home - Online floras and similar projects. This lists the Primary Floras per country to date

Links to Flora specific to certain Countries can be found below.
Picture

Organisations about Plants and Plant Life Info.

  • ​​Plantlife International - One of the organisations that developed the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. Promotion of the protection of plantlife across the world. Important PLant Areas, IPAs, strategies
  • ​The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. 

Image Database of Plants
​

  • Vascular Plant Image Library - Alphabetical Listing |  - informatics system was developed initially with support from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board as part of a digital flora of Texas project. 

FLORA BY LOCATION
​

Plants in the UK
​

Many thanks to Sarah Morrish who got me started on this section with recommendations for helpful resources - to which I have added!
New Flora of the British Isles (3rd edition) by Clive Stace
A comprehensive source of reference and the standard work for identifying wild vascular plants of the British Isles. 4,800 taxa are now covered in varying degrees of detail

First published in 1991 this book is now on its third edition. It is published by one of the most reputable publishers in this field.

In order to avoid lugging a big heavy book around when working in the field you can also access it via its Kindle version - which can then be accessed via both a normal computer and a tablet/iPad.
This is a VERY LARGE BOOK (1,266 pages) and hence it is also not cheap.
​
​Available Formats:
* Paperback
* Flexibound - for the heavy user
* Kindle edition - for use in the field
Publisher: Cambridge University Press;
Edition: 3 edition
Publication date: 1 April 2010

Average customer rating out of 5 stars: 4.5 (UK only) 
​Ranks #10 in books about Plant Sciences in UK
BUY THIS BOOK
New Flora of the British Isles from Amazon UK
Databases
  • Online Atlas of the British and Irish flora - the plant atlas. Used by ABBA to check native plants for the UK exhibition of the Worldwide Botanical Art Exhibition in 2018.  The aim of the database is to bring together standard sources of information on the distribution and ecology of the wild flowering plants and ferns of Britain and Ireland, and to build up a portfolio of reliably identified photographs.
  • NATIONAL PLANT COLLECTIONS (UK)
    • Plant Heritage works with a number of organisations to accredit plant collections
    • There are over 690 National Plant Collections® in the UK, Ireland and Channel Islands.
    • Search the National Plant Collections.
    • Open Days for individual National Plant Collections
Picture
Screenshot of the Home Page of the Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora
BSBI Information
  • BSBI Species accounts – information on identification, habitat, biogeography, ecology, threats and suitable management for a range of threatened and nationally rare and scarce species. This is the excel listing of the Nationally Rare & Scarce
  • Botanical Keys – A BSBI produced tool providing online help for identifying a possible native plant (i.e. a wild flower)
  • The  BSBI's list of accepted plant names (this is in Excel format) - last revised 2007
  • The latest official list of conservation statuses for all UK plants
  • 2005 GB Red List (with changes to 2010)
  • BSBI Taxonomy Lists – bottom left of this page
    http://bsbi.org/resources

'Plantlife' Resources
  • Plant and Fungi Species – a developing resource from Plantlife (not a full list and also includes fungi and lower plants)
  • Nature Reserves and Important Plant Areas | Plantlife UK
​
Other Flora / Sites
  • Ecological Flora of the British Isles – an in-depth resource that is a flora but also looks at the bigger ecological ‘picture’ of each species 
  • ispotnature | Open Univesity - A friendly and free community helping to identify wildlife and share nature. You have to be logged in to post observations.

The Wild flower Society Resources
  • List of all British Plants 2010 | The Wild Flower Society - constructed using the BSBI list
  • Some Interesting Changes in Stace 3 | The Wild Flower Society - highlights changes in names as per Stace's 3rd edition of New Flora of the British  Isles
Organisations
​
  • Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) - Founded in 1836, the BSBI is the biggest and most active organisation devoted to the study of botany in Britain, Ireland, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man. It trains people, develops research and produces produces national Atlases and county Floras of the distribution of plants. ​
  • Plantlife - UK index page - Plantlife International, work in the UK, wild plants, wild flowers, wildflowers, conservations, fungi, lower plants
  • Genetic Flora of the British Isles - collates publications that have used genetics to study members of the British Flora
  • The Wild Flower Society - the only national society created specifically for amateur botanists and wild flower lovers in the UK.  
Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers by the Royal Horticultural Society
BEST FOR UK BASED BOTANICAL ARTISTS  
This is the book I use to try and identify cultivated horticultural plants and flowers.
The main reason I use this book is because the plants are well illustrated and organised in a way which enables me to find the correct plant very easily.
​

