Phytogeography

Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, phytón = "plant" and γεωγραφία, geographía = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution of plant species and their influence on the earth's surface.

The former investigates the role of current day biotic and abiotic interactions in influencing plant distributions; the latter are concerned with historical reconstruction of the origin, dispersal, and extinction of taxa.

One of the subjects earliest proponents was Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who is often referred to as the "father of phytogeography".

Von Humboldt advocated a quantitative approach to phytogeography that has characterized modern plant geography.

For example, Alfred Russel Wallace, co-discoverer of the principle of natural selection, discussed the latitudinal gradients in species diversity, a pattern observed in other organisms as well.

Much research effort in plant geography has since then been devoted to understanding this pattern and describing it in more detail.

[8] Research in plant geography has also been directed to understanding the patterns of adaptation of species to the environment.

China has been a focus to botanist for its rich biota as it holds the record for the earliest known angiosperm megafossil.

The basic data element of phytogeography are specimen records. These are collected individual plants like this one, a Cinnamon Fern , collected in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.
An 1814 self-portrait in Paris of Alexander von Humboldt. Humboldt is often referred to as the "father of phytogeography".
Good (1947) floristic kingdoms