Agroforestry Species Switchboard 2023-03-22

Link
Access
Type
Databases

Related Science Domain
Tree Productivity and Diversity

Suggested citation: Kindt R, John I, Dawson IK, Graudal L, Lillesø J-P B, Ordonez J, Jamnadass R. 2022. Agroforestry Species Switchboard: a synthesis of information sources to support tree research and development activities. Version 3.0. CIFOR-ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya.

We suggest use of the above citation when using the Switchboard to first access the information sources that it contains, especially when cross-referencing between these information sources.

The Agroforestry Species Switchboard is available at this URL: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/products/switchboard/

About the Switchboard

The Agroforestry Species Switchboard is a “one-stop-shop” to retrieve data about any particular plant species across a wide range of information sources. As part of the Global Tree Knowledge Platform, its particular objective is to provide information that supports research on trees as well as tree-based development activities, such as agroforestry plantings and wider restoration initiatives. But it also contains information on a much wider range of organisms.

Version 3.0 of the Switchboard documents the presence of 290,235 plant taxa (current names and synonyms) at genus, species and infraspecific levels. Included are 247,204 unique current names of which 246,409 (99.7%) of these were matched with the taxonomic backbone data of the World Flora Online or World Checklist of Vascular Plants, the majority (238,768) at the species level. The Switchboard provides links to check on the correct nomenclature of particular species. Within CIFOR-ICRAF, the Switchboard cross-links our various databases by establishing a centralised naming system.

When available, hyperlinks to selected taxa in particular information sources are provided in the Switchboard. In total, Version 3.0 of the Switchboard provides 491,401 such hyperlinks.

A list and brief descriptions of the 45 associated information sources that can be accessed through the Switchboard are given in the following sections. These are given in order of the listing of information sources in the Switchboard.

Compared to the previous versions of the Switchboard, Version 3.0 contains links to new databases and includes entries for a wider range of species. Some (defunct) databases from Version 2.0 are excluded. Version 3.0 of the Switchboard is the first to use the World Flora Online and World Checklist of Vascular Plants databases for the standardization of names.

For those databases in Version 3.0 of the Switchboard that had previously been listed in Version 2.0 (released in 2019), we re-harvested hyperlinks in the cases where we thought these could have been updated.


CIFOR-ICRAF databases referred to by the Switchboard, with links to individual species (8 databases)

• Agroforestree Database (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/output/agroforestree-database). This database provides information on the management, use and ecology of over 600 tree species which can be used in agroforestry systems globally. It is a good starting point for understanding more about many cultivated trees in smallholders’ farms.
• Genetic Resources Unit Database (http://apps.worldagroforestry.org/products/grunew/). This database indicates accessions of trees and shrubs that are conserved and/or supplied for research purposes by ICRAF’s Genetic Resources Unit.
• African Wood Density Database (http://worldagroforestry.org/treesnmarkets/wood/data.php?id=1). This database provides air-dry wood density data for over 900 indigenous and exotic tree species found in Africa. It was developed in parallel with the Global Wood Density Database (see below).
• Priority Food Tree and Crop Food Composition Database (http://apps.worldagroforestry.org/products/nutrition/; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This database contains composition information for selected tree foods and some other crop foods with a geographical focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Over 130 foods listed include fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and edible oils.
• RELMA-ICRAF Useful Trees (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/usefultrees/index.php). These species-based factsheets provide information on the useful trees and shrubs of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. These factsheets were assembled as part of a series of Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA)-ICRAF publications first released in the 1990s and 2000s. Information on ecology, uses, propagation, management, local names and botanical names is included.
• Tree Functional Attributes and Ecological Database (http://db.worldagroforestry.org). This database provides information on the properties and attributes of trees. It includes information on geographic distributions, ecological requirements, growth rates, uses and product value chains.
• Useful Tree Species for Africa Map (produced with the University of Copenhagen [Forest and Landscape Denmark]; http://www.worldagroforestry.org/output/useful-tree-species-africa). This interactive vegetation map tool enables the selection of useful tree species for planting at given locations anywhere in Africa. It uses Google Earth for visualisation purposes. The Switchboard indicates which species are listed in the tool.
• vegetationmap4africa (produced with the University of Copenhagen; http://www.vegetationmap4africa.org/). This map tool shows the distribution of 1,022 plant species across Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. It uses Google Earth and is based on a high-resolution potential natural vegetation map of eastern and southern Africa. It can be used to help select tree species for planting at given locations in mapped countries.

