PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 2003

A Short Bibliography of Urban Floras

by Steven Clemants

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 1000 Washington Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11225

Published online October 28, 2002

Following is a list of some urban floras from around the world, in alphabetical order by city. Apparently no floras are available for 27 of the 50 most populated cities in the world, as listed by One World - Nations Online (2002) (see Tables 1 and 2). Many of the cities for which there are no floras are located in tropical areas. I welcome any additions or corrections to this list.

Beijing (China)

He, S.Y. (1992). Beijing zhi wu zhi [Flora of Beijing] (2nd ed., 2 vols.). Beijing: Beijing chu ban she: Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing.

Belfast (Northern Ireland)

Beesley, S. & Wilde, J. (1997). Urban flora of Belfast. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, University of Belfast.

Berlin (Germany)

Böcker, R., Auhagen, A., Brockmann, H., Kowarik, I., Scholz, H., Sukopp, H. & Zimmermann, F. (1991). Liste der wildwachsenden Farn- und Blütenpflanzen von Berlin (West) [List of the wild-growing ferns and flowering plants of (west) Berlin]. In A. Auhagen, R. Platen & H. Sukopp (Eds.), Rote Listen der gefährdeten Pflanzen und Tiere in Berlin 1990 [Red lists of endangered plants and animals in Berlin 1990]. Landschaftsentwicklung und Umweltforschung, 6, 57-88.

Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Guaglianone, R. (1980). Algunas hierbas espontáneas en los espacios verdes de la ciudad de Buenos Aires [Some spontaneous weeds in the green spaces of the city of Buenos Aires ]. Buenos Aires: Municipalidad de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Secretaría de Educación.

Calcutta (India)

Manilal, K.S. & Sivarajan V.V. (1982). Flora of Calicut: the flowering plants of the greater Calicut area consisting of the western sectors of Calicut and Malappuram districts. Dehra Dun: Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh.

Chicago (United States)

Swink, F. & Wilhelm, G. (1994). Plants of the Chicago region: an annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the Chicago region, with keys, notes on local distribution, ecology, and taxonomy, a system for the qualitative evaluation of plant communities, a natural division map, and a description of natural plant communities. Indianapolis: Indiana Academy of Science.

Delhi (India)

Maheshwari, J.K. (1963). The flora of Delhi. New Delhi: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research.

Dublin (Ireland)

Doogue, D., Nash, D., Parnell, J., Reynolds, S. & Wyse-Jackson, P.S. (Eds.). (1998). Flora of county Dublin. Dublin: Dublin Naturalists Field Club.

Frankfurt (Germany)

Bönsel, D., Malten, A., Wagner, S. & Zizka, G. (2001). Flora, fauna und biotoptypen von haupt- und güterbahnhof in Frankfurt am Main [Flora, fauna and biotypes of the main and freight railroad yards in Frankfurt am Main] (Kleine Senckenberg-Reihe 38). Frankfurt am Main: Senckenberg Naturforschende Gesellschaft.

Glasgow (Scotland)

Dickson, J.H. (2001). The changing flora of Glasgow: Urban and rural through the centuries. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Guangzhou (China)

Chun, W.Y. (1956). Flora Gwangchownica [Flora of Guangzhou (Canton)]. Guangzhou.

Hou, K. & Chen, H. (1956). Guangzhou zhi wu zhi [Flora of Canton]. Zhongguo ke xue yuan: Hua nan zhi wu yan jiu suo. Beijing: Ke xue chu ban she.

Helsinki (Finland)

Kurtto, A. & Helynranta, L. (1998). Helsingin kasvit. Kukkivilta kiviltä metsän syliin [Flora of Helsinki. From flowering stones to forest floor]. Helsinki: City of Helsinki Environment Centre and Helsinki University Press.

Hong Kong (China)

Hodgkiss, I.J., Thrower, S.L. &. Man, S.H. (1981). An introduction to the ecology of Hong Kong (2 vols.). Hong Kong: Federal Publications Ltd.

Thrower, S.L. (1971). Plants of Hong Kong. Hsiang-kang chih wu [Parallel English and Chinese text]. London: Longman.

