Guide to Standard Floras of the World Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Prologue to the first edition
- Prologue to the second edition
- Acknowledgments for the first edition
- Acknowledgments for the second edition
- I General introduction
- 1 An analytical–synthetic systematic bibliography of ‘standard’ floras: scope, sources and structure
- 2 The evolution of floras
- 3 Floras at the end of the twentieth century: philosophy, progress and prospects
- References
- II Systematic bibliography
- Appendix A Major general bibliographies, indices and library catalogues covering world floristic literature
- Appendix B Abbreviations of serials cited
- Addenda in proof
- Geographical index
- Author index
3 - Floras at the end of the twentieth century: philosophy, progress and prospects
from I - General introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Prologue to the first edition
- Prologue to the second edition
- Acknowledgments for the first edition
- Acknowledgments for the second edition
- I General introduction
- 1 An analytical–synthetic systematic bibliography of ‘standard’ floras: scope, sources and structure
- 2 The evolution of floras
- 3 Floras at the end of the twentieth century: philosophy, progress and prospects
- References
- II Systematic bibliography
- Appendix A Major general bibliographies, indices and library catalogues covering world floristic literature
- Appendix B Abbreviations of serials cited
- Addenda in proof
- Geographical index
- Author index
Summary
It happens that nearly every tropical flora is fundamentally unsuited to its subject … they not merely discourage the aspirant by so aggravating his difficulties but they expose their authors to unlearned ridicule.
Corner, New Phytol. 45: 187 (1946).The Flora of the future will be a standardized data bank. It will be open-ended, dynamic and ever-growing. … Thus [it] will become a huge memory or series of linked memories available on-line to all users at any place and time.
Shetler, ‘Flora North America as an information system’; BioScience21: 524–532 (1971).The whole question of the design of Floras requires considerable attention. Little advance has been made in practice during the last century.
Heywood, ‘European floristics: past, present and future’; in Essays in plant taxonomy (ed. Street), p. 288 (1978).A regional flora is not the place to propose a new family classification, but the Flora writer serves botanical knowledge well if attention is drawn to the pitfalls that can result from a misuse of available characters.
Hedge, in Contributions selectae ad floram et vegetationem Orientis (eds. Engel et al.), p. 313 (1991).The current method of Flora writing employed … satisfies only specialists, who are generally not living in the geographical areas where information is quickly required for practical purposes. … Floras currently leave it to the end users to do as best they can in interpreting their highly technical content.
Jarvie and van Welzen, Taxon43: 444 (1994).- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Guide to Standard Floras of the WorldAn Annotated, Geographically Arranged Systematic Bibliography of the Principal Floras, Enumerations, Checklists and Chorological Atlases of Different Areas, pp. 52 - 77Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001
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