Botanical links and contacts

Australian Biological Resources Study

The Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) provides national leadership and support for the discovery, naming and classification of Australia’s living organisms. Its vision is to increase knowledge of Australia’s biodiversity by documenting and disseminating fundamental taxonomic information.

Australian National Herbarium

Herbaria are collections of preserved plant and fungal specimens and their associated data. They are concerned primarily with scientific research and documenting the vast diversity of plant and fungal life.

Australian Plant Census (APC)

The Australian Plant Census (APC) is a list of the accepted scientific names for the Australian vascular flora, ferns, gymnosperms, hornworts and liverworts, both native and introduced, and includes synonyms and misapplications for these names. The APC covers all published scientific plant names used in an Australian context in the taxonomic literature, but excludes taxa known only from cultivation in Australia. The taxonomy and nomenclature adopted for the APC are endorsed by the Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH).

Australian Plant Image Index (APII)

The APII is the national collection of photographs and illustrations of Australia’s flora.

Australian Plant Name Index (APNI)

APNI is a tool for the botanical community that deals with plant names and their usage in the scientific literature, whether as a current name or synonym.

Australian Virtual Herbarium (AVH)

Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH)

The Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH) comprises those administratively responsible for the major Australian and New Zealand Herbaria with the aim of promoting all matters of interest to herbaria in Australasia and to increase cooperation and understanding between herbaria.

Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA)

The national and regional planning framework for the systematic development of a comprehensive, adequate and representative (‘CAR’) National Reserve System is provided by the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA). IBRA was developed in 1993–94 and is endorsed by all levels of government as a key tool for identifying land for conservation under Australia’s Strategy for the National Reserve System 2009–2030. The latest version, IBRA7, classifies Australia’s landscapes into 89 large geographically distinct bioregions based on common climate, geology, landform, native vegetation and species information. A map showing all 89 bioregions is at the link, above.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants, fungi and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.