Our Approach to Plant Families
Investigation of plant taxonomy, classification, and phylogeny is a dynamic process that has been in flux since humans have put names on plants. Modern work involves cladistic methods applied to various types of information including, for example, morphologic, chemical, cytologic, and molecular data.
A number of approaches to the delineation and arrangement of plant families could be utilized in a regional flora project such as FNJ. It all depends on what the creators and users of the manual want to share or learn. For example, the ongoing Flora of North America Project decided over a decade ago to follow the Cronquist familial scheme (Cronquist 1981). This is a huge project and to keep it from becoming too complicated, they utilized a system that everyone was familiar with. In a more recent product, the Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia and surrounding areas (Alan Weakley, 1/31/2007), the author decided to use the results of modern monographic and revisionary work.
The Flora of New Jersey Project (FNJ), follows the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) for its familial scheme. In addition to a catalogue of angiosperm families, APG has also accomplished work on the gymnosperms and true ferns. This information can be found on the APG webpage through the Missouri Botanical Garden web site. At this time, fern classification follows Smith et al. 2006. If FNJ becomes aware of other approaches the information will be reviewed and used as appropriate.
A list of family names has been organized under their appropriate orders for use in the Flora of New Jersey project. This list has been constructed by the FNJ Nomenclature Committee and will be reviewed and revised annually depending on the data available from APG and any other sources that FNJ considers appropriate. The expanded and amended APG familial scheme will be adopted for all products of the Flora of New Jersey project.
See the list of New Jersey families and genera.