For example The Plant Catalogue section lists plants and flowers by genus, species, size and colour. I find that methodically working my way through the catalogue I can very often find a plant.
Hardcover: 744 pages
Publisher: DK
Publication date: 1 Sept. 2010
​
RECOMMENDED: In the UK this book is the
  • #1 Book about Flowers in Gardening Encyclopaedias AND
  • #1 Book about Plants in Gardening Encyclopaedias
  • Rated an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars by 119 customer reviews​ ​

BUY THIS BOOK
RHS Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers from Amazon.co.uk
Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants & Flowers from Amazon.com
SCOTLAND
  • Databases - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a world-renowned scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation.
  • Catalogue of the Living Collections - catalogue of the thousands of species of plants grown in all four gardens comprising the Royal Botanic Gardens in Scotland. Check whether they have the specimen you need.
  • Flora Celtica Database - a book on plants and peoples of the Celtic regions
  • Plantlife - Scotland - range of publications some of which are available online. Plus news about Scottish Plantlife​
Flora of Scotland - Wikimedia Commons Resources
  • Flora of Scotland by month‎ (11 C)
  • Flora of Scotland by council area‎ (31 C)
  • Flora of Scotland by order‎ (2 C)
  • Flora of Scotland by taxon‎ (11 C)
  • Flowers in Scotland‎ (25 C, 91 F)
  • Forests in Scotland‎ (40 C, 242 F)
  • Shrubs in Scotland‎ (9 C)
  • Trees in Scotland‎ (45 C, 11 F)


Plants in Europe

  • Planta Europa - Website of the Planta Europa Network, Saving the Plants of Europe. This is their Facebook Page - Planta Europa Network
  • Planta Europa | Plantlife - Planta Europa is the network of non-governmental and governmental organisations working to conserve wild plants and fungi across Europe. 
  • Plantlife IPA - This database holds information on Important Plant Areas in Europe. 
Wild plants in Europe are under severe threat with a significant loss of plant species and habitat taking place. Although being a subject of concern, plant conservation has less support from politicians and the public than other threatened groups, such as pandas, whales or birds.
Our message  is simple:
* Wild plants in Europe are declining rapidly;
* The European public is concerned about the problems at hand destroying their heritage;
* European and national decision makers must act now to halt this trend;
* A clear, measurable and easily understandable roadmap towards a better protection for Europe's flora does exist;
* Everybody can do something to rescue wild plants in their countryside activities.
European Plant Conservation Strategy 

Ireland
​

  • National Biodiversity Data Centre - The data centre is funded by the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Heritage Council.
  • Ireland's Red Lists of Threatened Species - an objective methodology to assess the conservation status of different taxonomic groups.
  • Irish Red Data Book – 1 Vascular Plants. - This version of the Red Data Book was scanned from the original book published in 1988. The original book is A5-format, with 168 pages. 
  • All Ireland Pollinator Plan (with cover artwork by botanical artist Shevaun Doherty)
Picture
Screenshot of the Home Page of the National Biodiversity Centre

Italy

Many thanks to Giovanni Cera who made recommendations for helpful resources.
Acta Plantarum resources
  • Acta Plantarum - Flora of the Italian regions. acta plantarum is an open source project aimed at studying the spontaneous Flora of Italy.  Participation in the project, which takes place through the submission of contributions through a discussion forum, is free and is preceded by a simple registration. It translates into English if read using the Chrome translate function
  • Guided Tour of acta plantarum - to find out what's on the site and where it is!
  • IPFI - Index of the flora and names of botanical species present in Italy
  • Key Links to plants on the net
  • Botanical itineraries in different parts of Italy
Home Page of Acta Plantarum
Home Page of Acta Plantarum
Flora Italiano - over 8,000 species includes Botanic Cards by species and a checklist by region of species present in
  • Valle d'Aosta
  • Piedmont
  • Lombardy
  • Trentino Alto Adige
  • Veneto
  • Friuli Venezia Giulia
  • Liguria
  • Emilia Romagna
  • Tuscany
  • Marche
  • Umbria
  • Lazio
  • Abruzzo
  • Molise
  • Campania
  • Puglia
  • Basilicata
  • Calabria
  • Sicily
  • Sardinia
  • Italy
Italy- Wikimedia Resources
  • Flora of Italy category
  • Flora of Italy by region‎ (20 C)
  • Flora of Italy by metropolitan city‎ (1 C)
  • Flora of Italy by month‎ (40 C)
  • Flora of Italy by order‎ (32 C)
  • Flora of Italy by province‎ (41 C)
  • Flora of Italy by species‎ (1 C)
  • Flora of Italy by taxon‎ (107 C, 3 P)
  • Cultivated plants of Italy‎ (13 C, 1 F)
  • Invasive plant species in Italy‎ (1 C, 1 F)
  • Naturalized flora of Italy‎ (1 C)
Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean: A Complete Guide to the Islands and Coastal Regions 
by Christopher Grey-Wilson  Illustrated by Marjorie Blamey
This book is the standard field guide to the flowers, fruit trees, grasses and ferns found in the countries bordering the Mediterranean.