Other portals and databases referred to by the Switchboard, with links to individual species (22 databases)

(The date when hyperlinks were last established is given in italics.)

• African Orphan Crops Consortium (AOCC; http://africanorphancrops.org; August 2018). AOCC’s goal is to sequence, assemble, annotate and publish in open-access databases the genomes of 101 traditional African food crops. This is to support plant breeders to improve the crops and help provide solutions to Africa’s currently poor nutritional security.
• CABI Forestry Compendium (CABI; https://www.cabi.org/fc/search/; April 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The CABI Forestry Compendium is a comprehensive, encyclopaedic resource for information on tree and woody plant species. It covers, in detail, pests that damage trees. Included in the Switchboard are species obtained via searches for Full Datasheets for Trees and for Bamboos and Rattans. Note that access to the Full Datasheets requires a subscription payment.
• ECHOcommunity Plant Search (ECHO; https://www.echocommunity.org/en/search/plants?q=*; February 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). Species are included in the Switchboard from the various categories of Plant Information Pages provided by the online collaborative membership community of ECHO. ECHO exists to reduce hunger and improve lives through agricultural training and resources.
• eHALOPH (University of Sussex; https://www.sussex.ac.uk/affiliates/halophytes/; January 2022). This database provides descriptions of salt-tolerant plants, including the 1,554 species included in James Aronson’s 1989 publication HALOPH: a data base of salt tolerant plants of the world.
• EUFORGEN (European Forest Genetic Resources Programme; http://www.euforgen.org/species/; January 2022). For 107 species, the website provides a short species description, distribution maps, and technical guidelines for genetic conservation and use.
• Feedipedia (INRA, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO; https://www.feedipedia.org/; January 2022). This is an open-access information system on animal feed resources. It provides information on the nature, occurrence, chemical composition, nutritional value and safe use of nearly 1,400 livestock feeds globally.
• GRIN-Global World Economic Plants (USDA; https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearcheco.aspx; January 2022). Species listed in the Switchboard are those that were retrieved by a specialised query on World Economic Plants among the GRIN-Global Taxonomy for Plants.
• INBAR Species Selection (INBAR; https://speciestool.inbar.int/; January 2020; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The INBAR Bamboo and Rattan Species Selection tool is designed to help users to select the right species for the right purpose and right habitat. The tool contains sets of environmental parameters (such as soil and climatic conditions) and product development parameters to aid in selection.
• New World Fruits Database (Bioversity International; http://nwfdb.bioversityinternational.org/list/; August 2018). This database provides information on fruit and plant uses, and distributions and origins, for over 1,200 fruit species from North and South America.
• NewCROP Database (Purdue University; http://nwfdb.bioversityinternational.org/list/; August 2018). The NewCROP (New Crops Resource Online Program) database is an information-rich site related to crop plants that was developed by the Purdue University Center for New Crops and Plant Products.
• OPTIONs Pesticidal Plants Database (OPTIONs; http://projects.nri.org/options/background/plants-database; August 2018). This database, constructed to optimise the application of predominantly indigenous plants as pesticides in Africa, provides factsheets on plant use.
• Oxford Plants 400 (University of Oxford; https://herbaria.plants.ox.ac.uk/bol/plants400; April 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). As a celebration of the anniversary marking 400 years of botanical research and teaching at the University, 400 plants of scientific and cultural importance were profiled.
• Pacific Island Agroforestry Species (AGROFORESTRY.NET; http://www.agroforestry.net/2014-03-04-10-18-01; August 2018). Species-specific chapters of a 2006 publication covering the ecology, economics and culture of Pacific Island agroforestry can be downloaded individually.
• PROSEA (PROSEA; https://www.prota4u.org/prosea; January 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The Plant Resources of South-East Asia online database provides information on the plant resources of South-East Asia for more than 6,000 taxa, including on uses, botany, ecology, genetic resources and available literature.
• PROTA4U (PROTA; http://www.prota4u.org/; January 2022) The Plant Resources of Tropical Africa online database (PROTA4U) provides information on the plant resources of Tropical Africa, including on uses, botany, ecology, genetic resources and available literature. Only 'PROTA Existing' species were included in the Switchboard, not the 'Starter kits'.
• Seed Leaflets (University of Copenhagen [Forest and Landscape Denmark, formerly the Danida Forest Seed Centre]; http://www.sl.ku.dk/rapporter/seed-leaflets; January 2022). These species-specific leaflets provide short descriptions of tropical trees, with particular emphasis on seed issues. This includes on appropriate methods for seed harvest, treatment, storage and sowing.
• SoFT (CSIRO, CIAT and ILRI; http://www.tropicalforages.info/; January 2022). The Selection of Forages for the Tropics (SoFT) tool provides information on 180 forage species, including on plants’ agronomy, feed value, production potential and seed production.
• The tropiTree Database (JHI and ICRAF; http://ics.hutton.ac.uk/tropiTree/; August 2018). The Tropical Tree Expressed Transcripts, SSR Markers and Primer Pairs (tropiTree) Database provides assembled expressed transcripts from an RNA-seq study of a set of 24 important tropical trees, along with markers designed to amplify microsatellites discovered within sequences.
• The Wood Database (Eric Meier; http://www.wood-database.com; January 2022). The database provides profiles for a range of several hundred woods used globally. It includes information on specific gravity, modulus of rupture, shrinkage, grain and workability.
• Tropical Timbers: Lesser Used Species (ITTO; http://www.tropicaltimber.info/; June 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The website informs on the properties, uses and availability of lesser-used tropical timber species.
• USDA Plants Database (USDA; https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/home; May 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The Plants Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories. The Switchboard includes links for species that were retrieved via the search options of ‘Characteristics Search’ and ‘Fact Sheets/Plant Guides’.
• Useful Tropical Plants Database (http://tropical.theferns.info/; January 2022). This database contains information on the edible, medicinal and many other uses of more than 10,000 plants that can be grown in tropical regions.

