Floras contain descriptive information to allow users to identify the plants of a particular area. Whilst they were traditionally published as books, recently some have been produced as CD-ROMs and the latest development is for them to be produced as online information systems.
In countries like the UK which have a long tradition of botanical research and numerous Floras covering the whole country it is comparatively easy to identify the plants found there. However in many countries there are no modern Floras and their absence severely hampers research and conservation.
RBGE's Major Floras group is currently coordinating work on the Flora of Nepal and the Flora of Arabia and has an active Biodiversity Informatics research programme which is developing innovative methods for collecting and managing the data generated in this research. RBGE staff are also involved in other Flora projects throughout the world, and information on these activities can be found on the RBGE and other Floras page.
Staff
- Dr Mark Watson - Flora of Nepal (Editor in Chief)
- Dr Colin Pendry - Flora of Nepal
- Dr Tony Miller - Flora of Arabia (Editor in Chief)
- Dr Sabina Knees - Flora of Arabia
- Dr Sophie Neale - Researcher
- Dr Martin Pullan - Bioinformatics
PhD Students
- Bhaskar Adhikari - Speciation in Nepalese Berberis
- Jin Hyub Paik - Systematics of Himalayan Heracleum
