Flora of North America: Volume 1: Introduction

To be published in 14 volumes over the next 12 years, The Flora of North America is a unique working resource of taxonomic information to the extraordinary diversity of plant life in the United States and Canada, an area blanketing the continent north of Mexico - including Greenland and the St. Pierre and Miquelon islands. More than 20,000 plant species have been systematically surveyed and classified for this single work which will be essential for anyone with an interest in the distribution, habitat, morphology, and survival of the wide-ranging plant life in the region.

Flora of North America provides a single dependable information resource for protecting rare and endangered species, developing effective plant breeding programmes, conducting biological weed control, and launching and administering other forward-thinking plant management projects in the public and private sector alike. And with ongoing support from its permanent database, it's destined to remain an invaluable botanical reference into the next century and beyond.

This introductory volume comprises a unique series of introductory essays that establish a firm foundation for the flora. Information is given on the physical and biological factors that have affected the evolution and distribution of plant life of North America since the end of the Mesozoic era some 70 million years ago.

Flora of North America Database
Flora of North America has a specially designed computer database that will store, retrieve, search, and update all the taxonomic information published in the flora's 14 original hardcover volumes.