Ajay Kumar at 17:29, 29 August 2023

2023-08-29T17:29:52Z

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{{Short description|Plant species in a given region}}
{{Other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2009}}
[[File:Flora.png|frame|right|Simplified schematic of an island's flora – all its plant species, highlighted in boxes]]
'''Flora''' ({{plural form}}: '''floras''' or '''florae''') is all the [[plant]] life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ([[indigenous (ecology)|indigenous]]) [[native plant|native plants.]] The corresponding term for [[animals]] is ''[[fauna]]'', and for [[fungi]], it is ''[[funga]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kuhar |first=Francisco |last2=Furci |first2=Giuliana |last3=Drechsler-Santos |first3=Elisandro Ricardo |last4=Pfister |first4=Donald H. |date=December 2018 |title=Delimitation of Funga as a valid term for the diversity of fungal communities: the Fauna, Flora & Funga proposal (FF&F) |url=https://imafungus.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1007/BF03449441 |journal=IMA Fungus |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=A71–A74 |doi=10.1007/BF03449441 |issn=2210-6359|hdl=11336/88035 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Sometimes [[bacteria]] and [[fungi]] are also referred to as flora as in the terms ''[[gut flora]]'' or ''[[skin flora]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=flora |title=flora |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=2006-05-03 |archive-date=2006-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430072626/http://webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=flora |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/bitn/97-007/pdf/bitn97-007.pdf |author1=Clifford E. Starliper |author2=Rita Villella |author3=Patricia Morrison |author4=Jay Mathais |title=Sampling the bacterial flora of freshwater mussels |access-date=2014-01-02 |archive-date=2016-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201051144/http://pubs.usgs.gov/bitn/97-007/pdf/bitn97-007.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=John, D.M. |author2=Whitton, B.A. |author3=Brook, A.J. |year=2002|title=The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles: An Identification Guide to Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521770514|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sc4897dfM_MC}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The word "flora" comes from the [[Latin]] name of [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]], the [[goddess]] of [[plant]]s, [[flower]]s, and fertility in [[Roman mythology]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rengel|first1=Kathleen N. Daly; revised by Marian|last2=Daly|first2=Kathleen|title=Greek and Roman mythology, A to Z|date=2009|publisher=Chelsea House Publishers|location=New York|isbn=978-1604134124|edition=3rd}}</ref> 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.<ref name="berrens">{{Cite journal|last=Berrens|first=Dominik|date=2019-03-21|title=The Meaning of Flora|url=http://humanistica.be/index.php/humanistica/article/view/330|journal=Humanistica Lovaniensia. Journal of Neo-Latin Studies|language=en|volume=68|issue=1|pages=237–249|doi=10.30986/2019.237|issn=2593-3019|doi-access=free|access-date=2019-03-25|archive-date=2021-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524192019/http://humanistica.be/index.php/humanistica/article/view/330|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 indiscriminately.<ref>Thurmann, J. (1849). ''Essai de Phytostatique appliqué à la chaîne du Jura et aux contrées voisines.'' Berne: Jent et Gassmann, [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/51540#/summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002105310/http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/51540#/summary|date=2017-10-02}}.</ref><ref name="Martins">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. [http://files.hisaias.webnode.com/200000112-37f2239e9a/Cap%202.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924062109/http://files.hisaias.webnode.com/200000112-37f2239e9a/Cap%202.pdf|date=2016-09-24}}. Earlier version, 2003, [http://www2.ib.unicamp.br/profs/fsantos/bt682/2003/Apostila-FormasVida-2003.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827014258/http://www2.ib.unicamp.br/profs/fsantos/bt682/2003/Apostila-FormasVida-2003.pdf|date=2016-08-27}}.</ref>

==Classifications==

Plants are grouped into floras based on region ([[Phytochorion|floristic regions]]), period, special environment, or climate. Regions can be distinct [[habitat]]s 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: [[weed]]y 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 [[ecosystem]]s.

==Documentation==
[[File:WGSRPD World.svg|thumb|upright=2|The botanical continents of the [[World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions]], used for classifying floras geographically]]
{{Main|Flora (publication)}}

[[File:Floristic regions in Europe (english).png|thumb|right|Floristic regions in Europe according to Wolfgang Frey and Rainer Lösch]]


The flora of a particular area or time period can be documented in a publication also known as a "[[Flora (publication)|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 [[book]]s, but some are now published on [[CD-ROM]] or [[website]]s.

[[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".<ref name=boym>[http://webapps.fundp.ac.be/moretus/flora_sinensis/index_flora_sinensis.html Flora Sinensis] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206180105/http://webapps.fundp.ac.be/moretus/flora_sinensis/index_flora_sinensis.html |date=2010-02-06 }} (access to the facsimile of the book, its French translation, and an article about it)</ref> However, despite its title it covered not only plants but also some animals of the region, that is China and India.<ref name="berrens"/>

A published flora often contains diagnostic keys. Often these are [[identification key|''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
* [[:Category:Flora by continent|Flora by continent]]
* [[:Category:Flora by country|Flora by country]]
* [[:Category:Flora by ecoregion|Flora by ecoregion]]
* [[:Category:Flora by floristic kingdom|Flora by floristic kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Flora}}
* [http://www.efloras.org/index.aspx ''eFloras'' — a collection of on-line floras]
* [http://www.chilebosque.cl/list.html ''Chilebosque'' — checklist of Chilean native flora] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609211535/http://www.chilebosque.cl/list.html |date=2011-06-09 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061027145332/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/flora.php Flora of NW Europe] with descriptions and a quiz to test your knowledge
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061030013007/http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/flora/main/index.html Flora of Australia Online]
* [http://floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz Flora of New Zealand Series Online]
* [https://www.eflorakerala.com/ E-Flora of Kerala by N Sasidharan]

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[[Category:Flora| ]]
[[Category:Botanical nomenclature]]
[[Category:Ecology terminology]]
[[Category:Habitat]]
[[Category:Organisms]]

Flora - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 17:29, 29 August 2023