Portals specific to potentially invasive species referred to by the Switchboard, with links to individual species (2 databases)

(The date when hyperlinks were last established is given in italics.)

• CABI Invasive Species Compendium (CABI; http://www.cabi.org/isc; April 2022 This compendium provides information on invasive organisms globally, including uses, means of dispersal, risks, invasiveness impacts and means of control. Included in the switchboard were species of the Plants Kingdom. Note that Datasheet types include ‘Invasive Species’ and ‘Host Plants’.
• Global Invasive Species Database (IUCN; http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/; January 2022). This database was developed and is managed by the Invasive Species Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. It provides information about alien and invasive species, including plants, which negatively impact native biodiversity and natural areas. Included in the switchboard were species of the Plants Kingdom.

(Check here for ICRAF’s Invasive Alien Species Policy.)

Other databases referred to by the Switchboard, spreadsheets and publications containing individual species (13 databases)

(The date of last establishment of taxon presence or absence in each database is given in italics.)

• Árboles de Centroamérica (OFI-CATIE; https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/9730; October 2003; in Spanish). This sourcebook provides factsheets for 204 indigenous Mesoamerican tree species. It describes species’ biologies and uses across the full spectrum of on-farm planting, ecological restoration and natural regeneration situations.
• BIOMASS package Wood Density data (https://cran.r-project.org/package=BIOMASS; January 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This R package includes the Global Wood Density Database as the wdData data.frame. The Switchboard only includes species-specific matches for species that were otherwise listed in the Switchboard.
• Commercial Timber Tree Species (Jennifer Mark, Adrian C. Newton; Sara Oldfield and Malin Rivers; https://www.bgci.org/resources/bgci...rking-list-of-commercial-timber-tree-species/; November 2014; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This working list of tree species that are internationally traded for timber was produced by combining 17 contemporary open-access resources which list commercial timbers, including trade reports and publications from conservation organisations.
• Especies para restauración (IUCN; https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/ST-GFE-no.03.pdf; August 2018; in Spanish). This database provides factsheets on mostly Mesoamerican plant species. Information includes botanical and local names, distributions, habitats, and propagation and silvicultural methods, with a view to supporting restoration initiatives.
• Extrafloral Nectaries (Marjorie Weber, Laura Porturas and Kathy Keeler; http://www.extrafloralnectaries.org/; January 2022). The World List of Plants with Extrafloral Nectaries includes plants with extranuptial nectaries, circumfloral nectaries, postfloral nectaries and foliar nectaries. More than 4,000 angiosperms species are currently indicated to have extrafloral nectaries.
• Global Database of Plant Services for Humankind (Rafael Molina-Venegas, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Manual Pardo-de-Santayana and David J. Mabberley https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253069; June 2021; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This database is a genus-level dataset of plant-use records for all accepted vascular plant taxa (13,489 genera). It uses the information gathered in the 4th Edition of Mabberley’s Plant-book. Only genera with at least one category of use were included in the Switchboard.
• Global Species Matrix (Eric Toensmeier; http://carbonfarmingsolution.com/plant-species-lists; July 2018). This matrix of around 700 plant entries, which includes information on plants’ origins, uses and management practices, is a searchable Excel file. It was published as an electronic supplement to Appendix A of The Carbon Farming Solution, which is concerned with practical solutions to climate change. The information from the Global Species Matrix is also available via https://pfaf.org/user/CarbonFarmingSolution.html.
