Plant Family Information

Objective: Despite perceived ubiquitous access to information via Google and other popular search engines, access to trustworthy and/or peer-reviewed scholarly/scientific literature remains problematic. And with multiple systems for accessing information, knowing where to begin can be a difficult and overwhelming task; particularly if one is not an expert or familiar with a specific area of study. Specifically, this guide will address methods for beginning your research, finding journal articles, and other sources of information.

Starting Points

Encyclopedias and Overview Literature
If you are not familiar with a topic when beginning your research a great place to begin is with a specialized encyclopedia. These types of materials are excellent resources for summarizing what is known by scientists, what questions or issues remain, and often include suggestions regarding directions for future research. Often, these materials are authored by highly regarded scientists who have made lasting contributions to the particular field of research. The following list provides a topical overviews, bibliographies, and other related information in the study of plant biology. The library maintains many more sources than those listed here, so it is important to search the library's catalog and/or browse the the shelves around these titles to locate other relavant materials.

Flowering Plants of the World

Families of Flowering Plants

Dictionary of Plant Lore

Articles & eResources

As you begin researching a topic, you may not be aware of any published material on your subject. And with multiple systems for accessing information, knowing where to begin can be a difficult and overwhelming task; particularly if one is not familiar with that specific area of study. However, knowing what sources are available for finding this information, and how to search through these sources is a critical function of a well-trained scientist/researcher.

To help you begin learning about core bibliographic databases in the study of plant biology and systematics a list of these resources is provided below. These should also help you find scientific/scholarly journal articles related to your presentations for this class. Please note that each database has a limited scope, so depending on your topic it may be necessary to search one or more of these databases.

Key Databases (i.e. indexes) for Finding Articles (back to top)

Note: These databases are stand alone resources and primarily citation-based; i.e. they will not generally contain the full-text of the articles listed. You will need to search the library's catalog to determine if the library subscribes to the journal referencing your article. By searching the library's catalog you will be able to determine if the library has access to your article.

If you find that the library does not subscribe to the journal referencing your article or is missing the journal issue that contains your article, use the library's Interlibrary Loan service and the library will obtain it for you from another university. This is a FREE service! All you need to do is give us the citation and we'll do the rest. All you need to do is create an account so that you can submit the information to us and so we know who to send the article to when it arrives. This service also applies to books.

Don't wait until the last minute to do your research. Interlibrary Loan requests can take anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to fill so make sure you give yourself enough time to obtain the best information possible for your paper!

Agricola

compiled (1979-present) by the National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricola is the most comprehensive database to citations of journal articles, theses, patents, software and technical reports on all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including plant and animal sciences, forestry, entomology, soil and water resources, and food and nutrition.

BIOSIS Previews

covering the years 1926-present, BIOSIS is one of the most comprehensive index for worldwide journal literature in the life sciences and is one of the most important index to biologists.

JSTOR

database with full-text access to the American Journal of Botany (1914-1998); Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden (1914-1998); Brittonia (1931-1998); International Journal of Plant Sciences (1992-1998); Botanical Gazette (1876-1991); Botanical Bulletin (1875-1876); Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society (1997-2000); Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (1870-1996); Missouri Botanical Garden Annual Report (1890-1912); New Phytologist (1902-2000); and Systematic Botany (1976-1998). When searching this database, please select the disciplines: Botany and Plant Sciences; Biological Sciences; and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

WorldCat

a combined catalog of thousands of libraries, including Randall Library. Search WorldCat if you want to search the largest universe of book and other cataloged items.

Books & Library Materials

Naturalist's Guide to Seashore Plants: an Ecology for Eastern North America

Plant Identification Terminology: an Illustrated Glossary

Genera of Flowering Plants, Angiospermae.

Flora Britannica

Dictionary of the Flowering Plants and Ferns

Journals

Reviews and Important Journals

American Journal of Botany
American Scientist
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden
Annual Review of Plant Biology
Australian Journal of Plant Physiology
The Botanical Review
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
International Journal of Plant Sciences
Journal of Experimental Botany
Journal of Phycology
Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society
Natural History
New Phytologist
New Scientist
Photosynthesis Research
Phytologia
Phytopathology
Plant and Cell Physiology

Plant Cell
Plant Cell and Environment
Plant Ecology
Plant Engineering
Plant Journal
Plant Molecular Biology
Plant Molecular Biology Reporter
Plant Physiology
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Plant Science: an International Journal
of Experimental Plant Biology
Plant Science Bulletin
Plant Science Letters
Plant Species Biology
Plant Systematics and Evolution
SIDA, Contributions in Botany
Systematic Botany
Taxon
Trends in Plant Science

Websites

American Society of Plant Biologists

Founded in 1924, the ASPB is a professional society devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences, and is responsible for publishing two highly regarded plant journals, Plant Cell and Plant Physiology.

Botanical Society of America

Founded in 1906, the BSA is a professional society devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences, is responsible for publishing the American Journal of Botany, and Plant Science Bulletin.

International Plant Names Index (IPNI)

A database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of all seed plants. Its goal is to eliminate the need for repeated reference to primary sources for basic bibliographic information about plant names. The data in the IPNI comes from three sources: the Index Kewensis (IK), the Gray Card Index (GCI) and the Australian Plant Names Index (APNI).The data are freely available. Search by plant name, author, publication, or collector. A collaborative project of the: The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Harvard University Herbaria; and Australian National Herbarium.

Museum of Paleontology

From U.C. Berkeley, the Museum provides an online Introduction to the Plant Kingdom that includes a information on the fossil record of plants; life history and ecology; systematics; and morphology.

PLANTS Database

Single source of standardized information about plants. This database focuses on vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. The PLANTS Database includes names, checklists, automated tools, identification information, species abstracts, distributional data, crop information, plant symbols, plant growth data, plant materials information, plant links, invasive species references, and other plant information. Also includes States PLANTS list.

Citation, Writing & Presentation Resources