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Flora (pl.: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. The corresponding term for animals is fauna, and for fungi, it is funga. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms gut flora or skin flora for purposes of specificity.
Etymology
The word "flora" comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, and fertility in Roman mythology. The technical term "flora" is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century. It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area, but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation. Moreover, "Flora" was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century.
The distinction between vegetation (the general appearance of a community) and flora (the taxonomic composition of a community) was first made by Jules Thurmann (1849). Prior to this, the two terms were used interchangeably.
Classifications
Plants are grouped into floras based on region (floristic regions), period, special environment, or climate. Regions can be distinct habitats like mountain vs. flatland. Floras can mean plant life of a 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 horticultural flora (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.
Documentation
The flora of a particular area or time period can be documented in a publication also known as a "flora" (often capitalized as "Flora" to distinguish the two meanings when they might be confused). Floras may require specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness. Traditionally they are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM or websites.
Simon Paulli's Flora Danica of 1648 is probably the first book titled "Flora" to refer to the plant world of a certain region. It mainly describes medicinal plants growing in Denmark. The Flora Sinensis by the Polish Jesuit Michał Boym is another early example of a book titled "Flora". However, despite its title it covered not only plants but also some animals of the region, that is China and India.
A published flora often contains diagnostic keys. Often these are dichotomous keys, which require the user to examine a plant repeatedly, and decide which one of two alternatives given best applies to the plant.
See also
- Biome — a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities
- Fauna
- Fauna and Flora Preservation Society
- Funga – a term equivalent to flora for fungi
- Herbal
- Horticultural flora
- Megaflora
- Pharmacopoeia
- The Plant List
- Vegetation — a general term for the plant life of a region
- World Flora Online
- Categories
- Flora by continent
- Flora by country
- Flora by ecoregion
- Flora by floristic kingdom
References
- Kuhar, Francisco; Furci, Giuliana; Drechsler-Santos, Elisandro Ricardo; Pfister, Donald H. (December 2018). "Delimitation of Funga as a valid term for the diversity of fungal communities: the Fauna, Flora & Funga proposal (FF&F)". IMA Fungus. 9 (2): A71 – A74. doi:10.1007/BF03449441. hdl:11336/88035. ISSN 2210-6359.
- "flora". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2006-05-03.
- Clifford E. Starliper; Rita Villella; Patricia Morrison; Jay Mathais. "Sampling the bacterial flora of freshwater mussels" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
- John, D.M.; Whitton, B.A.; Brook, A.J. (2002). The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles: An Identification Guide to Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521770514.
- Rengel, Kathleen N. Daly; revised by Marian; Daly, Kathleen (2009). Greek and Roman mythology, A to Z (3rd ed.). New York: Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 978-1604134124.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Flora - inside the secret world of plants. Great Britain: Penguin Random House. October 2018. ISBN 9780241254806.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - Berrens, Dominik (2019-03-21). "The Meaning of Flora". Humanistica Lovaniensia. Journal of Neo-Latin Studies. 68 (1): 237–249. doi:10.30986/2019.237. ISSN 2593-3019. Archived from the original on 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
- Thurmann, J. (1849). Essai de Phytostatique appliqué à la chaîne du Jura et aux contrées voisines. Berne: Jent et Gassmann, [1] Archived 2017-10-02 at the Wayback Machine.
- Martins, F. R. & Batalha, M. A. (2011). Formas de vida, espectro biológico de Raunkiaer e fisionomia da vegetação. In: Felfili, J. M., Eisenlohr, P. V.; Fiuza de Melo, M. M. R.; Andrade, L. A.; Meira Neto, J. A. A. (Org.). Fitossociologia no Brasil: métodos e estudos de caso. Vol. 1. Viçosa: Editora UFV. p. 44-85. [2] Archived 2016-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Earlier version, 2003, [3] Archived 2016-08-27 at the Wayback Machine.
