Academic publications on botany and zoology
Keyword: Botany
Checklist of Online Vegetation and Plant Distribution Maps
This site organizes links to maps by continent, and then by country or region.
Botanical Explorations in the United States and Canada [Bibliography]
A professor emeritus whose research specialty is botany in North America recommends a series of technical sources relating to North American sites.
New Ornamentals Database
Reference source for the newest ornamental plants not typically referenced elsewhere. Basic subscription cost starts at $39.00 per year.
Biodiversity International’s New World Fruits Database
“The New World Fruits Database aims at providing easier access to some basic, but often difficult to obtain, information on fruits from the New World (North and South America). Key information provided includes data on nomenclature, taxonomic and vernacular, on fruit and plant uses and on distribution and origin. Links are provided to additional information, such as experts working on the different species, references and URLs, making the database a useful starting point in a search for more information on the selected species.”
Missouri Botanic Garden’s TROPICOS Databases
“All of the nomenclatural, bibliographic, and specimen data accumulated in MBG’s electronic databases during the past 25 years are publicly available here. This system has over 1.2 million scientific names and 4.0 million specimen records.”
James Reveal’s Concordance of Angiosperm Family Names
An index of plant family names and their alternative names as suggested by leading taxonomists.
Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)
An international non-profit group that develops standards and protocols for sharing biodiversity data, the site includes standards documentation, databases of biodiversity projects and networks, plus a wiki for collaborating on information sharing.
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List of Threatened Species
“The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable).” Records include classification, assessment information, geographic distribution, summary documentation, detailed documentation and data sources. Advanced searching allows for limiting by region, country, marine region, or biome. Records do not contain images, but the site does refer visitors to a list of links organized by organism (i.e. mammals, fish, birds, plants).
Integrated Taxonomic Information System
An easy to use database for discovering and viewing the complete taxonomy of any given plant or animal in a hierarchical format.