Jakarta (Indonesia)

Backer, C.A. (1907). Flora van Batavia. Deel 1, Dicotyledones dialypetalae (Thalamiflorae en Disciflorae) [Flora of Batavia (Jakarta). Part 1, separate petal Dicotyledons (Thalamiflorae and Disciflorae)]. Jakarta: G. Kolff & Co. Mededeelingen Uitgaande van het Departement van Landbouw 4: 1-405.

Miquel, F.A.G. (1837). Disquisitio geographico-botanica de plantarum regni Batavi distributione [Discourse on the botanical geography of the plant kingdom distributed in Batavia (Jakarta)]. Leiden: P.H. van den Heuvell.

London (England)

Burton, R.M. (1983). Flora of the London area. London: London Natural History Society.

Los Angeles (United States)

Abrams, L. (1917). Flora of Los Angeles and vicinity. Stanford, CA : Stanford University.

Madras (India)

Barnes, E. (1938). Supplement to the Flowering plants of Madras City and its immediate neighbourhood. Madras: Superintendent, Government Press.

Mayuranathan, P.V. (1929). The flowering plants of Madras City and its immediate neighbourhood. Madras: Superintendent, Government Press.

Madrid (Spain)

López González, G.A. & López Jiménez, N. (1991-). Flora de Madrid [Flora of Madrid]. Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid: http://www.rjb.csic.es/Biodiversidad/intro.html.

Cutanda, V. (1861). Flora compendiada de Madrid y su provincia, ó, descripcion sucinta de las plantas vasculares que espontáneamente crecen en este territorio [A summary flora of Madrid and its province, or, a succinct description of the vascular plants that spontaneously grow in this territory]. Madrid: Imprenta Nacional.

Melbourne (Australia)

Jones, D. & Jones, B. (1999). Native plants of Melbourne and adjoining areas: a field guide. Hawthorn, Victoria: Bloomings Books.

Gray, M. & Knight, J. (Eds.). (1993). Flora of Melbourne: A guide to the indigenous plants of the greater Melbourne area (3rd ed.). Society for Growing Australian Plants Maroondah, Inc. South Melbourne, Victoria: Hyland House.

Mexico City (Mexico)

Rapoport, E., Díaz-Betancourt, M.E. & López-Moreno, I.R. (1983). Aspectos de la ecología urbana en la ciudad de México : flora de las calles y baldíos [Aspects of the urban ecology in the city of Mexico: flora of the streets and wastelands]. México: Editorial Limusa.

Moscow (Russia)

Poliakova, G.A. (1992). Flora i rastitelnost starykh parkov Podmoskovía [Flora and vegetation of the old parks around Moscow]. Moscow: Nauka.

Mumbai (India)

Graham, J. (1839). A catalogue of the plants growing in Bombay and its vicinity; spontaneous, cultivated or introduced, as far as they have been ascertained . Bombay: Government Press.

New York (United States)

Moore, G., Stewart, A, Clemants, S., Glenn, S. Ma, J. (1990-). New York Metropolitan Flora Project. Brooklyn Botanic Garden: http://www.bbg.org/sci/nymf.

Plzen (Czech Republic)

Pyšek A. & Pyšek P. (1988). Ruderálni flóra Plzne [Ruderal flora of the city of Plzen]. Sbornik Západoces Muzea v Plzeni. Príroda, 68,1-34.

Rome (Italy)

Anzalone, B. (1996). Prodromo della flora romana. Parte Seconda: Angiospermae, Monocotyledones [Preliminary study of the Roman flora. Part II: Angiosperms (Monocotyledons)]. Annali di Botanica (Roma), 54.

Celesti-Grapow, L. (1995). Atlante della Flora di Roma [Atlas of the flora of Rome]. Rome: Argos Edizione.

Anzalone, B. (1994). Prodromo della flora romana. Parte Prima: Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Angiospermae, Dicotyledones [Preliminary study of the flora of Rome. Part I: Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms (Dicotyledons)]. Annali di Botanica (Roma), 52, suppl. II.