2500 plant species are described in relation to the area it covers - Portugal, Spain, France, Corsica, Italy, Sardinia, Sicily, the Balkans, Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
Paperback: 560 pages
Publisher: A&C Black;
Edition: second (revised)
Publication date: 7 Jun. 2004

Average Customer Rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars by 46 customer reviews (UK)
BUY THIS BOOK
Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean: A Complete Guide to the Islands and Coastal Regions from Amazon UK

Russia
​

​Plantarium -The determinant of plants on-line 
  • An open atlas of plants and lichens of Russia and neighbouring countries. "Plantarium" is an atlas of species and an illustrated online plant determinant intended for a wide range of users - both for amateurs and professionals - botanists, geobotanists and ecologists.
  • Red Books - List of published lists of protected plant species and lichens

Plants in North America
​

North America
​

NORTH AMERICA​ ​Flora of North America - ​Nearly 20,100 species of vascular plants and bryophytes grow outside of cultivation in North America north of Mexico. The aim of FNA is to have one published reference source with  information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico.  
  • Monumental Flora of North America Project Well Under Way - Originally appeared in The Botanical Artist, Volume 14 issue 3​ 
Flora of North America Home Page
Flora of North America Home Page
Plants database
  • PLANTS Database - (This includes  non-native or introduced species.) The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. Run by the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
  • State Search -  Search the PLANTS database by Scientific Name, Common Name, Symbol, or Family, then filter by geography. 
  • PLANTS Threatened & Endangered - Find federal and state threatened and endangered plants using custom search criteria.
  • Download the Complete PLANTS Checklist (6.8 MB text file)
  • Plants Database - Image Gallery | United States Department of Agriculture
Smithsonian
  • Search the Department of Botany Collections - This includes a Plant Photo Archive and a Botanical Art archive. The latter additionally allows you to interrogate the database by artist's name.
eFloras - North America - Online Volumes for families of flora found in North America
Online Volumes
  • Volume 1 Introduction
  • Volume 2 Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms 31 families
  • Volume 3 Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae 32 families
  • Volume 4 Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, Part 1 10 families
  • Volume 5 Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 2 3 families
  • Volume 6 Magnoliophyta: Cucurbitaceae to Droseraceae 19 families
  • Volume 7 Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae 11 families
  • Volume 8 Magnoliophyta: Paeoniaceae to Ericaceae 19 families
  • Volume 9 Magnoliophyta: Picramniaceae to Rosaceae 4 families
  • Volume 12 Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae 29 families
  • Volume 19 Asteraceae (with volumes 20 and 21) 1 family
  • Volume 20 Partial, Enter from Volume 19 1 family
  • Volume 21 Partial, Enter from Volume 19 1 family
  • Volume 22 Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zingiberidae 30 families
  • Volume 23 Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Cyperaceae 1 family
  • Volume 26 Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and Orchidales 11 families
  • Volume 27 Bryophytes: Mosses, part 1 33 families
  • Volume 28Bryophytes: Mosses, part 2 ​48 families

Native Plants ONLY
  • Native Plants Database | Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin - you can search for any of the 9,041 native plants by scientific or common name or choose a particular family of plants. 
  • View native plants in season | Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - also available on a week by week basis re. what's in season and on view at the garden in Texas.

