Floristics of the Angiosperm Flora of Sub-Saharan Africa: An Analysis of the African Plant Checklist and Database

The African Plant Checklist and Database Project (APCD) provides botanists with the first angiosperm checklist and database for Sub-Saharan Africa. This was achieved by merging the existing datasets for Southern and Tropical Africa. The checklist is published as a one-off hardcopy publication. The d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Taxon 2007-02, Vol.56 (1), p.201-208
Main Authors: Klopper, Ronell R., Gautier, Laurent, Chatelain, Cyrille, Smith, Gideon F., Spichiger, Rodolphe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiosperms
Biodiversity and Conservation
Biodiversity conservation
checklist
Datasets
Flora
floristics
Genera
Plant names
Plants
Southern africa
Sub-saharan africa
Taxa
Tropical africa
Tropical regions
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Summary:The African Plant Checklist and Database Project (APCD) provides botanists with the first angiosperm checklist and database for Sub-Saharan Africa. This was achieved by merging the existing datasets for Southern and Tropical Africa. The checklist is published as a one-off hardcopy publication. The database, with all attached additional inforamtion, is freely accessible via the internet and will be regularly updated. The APCD, for the first time, gives accurate statistics for the angiosperm flora of Sub-Saharan Africa. There are 50,136 current taxa (representing approximately 44,830 species) in the database, plus an additional 393 taxa where there are discrepancies in genus concept between the two original datasets. Taxa are classified into 274 families and 3,802 current genera. Several other important statistics can also be drawn from the database. Furthermore, by pointing out problems and discrepancies in taxonomic opinion, the APCD highlights taxa where further research is necessary. The APCD will be an invaluable tool to botanists working on the African flora. It also has an important role to play in greater projects such as the Global Plant Checklist Project and has already emerged as a nomenclatural standard for the African Plants Initiative.
ISSN:0040-0262
1996-8175
DOI:10.2307/25065751