• Michigan Flora Home
• The Information
• The Maps
• Completeness of the County Level Maps
• Aliens
• The Photos
• Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Changes
• Ferns and Other Spore Bearing Vascular Plants
• Contributing to the Website
• Acknowledgments

Introduction

Few things in science are more certain than the fact that floristic works become outdated almost as soon as they are printed, and this is certainly true of Michigan Flora. The web is, however, ideally suited for presenting such dynamic information. We hope that distributing information through this website will allow us to regularly update our knowledge. Up-to-date information about the diversity and occurrence of plants is essential to understanding and stewarding Michigan’s environment and appreciation of its natural heritage.

The goals of this Michigan Flora Website are to present, in a searchable and browsable form, the basic information about all vascular plants known to occur outside of cultivation in the state. This includes, unlike the published Michigan Flora, the spore bearing vascular plants (ferns, horsetails, club mosses, etc). Information available includes maps showing the distribution of all the species in the state, keys to all the families, genera, and species, brief discussions about the species, including habitats, nativity, date of first collection of aliens, and in some cases, notes helpful to identification beyond the features noted in the keys. Tabular material available for all species includes common name, synonyms linking the name to the published volumes of Michigan Flora, coefficient of conservatism, the coefficient of wetness and the wetness index, whether native or alien, and the physiognomy (annual, biennial, perennial; tree, shrub, vine, forb, grass, sedge, fern). See http://www.michigandnr.com/publications/pdfs/HuntingWildlifeHabitat/FQA_text.pdf for explanation of terms.

We strongly recommend that users of this website read the introductory material in the three volumes of Michigan Flora to gain an understanding of the scope of the work involved as well as the underlying philosophy. Please also read the material under the heading "The Introduction," as this covers additions, updated statistics, plus brief commentary on species mentioned but not treated fully. 

Citation:

MICHIGAN FLORA ONLINE. A. A. Reznicek, E. G. Voss, & B. S. Walters. February 2011. University of Michigan. Web. 6-19-2013. http://www.michiganflora.net/home.aspx.