What is flora? We learn!

In ancient Rome, among the host of gods and goddesses, Flora stood out. She was responsible for the flowering of plants in the spring and was considered the patroness of all colors. Today the name of this entity is used in botany, biology, and very often in everyday communication. What is flora in the modern sense?

Traditionally, this word means a collection of all kinds of plants that historically grow in a certain territory. So, usually they say "the flora of the Earth", "the flora of Africa". This may be the current state of things or that existed earlier. But if you specify more precisely what a flora is, modern botanists mean only vascular plants located on the territory under this word. Other species are not considered in this population. Interestingly, the local flora does not include those flowers that grow in houses on window sills, as well as in greenhouses, winter gardens or greenhouses - that is, in places where climatic conditions are created by humans.

There is a separate science that explains visually what the flora of each particular region is. She studies each plant separately, as well as the entire landscape symbiosis, located in certain territorial boundaries. This science is called "floristics". Specialists in this field are engaged in the fact that they compose abstracts - lists of plants and their brief descriptions for each individual district.

Historically, this term was first used in the XVII century by the botanist Mikhail Boim. And then from it the baton was picked up by the most famous scientist Karl Linnaeus, who created a vast work devoted to the vegetable world of Lapland. But in this book not only flowers were described. Flora in the understanding of Linnaeus included also fungi, and not just one plant. A total of 534 species were described in the monumental work of the scientist.

But in addition to the obvious and noteworthy part of the plant world, this term also covers an inconspicuous part of it. A photo of the flora invisible to the unaided human eye can be found on the pages of any textbook on microbiology. This term is often called the aggregate of all microorganisms inhabiting a body. For example, it is not uncommon in medicine and dietology such an expression as "intestinal flora".

From the point of view of classification, the whole set of plants can be divided into several features. So, from the point of origin, the flora is indigenous and adventive. From the name it becomes clear that the first of them assumes the totality of those plants that inhabited the region for a long time. What is an adventive flora in this case? These are those plants that were imported, cultivated, or accidentally transferred to the territory of this region not so long ago.

By the totality of plant taxa this term is also subdivided into:

• Algal flora (algae);
• Dendroflora (trees);
• Brioflora (mosses);
• Lichen flora (lichens);
• Mycoflora (fungi).

Thus, it becomes clear that this term is not limited to flowers alone, as its ancestor-goddess, it is much broader and involves the study of the entire plant world, rich and diverse.