  • ​Arnold Arboretum - Inventory - The Arnold Arboretum's living collections database

Habitats in North America
​

INTERMOUNTAIN
  • Time to Celebrate - Intermountain Flora is Finally Finished - Originally appeared in The Botanical Artist - Volume 18, Issue 3 Note: The eight volumes of Intermountain Flora include descriptions of 146 vascular plant families, 898 genera, 3847 species, and 1571 varieties. 

USA - States 
​

FLORIDA
  • Atlas of Florida Plants - Florida has over 4,700 species of native or naturalized plants in Florida. This Atlas is a joint effort (Institute for Systematic Botany, the University of South Florida, and the USF Water Institute) to provide a comprehensive searchable database of plants in the state of Florida.
Picture
Home Page of the Atlas of Florida Plants
MISSOURI
  • eFloras - Flora of Missouri - Pteridophytes, conifers, and monocot 41 families; Volume 2Acanthaceae through Fabaceae 46 families; Volume 3Fagaceae through Zygophyllaceae 79 families
OREGON
  • The Oregon Flora Project - INCLUDES The Oregon Plant Atlas — an interactive mapping program; The Rare Plant Guide — a searchable database; The Vascular Plant Checklist — provides the taxonomic foundation for the complete project; A Flora of Oregon — the definitive reference for plant identification and the Oregon Wildflowers app — An identification guide to over 1,500 wildflowers, shrubs and vines across the state.
VIRGINIA
  • The Flora of Virginia - Published​ - see below
From the perspective of a botanical artist, I viewed this project as a great exercise in a constant daily practice of drawing plant specimens and learning their important characteristics. Learning to identify plants and understanding their relationships (learning plant families is a great place to start) is key to making a convincing drawing or painting. ​
Lara Call Gastinger in The Flora of Virginia - published
  • The Flora of Virginia Apps - for use in the field. For Android and iOS devices, the app contains everything from the print Flora of Virginia + a lot more. 
The Flora of Virginia ​
​This book came about due to a collaboration between Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project Inc. and Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press.  

It documents approximately 3,200 taxa in 200 families and features 1,400 captioned, scaled, and botanically accurate illustrations. It took 10 years to produce and weighs in at 7lbs!​
Lara Call Gastinger was the botanical illustrator for this project. I saw her work exhibited at the RHS Botanical Art Show where it won a Gold Medal!
​

Hardcover: 1572 pages
Publisher: Botanical Research Inst of Texas;
Publication date: 1 edition - November 15, 2012
BUY THIS BOOK
Flora of Virginia from Amazon.com

Canada 
​

  • North American Native Plant Society - plants database - NANPS was founded in 1985 by a small group of dedicated conservationists as the Canadian Wildflower Society.

Plants in South America
​

Harvard - Latin American Plant Initiative (LAPI) - LAPI, the Latin American Plant Initiative, is an international partnership of herbaria working to create a coordinated database of information and images of the plants of Latin America.

CHILE
  • Flora of Chile plus Family List and Volumes: 1 2 3 4 5 6
  • Checklist of the woody plants in Peruvian seasonally dry forests - maintained by RBGE in Scotland

ECUADOR
  • Trees and shrubs of the Andes of Ecuador @ efloras.org - Trees and shrubs of the Andes of Ecuador
Picture
Gülnur Ekşi with her painting of the very last plant to be included in 'Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile' because it was discovered just as the book was about to go to press! So she painted fast!
Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile
by authors: Martin Gardner, Paulina Hechenleitner, and Josefina Hepp Castillo and Illustrators Gulnar Eksi, Isik Guner and Hulya Korkmaz 
This book has brilliant illustrations. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the botanical illustrations completed for this book by Gulnar and Isik which came to the RHS Botanical Art Shows where they won RHS Gold Medals each time theye were showed.
Paperback: 202 pages
Publisher: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh;
Publication date: 1st edition (9 Oct. 2015)

BUY THIS BOOK
IN THE UK Plants from the Woods and Forest of Chile
Picture
Gulnar Eksi winning her third RHS Gold Medal in 2013 for Plants from the Woods and Forests of Chile
Picture
Işık Güner with her 2014 Gold Medal for her paintings of "Plants from the Woords and Forests of Chile"

