This website provides a commented list of online searchable databases on floras and checklists, arranged according to world regions.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Global
The website includes information about 2 million species across all organism groups, collected from publications, databases, and websites. The comprehensive query results include descriptions, distribution (including distribution maps), ecology, barcode data, IUCN conservation status, population trends and threats, management and conservation.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility – GBIF
The main focus of this data portal is to allow users to browse global georeferenced data of species occurrence. Query results for species contain information on nomenclature, common names, distribution maps, and images. Presently, the website includes 537,315 species of vascular plants.
GRIN Taxonomy for Plants includes scientific names for 69,827 accepted taxa with common names, distribution by country, economic uses, and references. Included federal- and state-regulated noxious weeds and federally and internationally listed threatened and endangered plants.
Index Nominum Genericorum – ING
ING is a „compilation of generic names published for organisms covered by the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants“. Search results for a generic name in IPNI, Index Nominum Algarum, TROPICOS, and Index Fungorum are displayed on a single page.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System – ITIS
The website provides „authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world“ . It contains 891,000 scientific names of any rank (as of Apr 2022). It includes a Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN), this is a unique, persistent identifier for a scientific name. The search results show information on taxonomy and nomenclature (e.g. synonyms and common names), and geographic information.
International Plant Names Index – IPNI
„The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) is a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes.“ The database includes infraspecific, specific, generic, and family names, and associated bibliographical details on nomenclature for all vascular plants. It gives no information whether the published names are accepted species names or synonyms.
Plants of the World Online – PoWO
PoWO covers all vascular plants worldwide. It delivers information on taxonomy, distribution, traits, threat status, uses, and images. POWO uses WCVP as the names backbone and therefore the taxonomy in POWO is identical to that on the WCVP website. The names and distribution data are updated weekly from WCVP.
TPL provides the accepted botanical name for most species of vascular plants, with links to all synonyms. It integrates data from databases like ILDIS, WCSP, TICA, GrassBase, IOPI, Tropicos and IPNI. Version 1.1 has been set up in September 2013 and has not been updated since. The Plant List includes 1 million scientific plant names of species rank. Of these ca. 350,000 are accepted species names.
Tropicos is a global taxonomic checklist, covering >1.3 million scientific names . Beyond taxonomy and nomenclature, the species datasets include information on distribution, uses, and images.
World Checklist of Selected Plant Families – WCSP
WCSP provides „peer reviewed and published opinions on the accepted scientific names and synonyms of selected plant families“. In May 2022 the website still presents the 2017 statement that 200 seed plant families are included. Beyond taxonomy the the species accounts include distribution by countrry and lifeform. Also published by RBG Kew is the more current World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP).
World Checklist of Vascular Plants – WCVP
WCVP „is a global consensus view of all known vascular plant species (flowering plants, conifers, ferns, clubmosses and firmosses). […] It is based on Kew’s names and taxonomic backbone which has been created by reconciling the names from the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) with the taxonomy from the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). This Beta version therefore only displays names that are in both IPNI and WCVP. It contains both families that have been completed and peer reviewed by both external and internal experts on the relevant families as well as families that are in the process of being edited and reviewed.“
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Africa
The African Plant Database comprises 205,456 names of African plants (2012).The data sheets contain information on taxonomy and nomenclature, distribution maps, and photos.
Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar
The Madagascar Catalogue Project covers all native and alien vascular plant species in Madagascar. Information is provided on the taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution, lifeform, ecology, and conservation status.
This website focusses on the native and naturalised the vascular plants of Mozambique. It presents data on nomenclature, common names, descriptions, ecology, habitat, distribution, photos, and Red List status. As of May 2022 it covers 6,285 species.
This website focusses on the native and naturalised the vascular plants of Zambia. It presents data on nomenclature, common names, descriptions, ecology, habitat, distribution, photos, and Red List status. As of May 2022 it covers 6,855 species.
This website focusses on the native and naturalised the vascular plants of Zimbabwe. It presents data on nomenclature, common names, descriptions, ecology, habitat, distribution, photos, and Red List status. As of May 2022 it covers 6,397 species.
The website provides information on distribution, habitat, common names, IUCN conservation status, legal status, as well as photos of Namibian biota. As of May 2022 it includes 3,045 indigenous and alien vascular plant species Namibia.
