Floristics in Europe

Abstract

The volume of literature on the European flora, which has been under study for 300 years, is enormous and increasing: exponentially. In lieu of summarizing European floristics which would be a daunting task, the author reviews progress on the Flora Europaea project. The project grew out of discussions initiated at the International Botanical Congress in Paris in 1954. The main aim was to produce in a reasonable time a relatively short work summarizing the large body of knowledge available on the European flora. Problems were faced initially in defining the geographic limits and the format and content. Thus far two volumes have been issued which have proved very useful and the project has had a stimulating effect on European taxonomy. The author touches on the problem of treating critical groups, particularly apomicts, and the problem of studying and mapping geographic distribution. The mapping program associated with Flom Europaea is mentioned. He concludes with a few remarks on the future of floristics in Europe.