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The 1893 ''Index Kewensis'' (IK), maintained by the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
, is a publication that aims to register all botanical names for
seed plant A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They inc ...
s at the rank of
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 ...
and
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomencla ...
. It later came to include names of taxonomic
families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
and ranks below that of species. The ''Index'' is currently maintained as part of the
International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...
in combination with the Gray Herbarium and Australian Plant Name indexes. This database is anticipated to complete the task of creating a complete list of plant names, although it does not determine which are accepted species names.


History

The preparation for this venture was made by Benjamin Daydon Jackson of the
Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
, directed by
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
at Kew.
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended f ...
provided the funding for the indexing project. When he died in 1882 his will stipulated that provision be made for £250 per annum over a 5-year period. In providing citations of plant names, the starting point was taken from 1753 onward; the year of publication for the ''
Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...
'' of
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, ...
. Darwin had found difficulties in applying these to the plants he studied, and Hooker's directive was to 'the compilation of an Index to the Names and Authorities of all known flowering plants and their countries'. While the ''Index'' has never fulfilled this original charter, it was the most comprehensive for over 100 years. Previous attempts at a comprehensive index had relied on secondary sources, this was the first attempt to provide the original publication details of the names. A note on the country of origin was also included. The publications of
De Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...
, Pfeiffer, and Bentham provided models for the acceptance of names. However, the editor admitted that not all earlier sources were included; this sometimes led to subsequent errors in
botanical nomenclature Botanical nomenclature is the formal, scientific naming of plants. It is related to, but distinct from taxonomy. Plant taxonomy is concerned with grouping and classifying plants; botanical nomenclature then provides names for the results of this ...
. The scope of the project was also changed in early editions, the editor noting that to include a full synonymy was too ambitious. The work originally indicated acceptance of a name, acting as a
nomenclator Nomenclator may refer to: *''Nomenclator omnium rerum propria nomina variis linguis explicata indicans'', 16th century book written by Hadrianus Junius *Nomenclator, in cryptography, a kind of substitution cypher *Nomenclator (nomenclature) as a ...
rather than an index, but by 1913 it avoided making taxonomic judgement in its citations. The integrity of the document was liable to criticism as only representing the 'Kew view' on nomenclatural validity, the objective task of indexing gave the work itself greater international acceptance. A description of Hooker's systematic works by F O Bower notes the "scheme originated in the difficulty he had found in the accurate naming of plants", and anticipates the importance of this work,
"Surely no greater technical benefit was ever conferred upon a future generation by the veterans of science than this Index. It smooths the way for every systematist who comes after. It stands as a monument to an intimate friendship. It bears witness to the munificence of Darwin, and the ungrudging personal care of Hooker."


Editions

First published in 1893, a
hard copy ''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence. The original hosts of ''Hard Copy'' ...
was reprinted in 1996, providing access to the original publication details of plant names; these were also made available in microfiche format as the Cumulated Index Kewensis. The publication titled ''Kew Index'' was issued from 1986 until 1989. The first index contained the scientific names of 400,000 species, regular supplements were then issued on newly published names. The supplements were issued every five years, each one adding around 6000 names to the index, eventually forming a compilation of over 1,000,000 entries. The sixteenth supplement began to include bibliographic details at the rank of family and below, the later annual supplements included
fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...
s and their allies. A digitalized version of the index was issued on a
Compact Disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...
. A digital version was incorporporated with other indexes as the ''
International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...
'' (IPNI), and may fulfill the original intention - a complete index of plant names. Entries at IPNI are designated with the abbreviation "(IK)".


See also

*
The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Missouri Botanical Garden and launched in 2010. It was intended to be a comprehensive record of all known names of plant specie ...
* Kew Rule


References


Bibliography

* ** {{Kew Gardens Botanical nomenclature Botany books