The website includes common names, description, distribution, habitat, ethnobotany, and horticultural information of indigenous species of southern Africa.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Americas
Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador
The Catalogue provides a synopsis of the flora of vascular plants found in Ecuador . It contains data on nomenclature, lifeform, distribution, its altitudinal distribution.
Chilebosque presents information of vascular plants, mosses, lichens and fungi present in Chile. It includes data on common names, distribution, and images. Language is Spanish.
E-Flora BC – Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia
E-Flora BC is a GIS based biogeographic atlas of the vascular plants, bryophytes, fungi and lichens of British Columbia. The website provides data on native and naturalised species. It includes nomenclature, common names, morphological description, distribution, habitat, ecology, nomenclature, photos, and conservation status.
The website makes the Flora Brasiliensis available online as pagescans. It was published between 1840 and 1906 by the editors von Martius, Eichler, and Urban. It contains taxonomic treatments of 22,767 species.
The website contains information about the Flora of Mesoamerica, including vascular pöants, bryphyte, fungi, and algae. It is the online version of the 7 volumes publication. The species profiles provide data on nomenclature, distribution maps, and images.
The website makes 6 volumes of the Flora of Chile available online, which have been published between 1896 and 1911. It contains common names, habitats, distributions, and images.
The website makes the printed volumes of the Flora of North America north of Mexico available online, which will finally be 30 volumes. It includes nomenclature, common names, descriptions, distribution, habitat, uses, and images.
Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The database foucusses on the vascular plants of the arctic islands of Canada. It provides information on 365 taxa, including nomenclature, common names, morphology, ecology, habitat, and distribution.
The database covers native and naturalized vascular plants of California. It provides data on ecology, distribution and distribution maps, and photos.
The website presents information on plants and animals of the United States and Canada. The species data sheets include scientific and common names, conservation status, legal status, distribution maps, and images.
„The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. It includes botanical and common names, […] checklists, distributional data, species abstracts, characteristics, images, crop information, […] and references“. It covers >38,000 taxa and provides over 1,000 fact sheets that provide information on the uses, establishment, and management.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Asia
Flora Malesiana inventories the vascular plant flora of Malesia, the region including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. Online treatments from family to species contain keys for identification, descriptions, referenced information on taxonomy, distribution, habitat, ecology, phytochemistry, and uses.
The website makes the printed volumes of the Flora of China available online. It includes data on taxonomy, distribution, habitat, common names, uses and images.
The database povides species factsheets with data on nomenclature, common names, description, distribution maps, reproduction, habitat, phenology, and photos.
The website makes the printed volumes of the Flora of Pakistan available online. It includes identification keys, nomenclature, descriptions, distribution, habitat, and images.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Europe
Ecological Flora of the British Isles
The database include data on 3,842 species of higher plants that occur in the British Isles. The data comprises information on taxonomy, common names, distributionecological and morphological traits.
EUNIS, provides information about most plant, bryophytes, fungi, animal, protist and plant species living in Europe. The species data sheets contain nomenclature, , common names, European conservation status, legal status, distribution maps, protected sites, photos, and external links. Presently, the website includes 537,315 species of vascular plants.
„Euro+Med Plantbase covers all native and introduced vascular plants from Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. At present, hybrids and taxa below the rank of subspecies are not treated. Euro+Med Plantbase integrates […] information from Flora Europaea, Med-Checklist, the Flora of Macaronesia, and from regional and national floras and checklists from the area […]. This is complemented by the European taxa of several families taken from the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) and of the Leguminosae from the International Legume Database and Information Service (ILDIS)“. Taxonomic information is provided as well as common names, and distribution maps.
The website makes the printed volumes of the Flora Iberica available online. It will treat, after all volumes have been published, more than 8,000 species of vascular plants. So far, 17 of the 21 volumes have been published.
The website presents information of 805 plant species of the Netherlands. Species data sheets contain data on morphology (including identification videos), distribution maps, ecological parameters, and photos. The information is in Dutch.
The website makes the printed volumes of both the Flora Iberica and the Flora Vascular de Andalucía Occidental available online. It includes 5,194 species of vascular plants of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra). The species datasheets contain taxonomy, morphology, distribution, habitat, and photos. The information is in Spanish.
The German website provides biological and conservation related information on all vascular plant species of Germany. It includes more than 6,000 plant names incl. aggregates and subspecies. It contains about 3,500 species data sheets with information regarding taxonomy, description, ecology, habitat, distribution, conservation status, uses, and photos. Additionally, a dynamic grid-based distribution map is provided.
