INTRODUCTION

The New York Flora Atlas originated with the efforts of Stanley Smith and the Master File of maps located at the NY State Museum. Stanley Smith recorded the collecting or observation location for voucher specimens, literature citations, and personal observations for all of New York’s vascular plants. This effort led to the Preliminary Vouchered Atlas of New York State Flora (New York Flora Association 1990). This effort led to greater botanical field work throughout the state and the addition of many new county records. In 2002, a static online atlas was created to include many of these new records (Weldy et. al 2002). The purpose of this static online atlas was to show users the most current distribution of vascular plants in New York and to seek funding to create a dynamic atlas. In 2004, funding for the current atlas was obtained from the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute with matching funds contributed on behalf of the New York Flora Association membership. As the current atlas developed, efforts to create a vascular and non-vascular distribution atlas were merged.

The New York Flora Atlas is a source of information for the distribution of plants within the state, as well as information on plant habitats, associated ecological communities, and taxonomy. In addition, users can learn about the location of vouchered specimens and see images to get a better visual for each plant. The next step is to create a Manual to the New York State Flora. Early efforts are underway to move towards this goal.

The records in the flora database are largely based on the original atlas (NYFA 1990) with additional records from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BKL) and the New York State Museum (NYS). Numerous other herbaria have contributed data to this atlas. For a complete list of contributing herbaria, please consult the list of contributors.

The documented occurrence (i.e. vouchered specimen) of a species in a county is indicated by the shading of that entire county. The entire shading of a county should not be interpreted as a county-wide distribution of a plant, rather that one or more specimens were collected somewhere within that county.

The knowledge of the flora of any large region will always remain dynamic as new species are discovered and others disappear. Certain counties or areas of the state that previously were sparsely collected will undoubtedly gain the attention of botanists eager to fill in distributional gaps. The authors welcome specimens to document the occurrence of new distributional records.

Nomenclature for this atlas is largely based on the USDA Plants Database, with some minor exceptions. All nomenclature has been reviewed by the New York Flora Taxonomy and Nomenclature Committee.

TECHNOLOGY

The New York Flora Atlas is based on the technology developed for the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Wunderlin and Hansen 2004). Distribution information compiled from herbarium specimens and the nomenclature are entered into a Microsoft SQL Server database management system (PlantDB). Specimen data, including distribution information compiled from herbarium specimens, are entered into a Microsoft SQL Server database management system (PlantDB). Atlas web pages are generated directly from the PlantDB database using the ASP program language served from Microsoft's Internet Information Server. Maps are generated directly from PlantDB using ESRI MapObjects 2.0 technology residing on a Microsoft NT server. Because the Atlas web site is generated directly from PlantDB, all web pages and maps are as up to date as the information entered into the database.

All servers are maintained at the New York State Department of Education. The PlantDB database management system was designed by Shawn Landry (FCCDR) with the help of Jeb Holub (Axis Technologies, Inc.) and Bruce Hansen (ISB). The web application was developed by Shawn Landry, Kyle Campbell, and Logan Mabe (FCCDR), via consultation with Troy Weldy (New York Natural Heritage Program). For more information on how your state or region can develop a similar atlas, please contact Shawn Landry at the Florida Center for Community Design and Research. Additional information about the New York Flora Atlas should be directed to Troy Weldy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The New York Flora Atlas was made possible through a grant from the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute with matching funds from the New York Flora Association membership. The New York State Department of Education ensures the continued maintenance of the database. The data are updated and maintained by the New York Flora Association and the New York Natural Heritage Program. Various herbaria, especially the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, have been critical to the addition of new voucher records. A special thanks is given to Dave Gerhard, New York State Museum, for his technical support with the the atlas server and atlas database.

Literature Cited

New York Flora Association. 1990. Preliminary Vouchered Atlas of New York State Flora. The New York State Museum Institute. Albany, NY. 496 pages.

