Introduction - Species Plantarum Programme

The need for the Project
2
SPECIES PLANTARUM — FLORA OF THE WORLD (1999)
Many attempts have been made to write a Flora of the World at species level. The most
recent fully successful author was C.Linnaeus, Species Plantarum (1753), and the various
workers who produced supplements and new editions of that work in the years to 1833.
In the 19th century and early 20th century other attempts to write a complete Flora of the
World met with varying degrees of success. Those who went closest were A. P. de Candolle
& A. de Candolle, Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis (1824–1873), and
H.G.A. Engler and coauthors, Das Pflanzenreich (1900–1953).
The chances of completing such a task are therefore slim, judged on historical precedent.
Even with the strength of the French and German botanical world behind them, and with
their undoubted mastery of the subject, the de Candolles and Engler were unable to take the
task to its conclusion. Why then, with a much larger flora to describe than any of our
predecessors, and with the world facing a chronic shortage of taxonomists, do we have the
temerity to embark on this course?
The reasons are diverse. Firstly, with the world facing unprecedented stress on the natural
environment, when species are becoming extinct at rates rivalling the major extinction events
in geological history, there is an urgent need to record what we know of the plants of the
planet in a uniform, comprehensive, yet concise way. Several hundred years of experimenting
with ways of cataloguing and providing guides to plant taxa have led to the evolution of the
Flora, and this genre offers the best solution to providing an easy-to-use account of the kind
needed.
Secondly, at the present time there are probably more regional, national and continental scale
Floras being written than at any other time in history. It is true that there are major gaps in
knowledge and geographical coverage between them, and that all are written to different
criteria. However, some reasonably up-to-date knowledge is currently available for a large
part of the world's flora, and filling the gaps is not as daunting a task as it would have been
even 20 years ago.
Thirdly, electronic means of communication have reduced the time needed to transport text
and illustrations across the world from days or weeks to seconds. Electronic means of storing
and manipulating text have greatly simplified editing and publishing. Therefore, bringing
together and publishing a major serial work is much quicker and much less labour-intensive
than ever before.
Finally, there is a demonstrated will from botanical taxonomists from around the world to
make such a Flora a reality, and if this can be sustained and augmented, then the project
certainly looks possible.
All of those involved intend that the Species Plantarum — Flora of the World will be carried
through to completion, although this will clearly take many years. However, in a project such
as this, benefits accrue almost from the beginning. Families or other large groups published
will have uniform world-wide descriptions and keys available. Taxonomists will be
encouraged to raise their sights from regional or national revisions to global ones, either
alone or in cooperation with others. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, taxonomy will be
seen to be relevant, indeed crucial, to other international efforts in biological diversity
conservation, including those flowing from the Convention on Biological Diversity.
As our task begins, Species Plantarum is a largely voluntary project. It is hoped that with the
appearance of the first few parts it will attract additional support from the world's
taxonomists. Offers to provide manuscripts are particularly solicited. Assistance (financial or
in kind) with the task of editing, refereeing and publishing the work will also be needed.