Topic
This pathfinder, "An Overview of Vascular Plant Systematics," is a collection of resources on the relationships between all living and extinct groups of tracheophytes, from lycophytes through angiosperms, focusing on characteristics for identification.
Introduction and Scope
This pathfinder does not include resources on horticultural advice, landscaping, wilderness survival, or historical controversies (misconceptions of relationships, redefinitions over time, etc.) but on currently accepted models. The information is designed for botany students at the undergraduate or graduate level, who can use it as a study guide on taxonomy or for exercises in identification.
Most existing pathfinders on botany are very short or limited in scope, restricting the information to gymnosperms, flowering plants, etc. or aiming the information at groups outside of academia (primarily gardening hobbyists). Since most research concentrates on the largest group of modern plants, angiosperms, the available literature is heavily weighted on one side. To counter this, this pathfinder includes some specialized resources for neglected groups and more general reference materials for the popular ones.
The resources listed here (both print and electronic) are available from the Indiana University library system. The call numbers refer to their location in the Bloomington campus Life Sciences Library, unless otherwise noted.
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Articles
This section contains citations of reference materials available from the Life Sciences library, the Reference room in Wells, or online. These include general encyclopedia articles on botany and systematics and dictionaries of plant nomenclature.
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
This encyclopedia does not contain in-depth articles on phylogeny, but browsing by subject "Plant Science" yields many articles on prominent orders. Each article contains a list of the families and the number of species within them, and some describe the phylogenetic positioning of the order in the plant kingdom.
Kenrick, P. (2001). "Embryophyta (Land Plants)." Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
This basic article covers land plant evolution, morphology, and phylogeny, with an overview of the embryophyte taxa. A handy figure summarizing the relationships between the most extant groups is in the center of the section on phylogeny.
"Plants." World Book Encyclopedia.Volume 15 ("P"), pp. 516-659 [Wells East Tower Reference Services]
This lengthy article (more like a short book chapter) from World Book provides an overview of plants, especially early species. Charts with illustrations and brief descriptions are available for each order are on pages 546-7, and related articles are listed on 548-9.
Dickison, W.C. et al. (2010). "Science & Technology: Plant." Encyclopedia Brittanica Online.
This article contains a brief overview of the plant kingdom, with sections devoted to each division of vascular plants from Psilotophyta to Angiosperms. The article can act as a springboard to progressively more detailed articles on specific divisions, each with color photos and references to further reading.
Bailey, J. (2003). The Facts on File dictionary of botany. New York, NY: Facts on File. [QK9 .F33 2003].
Contains an A-Z dictionary of plant anatomic, molecular, chemical, and ecological terms, as well as entries for higher-level plant taxa and associated organisms (e.g. bacteria, red algae, etc.). The book ends with an appendix of webpages for more information.
Gledhill, D. (2008). The names of plants. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Provides an overview of the rules and history of botanic nomenclature, followed by a 400-page glossary of the origins of proper plant names. The purpose of this work is to help students remember proper names by associating them with the characteristics of the taxa.
Mabberley, D.J. (2008). Mabberley's plant-book : a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. [Reference QK11 .M29 2008]
A dictionary devoted exclusively to the proper and common names of known plants. Entries for families provide classification data and identifying descriptors, and entries for prominent species contain some cultural, functional, or historical context.
Monographs
The books listed here are primarily textbooks for undergraduate or graduate students in botany. Some are general in nature, covering all aspects of plant science, but some are specific to systematics and phylogenetics.
Judd, W.S. (2008). Plant systematics: A phylogenetic approach. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. [QK95 .P548 2008]
This book covers the basics of plant phylogeny, emphasizing modern systematics (molecular and morphological). The text is written for undergraduate life science students with some grounding in chemistry or molecular biology. Some smaller families are omitted, as the authors' primary purpose is to cover methodology.
Simpson, M.G. (2006). Plant systematics. Boston, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press. [QK95 .S566 2006 On Reserve]
This textbook, used for Indiana University's Introduction to Botany course for undergraduates, is an introduction to plant anatomy and reproduction, as well as the characteristics of different groups and the relationships between them.
