Checklist dataset Registered May 10, 2011
Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)
Description
The Database of Vascular Plants of Canada or VASCAN (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan) is a comprehensive and curated checklist of all vascular plants reported in Canada, Greenland (Denmark), and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France). VASCAN was developed at the Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre and is maintained by a group of editors and contributors. For every core taxon in the checklist (species, subspecies, or variety), VASCAN provides the accepted scientific name, the accepted French and English vernacular names, and their synonyms/alternatives in Canada, as well as the distribution status (native, introduced, ephemeral, excluded, extirpated, doubtful or absent) of the plant for each province or territory, and the habit (tree, shrub, herb and/or vine) of the plant in Canada. For reported hybrids (nothotaxa or hybrid formulas) VASCAN also provides the hybrid parents, except if the parents of the hybrid do not occur in Canada. All taxa are linked to a classification. VASCAN refers to a source for all name, classification and distribution information.
All data have been released to the public domain under a CC0 waiver and are available through Canadensys and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). VASCAN is a service to the scientific community and the general public, including administrations, companies, and non-governmental organizations.
Geographic scope
- Description
The checklist covers all vascular plants reported in Canada, Greenland (Denmark), and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France). The latter two regions are added because their floras are intimately related to that of Canada and it is useful for Canadians and others to know about them. Provincial distributions are provided to help Canadians visualize the relationship among the floras of their provinces and territories. VASCAN does not intend to replace regional or provincial lists but to act as a complement to them. The covered regions are, in alphabetical order: Alberta, British Columbia, Greenland, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saskatchewan, and Yukon.
The distribution status of the plant is indicated per region. These can be grouped as present (native, introduced or ephemeral), previously reported but currently considered absent (excluded, extirpated), doubtful or not reported (absent). The latter status is not recorded in the database (null value). Excluded taxa are those considered not currently occurring in a region, due either to non-recurring ephemeralness, misidentification, lack of supporting documentation, or when specimens are old and the taxon has not been observed again in more than 50 years. All distribution statuses are defined at http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/about/#distribution.
The VASCAN website (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan) provides a distribution map for each taxon. For higher taxa, these are calculated based on lower taxa, with the distribution statuses ordered as such: native, introduced, ephemeral, excluded, extirpated, doubtful, absent. E.g., if two species within the same genus are respectively native and doubtful in a certain region, the genus is considered native for that region.
The website also provides a checklist builder (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/checklist), where users can generate their own list of taxa based on several criteria (taxonomy, region, distribution status, or a combination of these) and download this as a Darwin Core Archive or text file.
- Latitude
- From 41.667 to 83.667
- Longitude
- From -141 to -11.317
Temporal scope
- verbatim
- 17th to 21st century
Taxonomic scope
- Description
This checklist covers all vascular plants (Equisetopsida, Tracheophyta) reported in the area described in the section 'Geographic Coverage'. The core taxa considered are species, subspecies or varieties, and their hybrids. For these taxa, we provide synonyms, the accepted and alternative French and English vernacular names, and the habit (tree, shrub, herb and/or vine) of the plant in Canada. For reported hybrids (nothotaxa or hybrid formulas) we also indicate the hybrid parents, except if the parents of the hybrid do not occur in Canada. This core information is not provided for higher taxa, although the calculated distribution based on lower taxa can be consulted and downloaded from the VASCAN website (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan).
All taxa are linked to a classification: Chase & Reveal (2009) for the higher classification, Christenhusz et al. (2011a) for lycophytes, Smith et al. (2006) for monilophytes (modified in Rothfells et al. 2012), Christenhusz et al. (2011b) for the gymnosperms, and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009) for flowering plants. At the generic level and below, the Flora of North America Editorial Committee (1993+) is the main source of classification, unless taxonomic literature more recent than the volume published for a given taxon provides a taxonomy more reflective of current data. The source used is indicated for each taxon in the dataset.
The classification includes 16 ranks. They are, in hierarchical order: class, subclass, superorder, order, family, subfamily, tribe, subtribe, genus, subgenus, section, subsection, series, species, subspecies and variety. Varieties within subspecies are accepted, so quadrinomial names are present, but forms are not included.
- Coverage
- Plantaeplants
Equisetopsidavascular plants
AcanthaceaeAcoraceaeAdoxaceae
Methodology
- Sampling
The data are sampled manually from literature by the editors,though recent additions are based on specimens maintained at institutional herbaria across Canada (see Thiers).