Plants in Africa
​

Flora by Region
  • Flora of East Tropical Africa‎ (37 C, 1 F)
  • Flora of Middle Atlantic Ocean‎ (1 C, 1 F)
  • Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa‎ (12 C, 6 F)
  • Flora of Northern Africa‎ (21 C, 3 F)
  • Flora of South Tropical Africa‎ (20 C)
  • Flora of Southern Africa‎ (41 C, 1 P, 13 F)
  • Flora of West Tropical Africa‎ (36 C, 2 F)
  • Flora of West-Central Tropical Africa‎ (19 C, 3 F)
  • Flora of Western Indian Ocean‎ (11 C)
East Tropical Africa - Wikipedia / Wikimedia Resources
  • Flora of East Tropical Africa
  • Flora of Kenya‎ (47 C, 59 P, 149 F)
  • Flora of Tanzania‎ (59 C, 52 P, 81 F)
  • Flora of the Seychelles‎ (12 C, 1 P, 54 F)
  • Flora of Uganda‎ (26 C, 14 P, 36 F)
  • Flora of Western Indian Ocean‎ (11 C)
Southern Africa Countries - Wikipedia / Wikimedia Resources
  • Flora of Botswana‎ (19 C, 11 P, 16 F)
  • Flora of Lesotho‎ (13 C, 6 P, 1 F)
  • Flora of Madagascar‎ (115 C, 87 P, 91 F)
  • Flora of Namibia‎ (53 C, 25 P, 196 F)
  • Flora of South Africa‎ (31 C, 370 F)
  • Flora of Swaziland‎ (28 C, 16 P, 8 F)
SOUTHERN AFRICA

The NEW PlantZAfrica website - This website celebrates the plants of southern Africa and has been created by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).
Flora of South Tropical Africa - Wikipedia / Wikimedia Resources

The Flora of South Tropical Africa - in tropical Southern, Central-Western, and southern Eastern Africa.
  • Flora of Angola‎ (22 C, 13 P, 12 F)
  • Flora of Malawi‎ (21 C, 23 P, 21 F)
  • Flora of Mozambique‎ (56 C, 27 P, 1536 F)
  • Flora of Zambia‎ (14 C, 31 P, 7 F)
  • Flora of Zimbabwe‎ (39 C, 28 P, 83 F)
South Africa - Wikipedia/Wikimedia Resources:
  • The Endemic flora of South Africa
  • Flora of South Africa
  • Flora of South Africa by province‎ (9 C)
  • National Red List of South African plants‎ (11 C)
  • Flora of South Africa by city‎ (4 C)
  • Flora of South Africa by color‎ (1 C)
  • Flora of South Africa by month‎ (65 C)
  • Flora of South Africa by order‎ (53 C)
  • Flora of South Africa by taxon‎ (147 C)

Plants in Asia
​

CHINA
​
  • ​Flora of China Home Page - Flora of China Project. An international collaborative effort to publish the first English language account of China's vascular plants. Includes complete Family List: FOC Treatments: Published and In Preparation
  • Flora of China - Hu Card Index - The Hu Card Index is a file of 158,844 cards for Chinese plant names. The Hu Card Index was prepared in the early 1950s when the Arnold Arboretum undertook a project to prepare a flora of China.​
  • Arnold Arboretum - South Central China and Tibet: Hotspot of Diversity - Historic and contemporary photographs from the expeditions verify specimens encountered on botanical explorations and also document South Central China and Tibet's landscape, its people, and the relationships between people and plants.
  • eFloras - Flora of China - Families of flora found in China
  • eFloras - Moss Flora of China
See also Flora of China | Wikimedia Commons
Picture
Flowers of Chionanthus retusus (Chinese Fringetree) | Source: Wikimedia Commons

NEPAL AND HIMALAYAS
​
  • east himalaya gazetteer of plant collecting localities - A searchable on-line gazetteer of 5000 plant collecting localities in East Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling District, Bhutan and the Chumbi Valley.
  • Flora of Nepal - Unlike surrounding countries, Nepal does not have a Flora. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) heads an international consortium of partners committed to producing this Flora.
  • Plants of Nepal - Botanically Nepal forms a transition zone between the plants of the western Himalaya (including western Asiatic and Mediterranean elements) and the eastern Himalaya (with many Sino-Japanese elements). 
  • Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal | eFlora - ​Family List (230 records)
See also llustrations of Himalayan plants | Wikimedia Commons
Picture
Magnolia campbellii flowers. Original caption: "Plate IV. Flowering specimen of Magnolia Campbellii. Fig. 1. Flower with the perianth removed, showing the stamens and spike of ovaries. 2. Stamens. 3. Stigma :—magnified. | Hooker, Joseph Dalton; Cathcart, John Fergusson; Fitch, Walter Hood: Illustrations of Himalayan plants p.27.