Raven, P.H. (2005). Biology of plants. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Co. [Wells Undergraduate Services QK47 .R25 2005]
The bulk of this text is devoted to the anatomy, chemistry, and basic processes that take place in plants for general biology students. However, chapters 17-20 cover the systematics of vascular plants (seedless, gymnosperms, and angiosperms), characteristics of individual phyla and the evolution of modern groups.
Stuessy, T.F. (2009). Plant taxonomy: The systematic evaluation of comparative data. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. [QK95 .S78 2009]
More specialized than the other resources listed here, this textbook is appropriate for graduate students in botany focusing exclusively on taxonomy. Chapters cover different sources of information used to classify plants—morphology, embryology, cytogenetics, etc.—as well as the hierarchical structure of taxa and the research process.
Bibliographies
The three bibliographies here are printed collections of titles or research articles pertaining to botany. They can be used to locate volumes for specific subjects such as systematic guides or classic works on particular flora, many of which are available through IU Libraries.
Schmidt, D. (2006). Guide to reference and information sources in plant biology. Wesport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. [Reference QK45.2 .G85 2006]
Contains about one thousand references to classic and current texts in botany. Choice especially recommends the "entries for systematic guides, which can be difficult to locate."
Frodin, D.G. (2001). Guide to standard floras of the world: An annotated, geographically arranged systematic bibliography of the principal floras, enumerations, checklists, and chorological atlases of different areas. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. [Reference Z5351 .F76]
Part II of this book, "Systematic Bibliography," lists indices and individual works for the plants in different world regions (the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific) in general and by their geological phenomena (e.g. for North America, resources on the flora of the Rocky Mountains, Southwestern deserts, etc.).
Stafleu, F.A. (1992). Taxonomic literature: a selective guide to botanical publications and collections with dates, commentaries and types. Königstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books. [Herbarium QK96 .S779 1976]
A classic 7-volume bibliography of scientists in plant taxonomy. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author, each with some biographical information, a list of published works and a summary of their significant contributions to botany.
Handbooks and Field Guides
These guides can be used during laboratory exercises, field trips, or recreationally to identify plant species. The titles here emphasize plants located in Indiana or the central region of the United States for practical reasons, though some are global in scope to illustrate variety in plant life.
Jackson, M.T. (2004). 101 trees of Indiana: A field guide. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [QK159 .J24 2004]
A traditionally formatted field guide to conifers and flowering trees in Indiana and surrounding states. Each entry contains 4-6 color photographs of key parts for reference. This guide is particularly useful for identifying branches or leaves apart from the entire tree.
Yatskievych, K. (2000). Field guide to Indiana wildflowers. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [QK159 .Y38 2000]
Describes the 1564 herbacious and small woody species recorded to live in Indiana (excepting grasses, sedges, and rushes). The guide begins with a concise glossary. Each entry contains part measurements and a short description, and 640 (at least one per genus) are accompanied by color photos.
Cobb, Boughton. (2005). A field guide to ferns and their related families: Northeastern and central North America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. [ALF QK525 .C749 2005]
This thin field guide offers line drawings of 500+ species of ferns, arranged by major plant characteristics, with detailed descriptions in laymen's terms for beginning botanists.
Flowering plant families of the world. (2007). Richmond Hill, Canada: Firefly Books. [QK495.A1 F46 2007]
A guide to 504 flowering plant families, with intricate illustrations and anatomic descriptions for identification. The book also contains classification information, distribution maps, and an index of plant names.
Hickey, M. (2000). The Cambridge illustrated glossary of botanical terms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Reference QK10 .H53 2000]
Provides an overview and artistic representations of plant anatomy. Sketches exemplify the distinct characteristics of plant parts in different groups. This could be used as a companion to a traditional field guide, to provide a visual of descriptors unfamiliar to students.
Periodicals
The periodicals listed here are all available through one or more of the databases Indiana University Libraries subscribes to. Most contain information on more than systematics, but some, like those by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and the Linnean Society, are particular to taxonomy or phylogenetics. The journals wider in scope tend to focus on the molecular aspect of systematics.
Systematic Botany and Systematic Botany Monographs by the American Society of Plant Taxonomists
The American Society of Plant Taxonomists "promotes research and teaching of taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of vascular and nonvascular plants." Systematic Botany is published quarterly with academic articles; Monographs is published irregularly with in-depth volumes on particular families.