• GlobAllomeTree (http://www.globallometree.org/; April 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). GlobAllomeTree, created in 2013, was the first international web platform to share and provide access to tree allometric equations. Since then, wood densities, biomass expansion factors, and raw data have been added to the platform. Species included in the Switchboard were those that had been downloaded separately for allometric equations, raw data and wood density data. A free account is required to browse the data available on the GlobAllomeTree site.
• GlobalTreeSearch 1.5 (BGCI; https://www.bgci.org/global_tree_search.php; Version 1.5; September 2021; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This database includes information on close to 60,000 tree species, including their country distributions. It can be used to discover all tree species known in a country.
• GlobalTreeSearch 1.6 (BGCI; https://www.bgci.org/global_tree_search.php; Version 1.6; May 2022; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This database includes information on close to 60,000 tree species, including their country distributions. It can be used to discover all tree species known in a country. (Note: two versions of GlobalTreeSearch are included on the Switchboard as the tree species lists only partially overlap; GlobalTreeSearch 1.6 became available only after a first draft of the Switchboard Version 3.0 had been compiled.)
• Tropical Forestry Handbook Species Files (Laslo Pancel; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41554-8_112-3; November 2015; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The article Species Files in Tropical Forestry lists the 215 most frequently used species for plantations, including trees, bamboos and rattans. The corresponding species files list the main features which are necessary to have an appropriate knowledge for decision-making on species: botanical name, taxonomy, natural occurrence, climate, soils, silviculture, production, planting objectives, timber, utilization, nursery management, and pests and diseases.
• TRY Database (Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/dp.php; Version 4.1; January 2022). In 2007 the TRY project was initiated, aimed at bringing together the different plant trait databases worldwide. TRY version 5, released in March 2019, contains almost 11 million trait records for 2,100 traits of 4 million individual plants, representing 160,000 plant taxa. Species included in the Switchboard are those that could be directly matched with World Flora Online after downloading a list of taxa as text file from the TRY Database website.
• World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (Mauricio Diazgranados et al.; https://kew.iro.bl.uk/concern/datasets/7243d727-e28d-419d-a8f7-9ebef5b9e03e?locale=en; 2020; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). In 2016, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew published the first State of the World's Plants report. One of its highlights was the compilation of a list of 31,128 plant species with a documented human use, from ten datasets (Diazgranados et al. 2018). The World Checklist of Useful Plant Species added the datasets from the Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS version 8.2), the Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) and the Useful Plants of New Guinea lists, for a total of 40,292 species.

Other databases

The Switchboard also provides hyperlinks to an additional eighteen relevant portals/databases. These are described below. Whether or not a particular species in the Switchboard is present in each of these resources has not been established – that is, direct cross-referencing has not been carried out. Users can however themselves search for the presence or absence of species.