St. Petersburg (Russia)

Shishkin, B.K. (Ed.). (1955). Flora Leningradskoi oblasti [Flora of the Leningrad oblast]. Leningrad: Izd-vo Leningradskogo universiteta.

Santiago (Chile)

Navas Bustamante, L.E. (1973-79). Flora de la cuenca de Santiago de Chile [Flora of the Santiago de Chile basin]. Santiago: Ediciones de la Universidad de Chile.

Shanghai (China)

Hsu, P.S. (1999). Shanghai shi wu zhi [The plants of Shanghai] (2 vols.). Shanghai: Shanghai ji shu wen xian chu ban she.

Borrell, O.W. (1996). Flora of the Shanghai area. Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria: William Borrell.

Singapore (Singapore)

Keng, H. (1990). The concise flora of Singapore. Kent Ridge, Singapore: Singapore University Press.

Sousse (Tunisia)

Brandes, D. (2001). Urban flora of Sousse (Tunisia). Botanisches Institut und Botanischer Garten der TU Braunschweig. http://opus.tu-bs.de/opus/volltexte/2001/189/pdf/Sousse.pdf.

Sydney (Australia)

Carolin, R.C., Tindale, M.D. & Beadle, N.C.W. (1994). Flora of the Sydney Region. (4th ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Reed.

Warsaw (Poland)

Sudnik-Wojcikowska, B. (1987). Flora miasta Warszawy i jej przemiany w ci∏agu XIX i XX wieku [The urban flora of Warsaw and its transformation in the 19th and 20th centuries]. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

Literature Cited

One World - Nations Online. Cities of the world: The most populated cities in the world. Retrieved September 25, 2002, from http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bigcities.htm.


Table 1: The Most Populated Cities in the World

The following list of the 50 most populated cities in the world, organized by population size from most (No. 1) to least (No. 50), is from One World - Nations Online (2002).

1. Seoul (South Korea)
2. Mumbai (India)
3. São Paulo (Brazil)
4. Jakarta (Indonesia)
5. Moscow (Russia)
6. Mexico City (Mexico)
7. Shanghai (China)
8. Tokyo (Japan)
9. Istanbul (Turkey)
10. Beijing (China)
11. New York (United States)
12. Delhi (India)
13. London (England)
14. Hong Kong (China)
15. Cairo (Egypt)
16. Tehran (Iran)
17. Lima (Peru)
18. Bangkok (Thailand)
19. Tianjin (China)
20. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
21. Shenyang (China)
22. Calcutta (India)
23. St. Petersburg (Russia)
24. Santiago (Chile)
25. Bogotá (Colombia)
26. Guangzhou (China)
27. Madras (India)
28. Baghdad (Iraq)
29. Wuhan (China)
30. Pusan (South Korea)
31. Sydney (Australia)
32. Caracas (Venezuela)
33. Harbin (China)
34. Los Angeles (United States)
35. Chengdu (China)
36. Berlin (Germany)
37. Yokohama (Japan)
38. Alexandria (Egypt)
39. Melbourne (Australia)
40. Singapore (Singapore)
41. Wuxi (China)
42. Chongqing (China)
43. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
44. Hyderabad (India)
45. Madrid (Spain)
46. Buenos Aires (Argentina)
47. Ahmadabad (India)
48. Ankara (Turkey)
49. Chicago (United States)
50. Pyongyang (North Korea)

Table 2: The Most Populated Cities That Lack Floras

Following is a list of the 27 most populated cities (One World - Nations Online, 2002) for which floras do not exist. They are in alphabetical order by city name.

Ahmadabad (India)
Alexandria (Egypt)
Ankara (Turkey)
Baghdad (Iraq)
Bangkok (Thailand)
Cairo (Egypt)
Caracas (Venezuela)
Chengdu (China)
Chongqing (China)
Harbin (China)
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
Hyderabad (India)
Istanbul (Turkey)
Lima (Peru)
Pusan (South Korea)
Pyongyang (North Korea)
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Bogotá (Colombia)
São Paulo (Brazil)
Seoul (South Korea)
Shenyang (China)
Tehran (Iran)
Tianjin (China)
Tokyo (Japan)
Wuhan (China)
Wuxi (China)
Yokohama (Japan)