A Flora is a

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

or other work which describes the

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

" 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 A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

s. 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 database Biological databases are libraries of biological sciences, collected from scientific experiments, published literature, high-throughput experiment technology, and computational analysis. They contain information from research areas including geno ...

s. 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

;Europe * '' Flora Hercynia'',

Johannes Thal Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

1588 * ''

Flora Londinensis ''Flora Londinensis'' is a folio sized book that described the flora found in the London region of the mid 18th century. The ''Flora'' was published by William Curtis in six large volumes. The descriptions of the plants included hand-coloured cop ...

'',

William Curtis William Curtis (11 January 1746 – 7 July 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire, site of the Curtis Museum. Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

1777–1798 * ''

Flora Graeca ''Flora Graeca'' is a publication of the plants of Greece in the late 18th century, resulting from a survey by John Sibthorp and Ferdinand Bauer. The botanical descriptions and illustrations became highly valued by the English audience; the fine ...

'',

John Sibthorp John Sibthorp (28 October 1758 – 8 February 1796) was an England, English botanist. Education Sibthorp graduated from the University of Oxford in 1777 where he was an undergraduate student at Lincoln College, Oxford. He subsequently stud ...

. (England) 1806–1840 * ''

Flora Danica ''Flora Danica'' is a comprehensive atlas of botany from the Age of Enlightenment, containing folio-sized pictures of all the wild plants native to Denmark, in the period from 1761 to 1883. History ''Flora Danica'' was proposed by G. C. Oede ...

'', Simon Paulli.

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, 1847. * '' Flora Jenensis'', Heinrich Bernhard Rupp

, 1718. * ''Flora Suecica'',

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

. 1745. ;India * ''Hortus indicus malabaricus'', Hendrik van Rheede 1683–1703 ;Indonesia * ''Flora Javae'',

Carl Ludwig Blume Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume (9 June 1796, Braunschweig – 3 February 1862, Leiden) was a German-Dutch botanist. He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life wor ...

and Joanne Baptista Fischer. 1828.

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 Brasiliensis''''Flora of São Paulo'' in Brazil

''Flora of Chile''
*
Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica
'
''Flora of Ecuador''
*''Flora of Guatemala'' *
Flora de Nicaragua
'

*''Flora of the Guianas'' *''Flora of Panama''

*''Flora of Suriname'' *''

Flora Mesoamericana ''Flora Mesoamericana'' is a comprehensive catalog (a flora) of southern Mexican and Central American plants, written in Spanish. The first volume was published in 1994. It is a collaboration between the Missouri Botanical Garden, the National A ...

'' (1994-ongoing
Introduction''Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana''
*''Flora Neotropica'' (1968-ongoing

. ;North America
''Flora of North America''
* Kearney, Thomas H. ''Arizona Flora''.

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facult ...

, 1940. *Hickman, James C., editor. ''The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California''.

, 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 The University of North Carolina Press (or UNC Press), founded in 1922, is a university press that is part of the University of North Carolina. It was the first university press founded in the Southern United States. It is a member of the As ...

, 1968. * Wilhelm, G. and L. Rericha. ''Flora of the Chicago Region: A Floristic and Ecological Synthesis''.

Indiana Academy of Science Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

, 2017. *Hitchcock, C. Leo, and Arthur Cronquist. ''Flora of the Pacific Northwest''.

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Press, 1973. *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 The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Press, 2000. * Britton, N. L. and Hon. A. Brown. ''An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada''. In three volumes.

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

, 1913, 1970. * Stone, W.br>Plants of Southern New Jersey. Annual Report of the State Museum of New Jersey'', 1910.

Asia

;China and Japan
''Flora of China''

''Flora of China in eFloras''

;Southeast Asia * ''

Flora of Thailand ''Flora of Thailand'' is a multi-volume flora describing the vascular plants of Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the ...

'
''Flora of Thailand''
* ''Florae Siamensis Enumeratio'' * ''

Flora Malesiana ''Flora Malesiana'' is a multi-volume flora describing the vascular plants of Malesia (the biogeographical region consisting of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea), published by the National Herbari ...

'' (1984-ongoing
About ''Flora Malesiana''
. * ''Flora of the Malay Peninsula'' * '' Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam'' ;Indian region and Sri Lanka
''Flora of Bhutan''
* Flora of the Presidency of Madras by J.S. Gamble (1915–36)
''Flora of Nepal''
* Bengal Plants by D. Prain (1903) * Flora of the upper Gangetic plains by J. F. Duthie (1903–29) * Botany of Bihar and Orissa by H.H. Haines (1921–25) * Flora of British India (1872–1897) by Sir J.D. Hooker ;Middle East and western Asia * Flora of Turkey * Flora Iranica * Flora Palaestina: ** M. Zohary (1966). Flora Palaestina part 1. ** M. Zohary (1972). Flora Palaestina part 2. ** N. Feinbrun (1978). Flora Palaestina part 3. ** N. Feinbrun (1986). Flora Palaestina part 4. ** A. Danin, (2004). Distribution Atlas of Plants in the Flora Palaestina Area (Flora Palaestina part 5). ** 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 The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 30,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...

'' *''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
First electronic edition
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 Fiji'' * ''Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai‘i'', Warren L. Wagner and Derral R. Herbst (1991) + suppl

* '' Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie'' (

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

* ''Flore de la Polynésie Française'' (J. Florence, vol. 1 & 2, 1997 & 2004)

Europe

;British Isles * Bowen, Humphry. ''The Flora of Berkshire''. Oxford:

Holywell Press Holywell Press Ltd is a family printing and publishing company based in Oxford, England. The firm was established in 1890 by Harry Burrows and Jack Doe. A major customer has been the University of Oxford, including publication of the university ...

, 1968. . * Morton, Osbourne. ''Marine Algae of Northern Ireland.'' Belfast:

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

, 1994. * Stace, Clive Anthony, and Hilli Thompson ( illustrator). ''A New Flora of the British Isles''. 2nd ed.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1997. . * Beesley, S. and J. Wilde. ''Urban Flora of Belfast''.

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

: 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 The birlinn ( gd, bìrlinn) or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots inclu ...

, 200

. Paperback edition, 2013. . ;Rest of Europe *

Flora Europaea The ''Flora Europaea'' is a 5-volume encyclopedia of plants, published between 1964 and 1993 by Cambridge University Press. The aim was to describe all the national Floras of Europe in a single, authoritative publication to help readers identify ...

at the site of The Royal Botanical Gardens of Edinburg
Flora Europaea

Flora of Europe
* Flora Gallica, published by

Société Botanique de France The Société botanique de France (SBF) is a French learned society founded on 23 April 1854. At its inaugural meeting it stated its purpose as "to contribute to the progress of botany and related sciences and to facilitate, by all means at its di ...

Flora iberica

Flora Danica
*

Flora of Romania The flora of Romania comprises around 3,450 species of vascular plants, which represents around 30% of the vascular flora of Europe. The three major vegetation zones in Romania are the alpine, steppe, and forest zones. The latter can be subdivid ...

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 Capensis * ''

Flora Zambesiaca ''Flora Zambesiaca'' is an ongoing botanical project aimed at achieving a full account of the flowering plants and ferns of the Zambezi River basin covering Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and the Caprivi Strip, and is published by ...

'' * Flora of South Africa * Flore du Rwanda * Flore de Madagascar et des Comores
Flore pratique du Maroc