SINGAPORE

National Parks Singapore - Flora and Fauna Web
This is an online information portal with information about plants and animals
  • Comparison of similar looking plants
  • A Field Guide To Plants Of Singapore (PDF file) - Adinandra Belukar (a type of young secondary forest)

Plants in Australasia
​

AUSTRALIA
​
24,000 species of native plants have been identified in Australia.
  • Flora of Australia - a NEW DATABASE
  • Vascular Flora - a free online public enquiry database that provides taxonomic and biological information. The database is derived from the published volumes of the Flora of Australia (see below) of which 17 volumes are currently online, with more in preparation.
  • ​Flora of Australia - Publications - This series, of a planned 60+ volumes, describes the flowering plants, pines, ferns, mosses, liverworts and lichens to the species level.
  • Flora of Australia Supplementary Series - including Mosses, Lichens, Fungi etc
  • Flora of Australia - Vascular flora publications - comprises the flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns and fern allies. Australia has over 18 000 species of described vascular plants​
  • Catalogue of Australian Mosses (AusMoss) ​





Picture
Banksia serrata (crop) by John Lewin - the first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales | Wikimedia Commons
States and Territories

  • Flora of Australia Online - Data covers the six Australian States, the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and immediate offshore islands

NEW SOUTH WALES
  • NWS Flora Online - The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
  • Florabase - The Western Australia Flora - including Names, Descriptions, Photos & Maps and Interactive Identification

AUSTRALIAN ISLANDS
  • Flora of Australia Online Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands - Data covers Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island and the associated islets of the Admiralty Group, Balls Pyramid, Blackburn (Rabbit) Island, Mutton Bird Island, Nepean Island and Philip Island
  • Flora of Australia Online Oceanic Islands excluding Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands - Data covers Ashmore Reef, Cartier Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands Territory, Heard Island, Macquarie Island and McDonald Island
Home Page of PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online
Home Page of PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online
Home Page of FloraBase - The West Australia Flora
Home Page of FloraBase - The West Australia Flora
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Resources
  • Flora of Australia | Wikimedia Commons - for visual confirmation of species
  • Flora of Australia by month‎ (52 C)
  • Flora of Australia by order‎ (29 C)
  • Flora of Australia by taxon‎ (68 C)
  • Flora of Australia - Range maps

Featured Plants of Australia
  • Wattle Web - A web guide to the wattles (Acacia) of New South Wales
  • The Cycad Pages - Web access to a botanical database developed from The World List of Cycads, with a page for every known cycad. (This site is currently not being maintained)
  • Euca Link - a Web Guide to the Eucalypts
Acacia is a genus of around 1200 species; 954 are currently recognised as occurring in Australia – from coastal zones and mountains to the dry inland. Collectively the Australian species are known as 'wattles'.
Australian Flora | Australian government

NEW ZEALAND

Wikipedia/Wikimedia Resources
  • Flora of New Zealand | Wikimedia Commons
  • Flora of New Zealand by order‎ (4 C)
  • Flora of New Zealand by taxon‎ (6 C)
  • Forest Flora of New Zealand‎ (6 F)
  • Flora distribution maps of New Zealand‎ (4 F)
  • ​Native Flowers of New Zealand (book)
Picture
Areca sapida by Georgina Burne Hetley (1832 – 1898) - from "The Native Flowers of New Zealand Illustrated in Colours"

FLORA BY PLANT FAMILY
​

Begonia

  • Begonia Resource Centre: Taxonomic database containing all names in Begonia, of which 1803 are currently accepted species (updated 23/10/2015). Linked to the names are type specimens and images of the protologue.  Maintained by Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Picture
Begonia glandulosa Hook., Bot. Mag. 87: t. 5256. 1861

Zingiberaceae

  • ​Zingiberaceae Resource Centre - nomenclatural data for Zingiberaceae.
Picture
Zingiber officinale. Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen via Wikimedia Commons

Plant Names
​

See also the section on this website about Plant Names and Botanical Latin
  • The International Plant Names Index - home page
    IPNI is a joint project with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Australian National Herbaria to provide an online database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of all vascular plants.

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