All floras covering Canada, Greenland, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon were considered for literature-based data entry, but only the most recent provincial and territorial floras (see the section 'Citations - Bibliography') were systematically searched to establish the distribution status of each taxon in each region (see the section 'Geographic coverage'). Scoggan’s Flora of Canada (1978-1979) was systematically searched, as were Kartesz (1999) and the Flora of North America (FNA Ed. Comm. 1993+). English and French vernacular names are based on usage in Canada and, for introduced taxa, on vernaculars from the countries of origin (when the taxon is from Europe). Alternate (synonym) vernaculars are provided when several names are in usage (notably regional names), but an accepted vernacular is recommended for general usage throughout the country. The method of selection of vernacular names follows Darbyshire et al. (2000). The source of the information is referenced for all scientific names, vernacular names and distributions in the dataset.
- Study extent
See the section 'Geographic coverage' and 'Project details - Study area description'.
- Quality control
New findings or corrections for plant distributions are communicated to the editors by contributors from each region (http://data.canadensys.net/vascan/about/#people). Contributors are local botanists, often associated with Canadian herbaria or Conservation Data Centers. All new reports must be documented by specimens deposited at institutional herbaria.
Suggestions or corrections regarding names, taxonomy, or functionality of the VASCAN website are submitted by users and reviewers through a public GitHub issue tracker at https://github.com/Canadensys/vascan-data/issues. Name suggestions are validated by the editors against names in Tropicos (http://www.tropicos.org), IPNI (http://www.ipni.org), GRIN (http://www.ars-grin.gov), or other plant name databases, before being manually corrected in the database.
- Method steps
The data are stored in a relational database (MySQL), which powers the search, checklist builder, taxon and name pages of the VASCAN website. Editors update a development copy of the database through a secure web application. This allows them to make revisions without affecting the users of the website. Once they agree that the data are consistent, in which they are aided by the application, they can push that version of the database to production.
At that moment, the application will also automatically generate a Darwin Core Archive of the data, using the GBIF GNA Profile (GBIF 2010) and following best practices for publishing checklists (GBIF 2011). This archive includes all data, except for calculated distributions, hybrid parents, and user credentials. The archive is then manually uploaded to the Canadensys Repository (http://data.canadensys.net/ipt), a GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit, and republished, at which time it will be assigned a new version number. The dataset is registered with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), which allows that organization to harvest, display and distribute the data at any time.
Additional info
Bibliography
- View articleGoogle ScholarAngiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009) An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnaen Society 161: 105–121. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x
- View articleGoogle ScholarChase MW, Reveal JL (2009) A phylogenetic classification of land plants to accompany APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnaen Society 161 (2): 122–127. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.01002.x
- View articleGoogle ScholarChristenhusz MJM, Reveal JL, Farjon A, Gardner MF, Mill RR, Chase MW (2011a) A new classification and linear sequence of extant gymnosperms. Phytotaxa 19: 55–70.
- View articleGoogle ScholarChristenhusz MJM, Zhang X-C, Schneider H (2011b) A linear sequence of extant families and genera of lycophytes and ferns. Phytotaxa 19: 7–54.
- View articleGoogle ScholarCOSEWIC (2009+) Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct6/index_e.cfm [accessed June 17, 2013].
Contacts
- Organization
- Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre
- Position
- Professor
- Address
- 4101 rue Sherbrooke est
- Roles
- Originator
Metadata author
Editor
Administrative point of contact
- Organization
- Montreal Botanical Garden
- Address
- 4101 rue Sherbrooke est
- Roles
- Editor
- Organization
- Northern Ontario Plant Database
- Position
- Director
- Address
- c/o Herbarium, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, 1219 Queen Ste. East
- Roles
- Editor
- Organization
- Translation Bureau (Government of Canada)
- Position
- Translator and Language Advisor
- Address
- Place Bonaventure, Northwest Entrance, Suite 8950
- Roles
- Editor
- Organization
- NatureServe Canada
- Position
- Director of Science
- Address
- 960 Carling Avenue
- Roles
- Editor
- Organization
- Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre
- Position
- Biodiversity Informatics Programmer
- Address
- 4101 rue Sherbrooke est
- Roles
- Programmer
- Organization
- Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre
- Position
- Research Officer in Biodiversity
- Address
- 4101 Sherbrooke est
- Roles
- Publisher
GBIF registration
- Registration date
- May 10, 2011
- Metadata last modified
- May 19, 2020
- Publication date
- May 19, 2020
- Hosted by
- Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre
- Installation
- Canadensys repository
- Endpoints
- Darwin Core Archive
- EML
- Preferred identifier
- 10.5886/zw3aqw
- Alternative identifiers