The Botanical Review. 1935-Present. New York, Springer. Published quarterly.
This journal synthesizes research from all aspects of plant science. At least one issue per year contains an article on systematics.
Linnean Society Botanical Journal. 1855-Present. United Kingdom, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published monthly.
The Linnean Society "publishes original papers on systematic and evolutionary botany and comparative studies of both living and fossil plants." Most articles are at the genus or species level, though some broader reviews are included.
Smithsonian Contributions to Botany. 1969-Present. United States, Smithsonian Institution Press. Published irregularly.
This monographic series, available for free to the public through http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/Botany/, contains fully descriptive articles on "Classification, Evolution and Phylogeny" of flowering plant families. Works on the phylogeny of specific genera and the ecology of certain geographical regions are also available.
Plant Systematics and Evolution. 1851-Present. Austria, Springer Wien. Published semi-monthly.
This international journal emphasizes molecular and genetic analyses of plant species. Archives are available online to the first volume from 1851 in the original German or French; articles are almost exclusively in English after 1984.
Journal of Plant Research. 1887-Present. Japan, Springer Japan KK. Published Bi-monthly.
This general botanic journal contains articles on the phylogenetics of certain species. Archival content goes back to 1972, but IU subscriptions apply only to 1997 and after.
American Journal of Botany. 1914-Present. United States, Botanical Society of America. Published monthly.
In addition to scholarly articles, this international journal contains reviews and critiques of controversial subjects in plant science. Every issue contains one section devoted to systematics with 1-5 articles, and one section devoted to systematics and phytogeography.
Indexes
These resources are searchable collections of references to books or journal articles in the life sciences. The largest can be used to find scholarly articles on particular plants, while the more specific ones can be used to find information on classification or nomenclature only.
International Plant Names Index
This database contains the primary sources of the first description and/or naming of plant species for reference in papers. It is necessary to know the family, genus, species or author's name before searching.
Wiley Online Library
This database can be used to search 160+ full books, journals, and lab protocols on the subject of "Plant Science." Full-text PDFs or HTML pages are provided for most results.
BioOne
An index of 167 scientific journals from 125 publishers. There is no categorization by subject, but full-text and title keyword searching is offered, as well as limiting a search to specific journals.
Index to American Botanical Literature
Maintained by the New York Botanical garden, this database houses references within the Index of American Botanical Literature published on paper from 1996 to present. Retrospective cataloging is also underway. It is uniquely oriented towards early and fossilized plants.
KEW Record of Taxonomic Literature
Self-described as a "bibliography of over 200,000 publications relating to the taxonomy of flowering plants, gymnosperms, and ferns" from 1971 to 2007. Results return no full-text articles, but complete references to articles from academic journals.
Web Resources
The web resources section lists miscellaneous resources on plant systematics found around the internet. Some are databases with facts or classification data for particular plants, while others are photograph collections useful for identification.
The Tree of Life Project
The Tree of Life Project's page on Land Plants links to the phylogenetic information and large color photographs of some, but not all, of the most pervasive plant divisions. The resource is especially good for euphyllophytes (ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms).
Angiosperm Phylogeny Group--Ordinal Classification for the Families of Flowering Plants
This page contains a comprehensive phylogenetic tree of the angiosperms down to the order level. Clicking on each order will lead to a page listing every family in that order, which can be used for further research elsewhere.
Botanical Society of America Image Collection
The Jernstedt Collection of images of angiosperms and lower vascular plants contains high-resolution photographs of living plants, as well as dissected key parts and dyed tissues for reference in laboratory identifications.
PLANTS database
This site, supported by the federal government, lists all of the species of plants known to exist in the United States. The best approach for use is to select a rank (division, class, etc.), then drill down for the classification of certain species. The USDA also maintains a collection of Fact Sheets & Plant Guides (http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet).
The Taxonomicon
This database combines information from several cladistics projects. The link above goes to the browse-by-classification feature, set to phylum Tracheophyta, which allows users to drill down to specific taxon. Users can view the origins of vernacular names, properties, and a bibliography of resources for each taxon. An Advanced Search feature is also available.
PlantNET
The Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia maintains this collection of pages with photographs (currently of the eucalypts only), a botanical glossary, and highly descriptive identification keys for vascular plants. The Cycad Pages are especially comprehensive.