Index Kewensis
The 1893 Index Kewensis (IK), maintained by the
The Index is currently maintained as part of the
History
The preparation for this venture was made by
Previous attempts at a comprehensive index had relied on secondary sources, this was the first attempt to provide the original publication details of the names. A note on the country of origin was also included. The publications of
provided models for the acceptance of names. However, the editor admitted that not all earlier sources were included; this sometimes led to subsequent errors in botanical nomenclature.[3]The scope of the project was also changed in early editions, the editor noting that to include a full synonymy was too ambitious. The work originally indicated acceptance of a name, acting as a nomenclator rather than an index, but by 1913 it avoided making taxonomic judgement in its citations. The integrity of the document was liable to criticism as only representing the 'Kew view' on nomenclatural validity, the objective task of indexing gave the work itself greater international acceptance.[1]
A description of Hooker's systematic works by F O Bower notes the "scheme originated in the difficulty he had found in the accurate naming of plants", and anticipates the importance of this work,[4]
"Surely no greater technical benefit was ever conferred upon a future generation by the veterans of science than this Index. It smooths the way for every systematist who comes after. It stands as a monument to an intimate friendship. It bears witness to the munificence of Darwin, and the ungrudging personal care of Hooker."
Editions
First published in 1893,
The first index contained the scientific names of 400,000 species, regular supplements were then issued on newly published names. The supplements were issued every five years, each one adding around 6000 names to the index, eventually forming a compilation of over 1,000,000 entries. The sixteenth supplement began to include bibliographic details at the rank of family and below, the later annual supplements included ferns and their allies. A digitalized version of the index was issued on a compact disc. A digital version was incorporporated with other indexes as the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), and may fulfill the original intention – a complete index of plant names.[1] Entries at IPNI are designated with the abbreviation "(IK)".[7]
See also
References
- ^ PMID 15253353.
- ^ Jackson 1893, Hooker JD. Preface, in.
- ^ Arthur D. Chapman (14 December 2006). "Australian Flora and Fauna Series - Number 12. Australian Plant Name Index". Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Australian National Botanic Gardens.
Introduction to the original 1991 printed version
- ^ Bower, Frederick Orpen (1913). "Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker 1817—1911". In Francis Wall Oliver (ed.). Makers of British Botany. London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 314–315.
- ^ Jackson 1893.
- ^ "Reference Works, Bibliographies, etc". Data and Publications. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
Cumulated Index Kewensis: Original 2 volumes plus supplements 1-16: Microfiche version of cut-up set in Kew Library.
- ^ "About the Index Kewensis". International Plant Names Index. 2004.
Bibliography
- Jackson, Benjamin Daydon (1893). Clarendon Press. (at Biodiversity Heritage Library)
- Durand, Théophile; Benjamin Daydon Jackson; William Turner Thiselton-Dyer; David Prain; Arthur William Hill; Edward James Salisbury (1908). Index Kewensis plantarum phanerogamarum: Supplementum Tertium Nomina et Synonyma Omnium Generum et Specierum AB Initio Anni MDCCCCI Usque AD Finem Anni MDCCCCV Complectens (suppl.3 (1901-1905) ed.). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 June 2020. (at Google Books - no preview)