Weldy, Troy, Richard Mitchell, and Robert Ingalls. 2002. New York Flora Atlas (accessed online at http://nyflora.org/atlas/atlas.htm). New York Flora Association, New York State Museum, Albany, NY.

Wunderlin, R. P., and B. F. Hansen. 2004. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/).[S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Contact the authors:

Troy Weldy
David Werier
New York Flora Association
New York State Museum
3140 CEC
Albany, NY 12230
Attn: New York Flora Atlas

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Contributors

An accurate database of plant distributions depends on the continuous work of botanists and enthusiasts alike. Herbaria that are looking to add their records to the atlas effort should contact Troy Weldy. As more and more herbaria enter vouchered specimens into a digital database, the atlas will grow and reflect the most accurate information available.

The Atlas is a specimen derived database. All new county records submitted for inclusion in the database must be backed by a voucher specimen deposited in a recognized herbarium (not personal collections). It is encouraged that the voucher specimen or a duplicate be sent to the New York State Museum (NYS). Individuals not familiar with how to make a voucher specimen should contact the NY State Herbarium.

We graciously thank the following individuals and institutions for their recent valuable contributions:

NY Flora Taxonomy and Nomenclature Committee

Participating herbaria

Herbarium Name	Code	Number of records
Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University	A	624
Amherst College	AC	8
Bard College Herbarium	BARD	52
Brooklyn Botanic Garden	BKL	10985
Clinton Herbarium, Buffalo Museum of Science	BUF	836
Canisius College	CANI	16
Charles B. Graves Herbarium, Connecticut College	CCNL	1
Chrysler Herbarium, Rutgers University	CHRB	306
Cranberry Lake Biological Station	CLBS	24
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh	CM	1
George Stafford Torrey Herbarium, University of Connecticut	CONN	129
Cornell University (Bailey Hortorium or the Weigand Herbarium)	CU	3811
C.W. Post Herbarium	CWPOST	8
Duke University	DUKE	7
Elmira College	ECH	1
Florida Atlantic University	FAU	4
Herbarium of Cryptogamic Botany, Harvard University	FH	1
Harvard University Herbarium	GH	827
George R. Cooley Herbarium, Colgate University	GRCH	14
College of the Atlantic	HCOA	1
Hoysradt Herbarium, Hartwick College	HHH	38
Houghton College	HOUGH	39
University of Massachusetts	MASS	11
University of Michigan	MICH	3
University of Minnesota	MIN	1
Stanley Smiley Research Center , Mohonk Preserve	MOHONK	11
United States National Arboretum	NA	5
New England Botanical Club, Harvard University	NEBC	5
New York Botanical Garden	NY	5675
New York Flora Association. 1990 Atlas.	NYFA_1990	44699
New York State Museum	NYS	29853
Planting Fields Arboretum	OBPF	5115
University of Pennsylvania	PENN	1
Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences	PH	1261
Queens College	QUEENSCO	57
Rice Creek Field Station, SUNY-Oswego	RCFS	763
Rochester Academy of Science	ROCH	753
Saint Bonaventure University	SBU	46
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Science	SIM	183
Saint Lawrence University	STLA	22
Syracuse University	SYR	317
SUNY-College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry	SYRF	84
United States National Herbarium	US	91
Pringle Herbarium, University of Vermont	VT	1
West Virginia University	WVA	1
Osborn Memorial Laboratories, Yale University	YU	44

Herbarium data table last updated January 2005

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Photo Credits

All photographs are copyright protected.

Photos will continually be addeded to the website. The photographs presented on the New York Flora Atlas website represent the kind donation of many photographers. We are always receptive to further excellent photographs, especially those for species with few to no illustrations, or for plant parts and developmental phases not now illustrated. Contact Troy Weldy for submission information.

All photographs are copyright protected, but are available for use in any educational, scientific, or non-profit venture. Permission for use of particular photographs can be obtained by contacting Troy Weldy, who can further direct the request to the photographer or copyright holder in question.

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