Saxifragaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: a contribution to a DELTA database for interactive identification and illustrated information retrieval

Abstract

A re-assessment of members of the family Saxifragaceae in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago is presented as a traditional key and annotated checklist that recognizes 17 taxa. The information on which this paper is based is recorded in a developing DELTA database that aims to collect the following data: place of valid publication; synonymy, usually limited to names that have been associated with the Canadian Arctic; common name(s), if applicable; vegetative and floral morphological characters; data on the distribution, including information about the northernmost record of the taxon; habitat preferences of each species; notes on the species as an environmental indicator; indigenous knowledge; and expanded notes conveying additional information. The database also contains maps, illustrations of characters useful for identification, and colour photographs and line drawings of the taxa. Appendices list characters recorded in the database, brief taxonomic notes, and a sample species description. The data are available on the Internet at http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/ as natural-language descriptions and as an INTKEY interactive identification and information-retrieval package for Windows.Key words: Arctic, Canada, DELTA, Internet, Saxifragaceae, taxonomy.