- Flora Sinensis Archived 2010-02-06 at the Wayback Machine (access to the facsimile of the book, its French translation, and an article about it)
External links
- eFloras — a collection of on-line floras
- Chilebosque — checklist of Chilean native flora Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Flora of NW Europe with descriptions and a quiz to test your knowledge
- Flora of Australia Online
- Flora of New Zealand Series Online
- E-Flora of Kerala by N Sasidharan
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Flora news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Flora pl floras or florae is all the plant life present in a particular region or time generally the naturally occurring indigenous native plants The corresponding term for animals is fauna and for fungi it is funga Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora as in the terms gut flora or skin flora for purposes of specificity Simplified schematic of an island s flora all its plant species highlighted in boxesEtymologyThe word flora comes from the Latin name of Flora the goddess of plants flowers and fertility in Roman mythology The technical term flora is then derived from a metonymy of this goddess at the end of the sixteenth century It was first used in poetry to denote the natural vegetation of an area but soon also assumed the meaning of a work cataloguing such vegetation Moreover Flora was used to refer to the flowers of an artificial garden in the seventeenth century The distinction between vegetation the general appearance of a community and flora the taxonomic composition of a community was first made by Jules Thurmann 1849 Prior to this the two terms were used interchangeably ClassificationsPlants are grouped into floras based on region floristic regions period special environment or climate Regions can be distinct habitats like mountain vs flatland Floras can mean plant life of a 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 horticultural flora 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 DocumentationThe botanical continents of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions used for classifying floras geographically Floristic regions in Europe according to Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Losch The flora of a particular area or time period can be documented in a publication also known as a flora often capitalized as Flora to distinguish the two meanings when they might be confused Floras may require specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness Traditionally they are books but some are now published on CD ROM or websites Simon Paulli s Flora Danica of 1648 is probably the first book titled Flora to refer to the plant world of a certain region It mainly describes medicinal plants growing in Denmark The Flora Sinensis by the Polish Jesuit Michal Boym is another early example of a book titled Flora However despite its title it covered not only plants but also some animals of the region that is China and India A published flora often contains diagnostic keys Often these are dichotomous keys which require the user to examine a plant repeatedly and decide which one of two alternatives given best applies to the plant See alsoBiome a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities Fauna Fauna and Flora Preservation Society Funga a term equivalent to flora for fungi Herbal Horticultural flora Megaflora Pharmacopoeia The Plant List Vegetation a general term for the plant life of a region World Flora OnlineCategoriesFlora by continent Flora by country Flora by ecoregion Flora by floristic kingdomReferencesKuhar Francisco Furci Giuliana Drechsler Santos Elisandro Ricardo Pfister Donald H December 2018 Delimitation of Funga as a valid term for the diversity of fungal communities the Fauna Flora amp Funga proposal FF amp F IMA Fungus 9 2 A71 A74 doi 10 1007 BF03449441 hdl 11336 88035 ISSN 2210 6359 flora Merriam Webster Archived from the original on 2006 04 30 Retrieved 2006 05 03 Clifford E Starliper Rita Villella Patricia Morrison Jay Mathais Sampling the bacterial flora of freshwater mussels PDF Archived PDF from the original on 2016 02 01 Retrieved 2014 01 02 John D M Whitton B A Brook A J 2002 The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles An Identification Guide to Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521770514 Rengel Kathleen N Daly revised by Marian Daly Kathleen 2009 Greek and Roman mythology A to Z 3rd ed New York Chelsea House Publishers ISBN 978 1604134124 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Flora inside the secret world of plants Great Britain Penguin Random House October 2018 ISBN 9780241254806 a href wiki Template Cite book title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint date and year link Berrens Dominik 2019 03 21 The Meaning of Flora Humanistica Lovaniensia Journal of Neo Latin Studies 68 1 237 249 doi 10 30986 2019 237 ISSN 2593 3019 Archived from the original on 2021 05 24 Retrieved 2019 03 25 Thurmann J 1849 Essai de Phytostatique applique a la chaine du Jura et aux contrees voisines Berne Jent et Gassmann 1 Archived 2017 10 02 at the Wayback Machine Martins F R amp Batalha M A 2011 Formas de vida espectro biologico de Raunkiaer e fisionomia da vegetacao In Felfili J M Eisenlohr P V Fiuza de Melo M M R Andrade L A Meira Neto J A A Org Fitossociologia no Brasil metodos e estudos de caso Vol 1 Vicosa Editora UFV p 44 85 2 Archived 2016 09 24 at the Wayback Machine Earlier version 2003 3 Archived 2016 08 27 at the Wayback Machine Flora Sinensis Archived 2010 02 06 at the Wayback Machine access to the facsimile of the book its French translation and an article about it External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Flora eFloras a collection of on line floras Chilebosque checklist of Chilean native flora Archived 2011 06 09 at the Wayback Machine Flora of NW Europe with descriptions and a quiz to test your knowledge Flora of Australia Online Flora of New Zealand Series Online E Flora of Kerala by N Sasidharan
