Synonymic Checklists of World Vascular Plants, Including Ferns and Lycophytes

Over 20 years of compilation has produced a synonymic checklist of roughly 1 million vascular plant names, including ferns and lycophytes. The dataset, compiled by Marcus Hassler of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, cross-references names from the Kew Index and Index Filicum against local floras and treatments. About 95% of species names and 95% of country and family distribution data have been verified, though coverage is incomplete for some regions like Malesia and parts of the former Yugoslavia.

Use Cases

• Reconciling plant taxonomy and synonyms based on the cross-checked name list.
• Mapping global plant distributions based on the available country-level data.
• Studying fern and lycophyte biodiversity using the specialized checklist component.
• Identifying data gaps for specific countries or families mentioned as incomplete.

Strengths

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

Limitations

• Coverage is incomplete for families in Malesia (Sumatra, New Guinea, Moluccas, Solomons, Lesser Sunda Islands).
• Listings for the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) are partially badly outdated.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Collection Method

Compiled over 20 years, starting from the Kew Index and Index Filicum, and cross-checked against local floras, checklists, and treatments.

Time Range

Compilation period spans approximately 20 years.

Geography

Global, with noted gaps in specific countries and regions (e.g., Malesia, parts of the former Yugoslavia, El Salvador, Rwanda).