World Checklists and Bibliographies of Seed Plants

Scientific Publications

This series aims to present global checklists of selected families of seed plants. Each number will encompass one or more families and include:

  • all known published and accepted species and infraspecific taxa;
  • known synonyms, both under accepted names and in separate lexica;
  • world distribution (including the area codes of the Taxonomic Databases Working Group);
  • life-forms (according to a modified Raunkiær system);
  • pertinent nomenclatural and other comments;
  • selected, annotated references for each genus as well as the family as a whole, principal infrafamilial taxa, and major world regions;
  • generic commentaries covering world distribution, special features, uses, classification and relationships;
  • commonly accepted position of each genus in the family;
  • number of recorded species in each genus;
  • summaries of insufficiently known and excluded taxa;

The Coniferae number additionally features for each accepted taxon the 1994 Red List categories of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Families already published and in production reflect existing or planned research or informational interests at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew including the Survey of Economic Plants of Arid and Semi-arid Lands (SEPASAL).

Current taxa covered:

World Checklist and Bibliography of Magnoliaceae

D. G. Frodin and R. Govaerts

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1996. (World Checklists and Bibliographies, 1.)

Covering 7 genera, 223 species. The volume contains the first modern full list of the important genus Magnolia (128 species), and draws attention to current systematic research suggesting its further expansion to encompass the whole family (except Liriodendron) was likely. With additional information on life forms and distribution, and bibliography of the most relevant taxonomic literature, this is an essential reference for botanists, growers and collectors.

vii + 72pp. 297 x 210mm. Soft bound
ISBN 1 900347 07 5
£15.00

World Checklist and Bibliography of Fagales (Betulaceae, Corylaceae, Fagaceae and Ticodendraceae)

R. Govaerts and D. G. Frodin

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1998. (World Checklists and Bibliographies, 2.)

Arranged alphabetically under families, this work lists species and intraspecific taxa recognised by Kew, this volume contains full checklists of such important, mainly temperate genera as Alnus (alders), Betula (birches), Carpinus (hornbeams), Corylus (hazels), Castanea (chestnuts), Fagus (beeches), Nothofagus (southern beeches), and Quercus (oaks). 531 species are accounted for in the last-named genus, its first complete listing since 1954. As well as describing each family and genus, it covers growth and distribution. References to important related literature and line illustrations augment these descriptions. Synonyms are extensively listed throughout, and the introduction provides a succinct summary of the current state of taxonomic knowledge.

vii + 407pp. 297 x 210mm. Soft cover
ISBN 1 900347 46 6
£22.00

World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers

Alios Farjon

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1998. (World Checklists and Bibliographies, 3.)

Economically, conifers are among the most important plants in the world, probably only second to food crop plants, making this an essential reference. Arranged alphabetically under families (Araucariaceae, Cephalotaxaceae, Cupressaceae Phyllocladaceae, Pinaceae, Podocarpaceae, Sciadopityaceae and Taxaceae), it contains full checklists of such well-known conifer genera as Araucaria (southern pines), Cupressus (cypresses), Juniperus (junipers), Abies (firs), Picea (spruces), Pinus (pines), Podocarpus, and Taxus (yews). For several genera this work presents their first modern listing and reflects current concepts on the circumscription of the genera and families (notably the union of Taxodiaceae with Cupressaceae and the recognition of Phyllocladus and Sciadopitys as distinct families respectively separate from Podocarpaceae and the former Taxodiaceae). As well as describing each family and genus, it covers growth, distribution and conservation status. References to important related literature and 30 superb illustrations augment these descriptions.

viii + 298pp. 297 x 210mm. Soft cover
ISBN 1 900347 54 7
£30.00

World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaceae (with Pandaceae)

R. Govaerts, D. G. Frodin and A. Radcliffe-Smith

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 2000. (World Checklists and Bibliographies, 4.)

Two families (Euphorbiaceae, Pandaceae), 326 genera, and 8,935 species with over 1,700 references. This volume, the first of its kind for Euphorbiaceae (the sixth largest family of flowering plants), contains the first complete checklists of certain genera never covered by Ferdinand Pax, Käthe Hoffmann and others in their monumental series on the family in Das Pflanzenreich(1910-24), particularly the large Croton (1223 species), Phyllanthus (833 species) and Acalypha (462 species). It also presents a new list of Euphorbia (1836 species) in succession to that of Oudejans (1990). The last-named is the third largest genus of flowering plants, behind only Astragalus (Fabaceae) and Psychotria (Rubiaceae). The circumscription of the families follows that current in Kew, but attention is drawn in the work to continuing problems in this area. The many figures and plates are drawn from private sources as well as the Kew Illustrations Collection.

4 volumes. vii + 1621 pp., line illustrations, 32 coloured plates. Paperback
ISBN 1 900347 83 0, 1 900347 84 9, 1 900347 85 7, 1 900347 86 5
£148.00

World Checklist and Bibliography of Sapotaceae

R. Govaerts and D.G. Frodin

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 2001 (World Checklists and Bibliographies,
5.)

The volume presents the first full list (54 genera and 1175 species) of
the family to appear since the mid-nineteenth century. The Sapotaceae (the argan, chicle or gutta-percha family) are prominent in most of the wetter tropics and subtropics and are of considerable direct and indirect economic importance as sources of fine timber, fruit and vegetable oil as well as latex. Many are also planted as amenity trees. The circumscription of the genera follows that currently used at Kew, which is based on The Genera of the Sapotaceae (1991) by T.D. Pennington. The 39 illustrations of representative species are mostly drawn from the Kew Illustration Collection.

xi + 361pp
297 x 210mm
Soft bound
ISBN 1 900347 94 6
£57.50

Forthcoming volumes

World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae)

R. Govaerts and D. G. Frodin

Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 2000. (World Checklists and Bibliographies, 6.)

109 genera (108 in Araceae), c. 3400 species. The volume contains a full list of the botanically and horticulturally important arum family (Araceae), providing complete coverage of such large entities as Amorphophallus (184 species), Anthurium (nearly 800 species), and Philodendron (about 400 species) as well as many smaller but no less important genera. It also draws attention to the results of a large wave of recent systematic and other research. In line with current thought, the Araceae are here taken to encompass Lemnaceae (as tribe Lemneae). Accompanying Araceae here are the Acoraceae, formerly included in the family but now considered to be only distantly related.

vii + 000 pp. Paperback
ISBN 1 900347 00 0

World Checklist and Bibliography of Araliaceae (2000)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Cycads (2000)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Apocynaceae (2001)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Rubiaceae (2001)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Lamiaceae, Verbenaceae and allied families (2001)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Campanulaceae (by T. Lammers) (2001)
World Checklist and Bibliography of Myrtaceae (2002)