Flora (publication)

A Flora is a book or other work which describes the plant species occurring in an area or time period, often with the aim of allowing identification. The term is usually capitalized to distinguish it from the use of "flora" to mean the plants rather than their descriptions. Some classic and modern Floras are listed below.
Traditionally Floras are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM or websites. The area that a Flora covers can be either geographically or politically defined. Floras usually require some specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness.
A Flora often contains diagnostic keys. Often these are dichotomous keys, which require the user to repeatedly examine a plant, and decide which one of two alternatives given in the Flora best applies to the plant.
Floras produced at a local or regional level rarely contain identification keys. Instead they aim to impart more detailed understanding of the local status and distribution of that area's plants. Maps showing species distribution may be included, and nowadays are computer-generated from biological databases. Specific reference may be made to new arrivals and historic records in order to impart understanding of the changes in an area's vegetation over time.

Classic Floras

;EuropeSylva Hercynia, Johannes Thal. Germany 1588Hortus Lusatiae, Johannes Franke. Germany 1594Stirpium et fossilium Silesiae Catalogus, Caspar Schwenckfeldt. Germany 1600Flora Jenensis, Heinrich Bernhard Rupp Germany, 1718.Flora Suecica, Carl Linnaeus. 1745.Flora Londinensis, William Curtis. England 1777–1798

Deutschlands_Flora_in_Abbildungen, Johann Georg Sturm. Germany 1796Flora Graeca, John Sibthorp. 1806–1840Flora Danica, Simon Paulli. Denmark, 1847.
, Otto Wilhelm Thomé. Germany 1886
, Amédée Masclef. France 1891
, Carl Axel Magnus Lindman. Sweden 1901–1905

;IndiaHortus indicus malabaricus, Hendrik van Rheede 1683–1703
;IndonesiaFlora Javae, Carl Ludwig Blume and Joanne Baptista Fischer. 1828.
;North America

, Frederick Pursh. 1814.

Modern Floras

Americas

;Caribbean

Britton, N. L., and Percy Wilson. Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands — Volume V, Part 1: Botany of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Pandanales to Thymeleales. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1924.

;Central & South America
*
*

Flora of Guatemala

Flora of the Guianas
Flora of Panama

Flora of Suriname
Flora Mesoamericana

Flora Neotropica .

;North America
*

Weakley, Alan S. and Southeastern Flora Team. . 2025.
Kearney, Thomas H. Arizona Flora. University of California Press, 1940.
Hickman, James C., editor. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press, 1993.
Hultén, Eric. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants. Stanford University Press, 1968.
Radford, Albert E. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, 1968.
Wilhelm, G. and L. Rericha. Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis. Indiana Academy of Science, 2017.
Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, 1973, 2018. ; it is a compressed version of Hitchcock and Cronquist, Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington Press, 1955-1969
Cronquist, Arthur, Noel H. Holmgren, Patricia K. Holmgren, James L. Reveal and Rupert C. Barneby. Intermountain flora; vascular plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A., New York Botanical Garden, 1972–2017
Chadde, Steve W.. A Great Lakes Wetland Flora. 2nd ed. Pocketflora Press, 2002.
Strausbaugh, P. D. and E. L. Core. Flora of West Virginia. 2nd ed. Seneca Books Inc., 1964.
Rhoads, A. F. and T. A Block. The Plants of Pennsylvania. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000.
Britton, N. L. and Hon. A. Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. In three volumes. Dover Publications, 1913, 1970.
Stone, W.

Asia

;China and Japan
;Southeast AsiaFlora of Thailand Florae Siamensis EnumeratioFlora Malesiana .Flora of the Malay PeninsulaFlore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam
;Indian region and Sri Lanka

Flora of the Presidency of Madras by J.S. Gamble
Bengal Plants by D. Prain
Flora of the upper Gangetic plains by J. F. Duthie
Botany of Bihar and Orissa by H.H. Haines
Flora of British India by Sir J.D. Hooker

;Middle East and western Asia

Flora of Turkey
Flora Iranica
Flora Palaestina:
* M. Zohary. Flora Palaestina part 1.
* M. Zohary. Flora Palaestina part 2.
* N. Feinbrun. Flora Palaestina part 3.
* N. Feinbrun. Flora Palaestina part 4.
* A. Danin,. Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina Area.
* Online updates: https://web.archive.org/web/20070828033350/http://flora.huji.ac.il/browse.asp?lang=en&action=showfile&fileid=14005

Australasia

Flora of Australia

Flora of New Zealand series:
*Allan, H.H. 1961, reprinted 1982. Flora of New Zealand. Volume I: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledons..
*Moore, L.B.; Edgar, E. 1970, reprinted 1976. Flora of New Zealand. Volume II: Indigenous Tracheophyta - Monocotyledons except Graminae..
*Healy, A.J.; Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand Volume III. Adventive Cyperaceous, Petalous & Spathaceous Monocotyledons..
*Webb, C.J.; Sykes, W.R.; Garnock-Jones, P.J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand Volume IV: Naturalised Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons..
*Edgar, E.; Connor, H.E. 2000. Flora of New Zealand Volume V: Grasses..
*Volumes I-V:, Landcare Research, June 2004. Transcribed by A.D. Wilton and I.M.L. Andres.
Galloway, D.J. 1985. Flora of New Zealand: Lichens..
Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A. 1986. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume I..
Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A. 1988. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume II..
Croasdale, H.; Flint, E.A.; Racine, M.M. 1994. Flora of New Zealand: Desmids. Volume III..
Sykes, W.R.; West, C.J.; Beever, J.E.; Fife, A.J. 2000. Kermadec Islands Flora - Special Edition..

Pacific Islands

Flora Vitiensis Nova, a New Flora of FijiManual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i, Warren L. Wagner and Derral R. Herbst + suppl.

''Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie''

Europe

;British Isles

Bowen, Humphry. The Flora of Berkshire. Oxford: Holywell Press, 1968..
Morton, Osbourne. Marine Algae of Northern Ireland. Belfast: Ulster Museum, 1994.
Stace, Clive Anthony, and Hilli Thompson. A New Flora of the British Isles. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 1997..
Beesley, S. and J. Wilde. Urban Flora of Belfast. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University of Belfast, 1997.
Killick, John, Roy Perry and Stan Woodell. Flora of Oxfordshire. Pisces Publications, 1998..
Bowen, Humphry. The Flora of Dorset. Pisces Publications, 2000..
Milliken, William and Sam Bridgewater. Flora Celtica – Plants and people in Celtic Europe. Birlinn, 2004.. Paperback edition, 2013..

;Rest of Europe

Flora Europaea at the site of The Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburgh
Flora Gallica, published by Société Botanique de France
Flora of Romania

Africa and Madagascar

Flore du Gabon
Flore du Cameroun
Flora of Tropical Africa
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Flora of West Tropical Africa
Flore de la Côte d'Ivoire
Flora CapensisFlora Zambesiaca
Flora of South Africa
Flore du Rwanda
Flore de Madagascar et des Comores