*** Florenliste von Deutschland
This floristic checklist for Germany is one of the many taxonomic legacies of Karl Peter Buttler († 2018). It is now maintained by R.Hand, M.Thieme and others. It provides distribution ststus for the German Bundesländer and and information on the establishment status.
info flora – National Data and Information Center on the Swiss Flora
info flora provides data on the Swiss flora. Species accounts provide information on distribution, habitat, conservation status, common names, and images of the indigenous and alien plant species (spermatophytes). It is available in English, German, French, and Italian language.
Online Atlas of the British and Irish flora
The website focusses on the wild flowering plants and ferns of Britain and Ireland. Data sheets provide data on ecology, lifeform, habitat, distribution, conservation status.
The website presents 525 plant species of the Dutch Flora. It provides data on common names, ecology, distribution, and photos. The website is in Dutch.
Worldplants. A complete, synonymic checklist of the Higher Plants of the World
The website claims to be a „complete, synonymic checklist of the higher plants of the world“. As of March 2022 it covers >350,000 valid species and provides information on taxonomy and nomenclature, common names, and distribution, as well as photos of >7,000 species of orchids and ferns.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases – Oceania
Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants
The database attempts to include all flowering plant species in the rainforest of northern Australia. The species data sheets include taxonomy, common names, morphology, distribution, ecology, and photos. Edition 8 comprises 2,762 species and some 14,000 images.
Census of South Australian Plants, Algae and Fungi
The website covers the vascular plants (flowering plants, conifers and ferns), bryophytes, macro-fungi, algae and lichens of South Australia, They species sheets contain data on taxonomy, nomenclature, common names, morphology, distribution, conservation status, ecology, and illustrations.
The Flora of Australia database is still under construction. Approximately 16,000 plant profiles are available. The datasheets provide information on taxonomy, morphology, distribution, habitat and photos.
The website includes flowering plants, gymnosperms, ferns, and bryophytes and includes naturalised as well as indigenous plants. It provides information on nomenclature, common names, morphological description, and photos.
The website presents information on all native and naturalized flowering plants found in Tasmania. Information includes taxonomy, morphology, distribution and ecology. Last update Jan 2022.
The website focusses on the Hawaiian vascular plants. It provides data on nomenclature, common names, morphology, distribution of 2,499 taxa of flowering plants and 222 taxa of ferns and related groups.
Flora of the Marquesas Islands
The website focusses on the Marquesas Islands‘ vascular plants. It provides data on nomenclature, common names, morphology, distribution of 579 taxa of flowering plants and 117 taxa of ferns and related groups.
FloraBase – The Western Australian Flora
This website currently contains 17,192 native or naturalised plant species found in Western Australia, including vascular plants, lichens, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Species profiles for many of them provide data on nomenclature, conservation status, distribution maps, and photos.
The prototype website contains description, distribution map, habitat, common name, identification keys, photos, and conservation status of nearly 9,000 species of flowering plants.
Floristic-Taxonomic Databases for Selected Plant Groups
The database on Brassicaceae/Cruciferae includes information on all species, including nomenclature, chromosome numbers, genome size, and biological traits. The fourth release (version 1.3) dates from June 2020.
GrassBase – The Online World Grass Flora
The database presents detailed morphological descriptions of all grass species worldwide including information on distribution. It includes ca. 11,000 accepted species in the family Poaceae.
This website is the successor of the ILDIS database (still available at https://ildis.org/index.shtml). It provides data on taxonomy/nomenclature, distribution, common names, life-form, and distribution. It covers all species in Fabaceae. Version 10 was last updated in 2018.
The database provides information for all species gymnosperms, i.e., conifers, cycads, ginkgo, and the gnetophytes. Species level information comprises taxonomy, common names, description, ecology, ethnobotany, and photos. As of 2021, about 1,100 species are treated.
The website presents 76 detailed species profiles of trees traditionally cultivated in Pacific islands, many of which are also distributed throughout the tropics. The profiles present information on common names, distribution, botanical description, growth, propagation, invasiveness, and uses.
The World List of Cycads provides data on taxonomy, nomenclature, distribution, IUCN conservation status, and photos of all 367 currently accepted species.
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by Uwe Schippmann, 25.1.2022