How To Use This Website
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Basic Searches
To carry out a basic search, first select the search method from the 'drop-down' box, then type all or part of the name into the 'Find' textbox and click 'GO'. For simple searches it is best to type the minimum number of characters that will identify your plant.
For common names do not use hyphens or accents and be aware of multiple spellings ("bwa" vs "bois"). Compound names are best entered as separate words or even the first word alone e.g. "fiddle" will retrieve both "fiddlewood" and "fiddle wood". In addition, the Common Name Index can be used to find what you are looking for, arranged in alphabetical order.
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Advanced Searches
To carry out an advanced search, click on the "Advanced Search" menu item if you are not already on that page. Once on the page many options are provided to filter your search.
For certain criteria such as Scientific Name for example, you can further specify if the criterion starts with, ends with, or contains anywhere the text that you type in the field by using the 'drop-down' listbox provided.
For criteria where 'Any' is provided as an option, simply check or select the 'Any' option if the value of that criterion does not matter in your search e.g. Flower Colour: 'Any', etc
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Search Results
A single plant may have been given different scientific names by different botanists depending on how they argue the plant should be classified. Only one scientific name is considered the accepted name at any time and other names are termed synonyms. If the scientific name you enter is out of date the search engine may advise you that the name entered is a synonym and suggest an alternative, current accepted name for that plant.
After the search results are displayed, click on the scientific name to get further information on a plant or on the photograph to see further and/or larger images. In addition, you can order the results by scientific name or family name. Also, you can change the number of displayed results per page between 10, 20, and 30 results per page by using the links provided above the results.
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Note About Photographs
When a photograph is reported as "vouchered" this means the identification is highly reliable because a herbarium specimen was made of that plant in addition to its identity being confirmed by an expert. A photograph labeled as "not vouchered" is less reliably identified because it is based on the photographer's identification skills alone.
Also please note that the plant images shown on this website may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder, whose name appears as a watermark on each photograph.
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Note About Distributions
All the plants listed in the database are found in the Lesser Antilles so this is understood and never given under ‘General Distribution’. The map shows the range of certain categories used in describing the General Distribution. In this database we use the following definitions:
- Lesser Antilles – archipelago from Grenada in the south to Anguilla in the north
- Greater Antilles – Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico
- Bahamas – the many islands between Florida and Hispaniola (including the Turks & Caicos)
- West Indies – Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles & Bahamas
- Greater Caribbean – Continental regions bordering the Caribbean Basin and all islands therein
- Tropical America – tropical region of the Americas
Reproduced from Carrington, S (2007) Wild Plants of Barbados, Macmillan Caribbean
- Endemic means endemic (unique) to the Lesser Antilles.
- To see distribution of Lesser Antillean endemics, select status as endemic and select Lesser Antilles under "General Distribution" and the particular island(s) under "Distribution in the Lesser Antilles".
- To find plants endemic to a particular island, select status as endemic and select the particular island under both "General Distribution" and under "Distribution in the Lesser Antilles".
- The status category "almost endemic" refers to plants found only in the Lesser Antilles and just beyond e.g. the Lesser Antilles and Venezuela.