New Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada

Abstract

The New Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada is an active project by New York Botanical Garden building upon the long history of floristic investigation for the large region. The chief goal of the New Manual is to enable identification of all vascular plants established and growing spontaneously in the region. New Manual content includes the traditional information on identification, morphology, taxonomy, nomenclature, geographic range, habitat, and phenology for every species included, as well as several innovations, including etymologies for species names, and information on conservation status, invasiveness of non-native species, and morphologic synapomorphies for families. Relative to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual published in 1991, New Manual current content reveals a 21% increase in infrageneric taxa accepted, based on an analysis of 16 family treatments. Preparation of the New Manual comes at a critical time, given the unprecedented amount of floristic change in the northeastern U.S.A. and adjacent Canada.