This webpage is presently not linked to the dataset….. coming soon!

This website presents a national checklist of seed plants indigenous to Namibia. Many Namibians are dependent on plants for their livelihoods, sustainable use and conservation and the aim is to provide nomenclatural stability and a reliable taxonomic source that allows identification within the Namibian context. Taxonomic decisions are therefore based on characters, not cladistic.

The Checklist of Namibian plant species (Craven 1999) was an attempt to bring together all records for plant taxa indigenous to Namibia from literature and specimens. Reconciling the differences between FSWA (Merxmüller 1966–1972) which was in German, and the regional floras published in English and Portuguese was challenging. The differences in taxonomic treatment resulted in different identifications and should be borne in mind when reviewing the determinations of many herbarium specimens and checklists available online. Taxa were also erroneously cited for Namibia.

Because of this background and the fact that Namibia is the most arid country in sub-Saharan Africa, the taxonomy and systematics of this national flora must be mindful of the extraordinary environment and strategies used to survive such conditions and the high degree of variation in many species.

This is part of our BRAHMS database that has been ongoing for more than thirty years. Verified and/or new information from literature, herbaria and our extensive field work and collections are added regularly. The information is inconsistent across the accepted species partly because of lack of research on many Namibian taxa.

Over 3811 seed plants are currently accepted with 18 % being endemic and another 18 % endemic to the country and close neighbours. The taxonomy of about 100 is still unresolved with the presence in Namibia of another 100 taxa must be verified. The information is inconsistent across the accepted species partly because of lack of research on many Namibian taxa and the statistic change regularly as we progress. There is only one gymnosperm in Namibia, the iconic Welwitschia mirabilis and one endemic family Tiganophytaceae with a few endemic genera like Oberholzeria. ….p>

Over 110 000 collections have been databased and these include 850 types. 107 000 of these have mappable data that allow mapping and analysis of the distribution ranges of individual taxa. Collecting notes are used to summarise plant descriptions and habitat. Common names come from specimen labels only which allows for this knowledge to be carried over with new identifications. p>

An online source for background information is the Atlas of Namibia: its land, water and life [https://atlasofnamibia.online/]. It includes maps of plant diversity, endemism and floristic groups in Chapter 6.