Synonymic Checklists of Vascular Plants with Global Distribution Data

Synonymic checklists of the world's vascular plants, including ferns and lycophytes, compiled over 20 years. The dataset contains roughly 1 million plant names cross-checked against local floras and treatments. It was created by Michael Hassler at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Use Cases

• Resolving plant name synonyms based on the cross-checked nomenclature data.
• Studying global plant distribution patterns based on the country-level data.
• Verifying taxonomic classifications for specific families or regions mentioned in the description.
• Building authoritative reference lists for botanical databases or applications.

Strengths

• Contains roughly 1 million verified plant names.
• About 95% of species names have been verified.
• Distribution data is available for about 95% of countries and families.

Limitations

• Coverage is incomplete for parts of Malesia (Sumatra, New Guinea, Moluccas, Solomons, Lesser Sunda Islands).
• Data for several countries (e.g., El Salvador, Rwanda, Laos) is outdated or missing recent checklists.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Compiled from the Kew Index, Index Filicum, local floras, and checklists.

Collection Method

Names were cross-checked against multiple botanical sources over 20 years.

Geography

Global, with noted gaps in specific regions.