• eFloras (Missouri Botanic Garden; http://efloras.org/). This is an online collection of various national flora.
• EOL (Smithsonian Institution and others; http://eol.org/). The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), compiled from existing databases and contributors, aims to document all life on Earth
• Euro+Med PlantBase (Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem; http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/query.asp). This integrates and critically evaluates information from multiple sources for the flora of the Euro-Mediterranean region. Sources include the Flora Europaea, the Med-Checklist and the Flora of Macaronesia.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF; http://www.gbif.org/). This is the biggest biodiversity database available on the internet.
• GlobalTree Portal (BGCI; https://www.bgci.org/resources/bgci-databases/globaltree-portal/; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). This portal, hosted by Botanic Gardens Conservation International, provides access to information on the world’s nearly 60,000 tree species. Tree species distributions, conservation statuses (global and non-global), and conservation actions, can be explored.
• IUCN Red List (IUCN; http://www.iucnredlist.org/). This database provides an extract of the information compiled for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Information includes on taxonomies, conservation statuses and distributions for plants, fungi and animals evaluated against IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
• JSTOR Plant Science compilation (http://plants.jstor.org/). This database provides a quick view of all the resources in the JSTOR database related to a particular plant.
• Palmweb (https://palmweb.org/; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). Palmweb is an authoritative source of information about palms, one of the most important plant families in the world. It contains data compiled by palm diversity experts for all 2,585 palm species and 188 genera.
• Pl@ntNet (https://plantnet.org/en/). Pl@ntNet is a tool to help identify plants with pictures. It is organized in different thematic and geographical floras.
• Plants of the World online (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/). This portal was launched in March 2017 with a focus on key tropical African Floras - Flora Zambesiaca, Flora of West Tropical Africa and Flora of Tropical East Africa specifically. The aim of the portal is to enable users to access information on all the world’s known seed-bearing plants.
• PlantSearch (BGCI; https://www.bgci.org/plant_search.php). This is a global database of living plant, seed and tissue collections. It is hosted by Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
• PROTA4U (PROTA; http://www.prota4u.org/) This database is listed above under “Other portals and databases”, but the links given above do not include the starterkits. These are additional records containing non-validated information obtained from PROTA’s supporting databases and mined from the internet.
• PROSEA (PROSEA; https://www.prota4u.org/prosea). The Plant Resources of South-East Asia online database provides information on the plant resources of South-East Asia for more than 6,000 taxa, including on uses, botany, ecology, genetic resources and available literature. As a complete species list can’t be directly downloaded from the website, this database was included in the Switchboard both as ‘Other database’ and ‘Search database’.
• Species+ (UNEP and WCMC; http://www.speciesplus.net/). This database includes information on all species that are listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
• Tropicos (Missouri Botanic Garden; http://www.tropicos.org). This information source contains nomenclatural, bibliographic and specimen data accumulated over several decades in the Missouri Botanic Garden’s electronic databases.
• USDA National Plant Germplasm System (https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysimple.aspx). This site allows query of the USDA National Plant Germplasm System database for germplasm and taxonomy information. The site also provides access to the USDA National Plant Germplasm System more widely.
• World Flora Online (http://www.worldfloraonline.org/; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The World Flora Online is an open-access, web-based compendium of the world’s plant species. It is a collaborative, international project, building upon existing knowledge and published floras, checklists and revisions. The project represents a step forward in developing a consolidated global information service on the world’s flora.
• World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew; https://wcvp.science.kew.org/; new database for Switchboard Version 3.0). The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is a global consensus view of all known vascular plant species (flowering plants, conifers, ferns, clubmosses and firmosses). It is based on Kew’s names and taxonomic backbone which has been created by reconciling the names from the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) with the taxonomy from the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). This Beta version therefore only displays names in both IPNI and WCVP.

Databases that were available in Version 2 but are excluded from Version 3.0

The following databases were excluded from Version 3 of the database, for the reasons indicated:

• Tree Seed Suppliers Directory (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/output/tree-seed-suppliers-directory; previously listed among the ‘ICRAF databases’) This directory was excluded as it has not been updated recently.
• Ecocrop (FAO; previously available via http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home; previously listed among the ‘Other databases’). The website has been unavailable for several years.
• MAPFORGEN (LAFORGEN; http://www.mapforgen.org/; previously listed among the ‘Other databases’). Species-specific information is unavailable.
• USDA Food Composition Databases (previously listed among the ‘Other databases’). The website is no longer available.
• Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (IUCN; http://www.griis.org/; previously listed among the ‘Invasive species databases’). Data is now only available via hundreds of different data sets, which make it impractical to update Switchboard links.
• ePIC (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; previously listed among the ‘Search databases’). The Electronic Plant Information Centre (ePIC) no longer functions. As an alternative, users can check with the Plants Of the World Online, listed above.
• Genesys (https://www.genesys-pgr.org/welcome; previously listed among the ‘Search databases’). It is no longer possible to create hyperlinks that explicitly include species names for this database.
• The PLANTS database (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov; previously listed among the ‘Search databases’). It is no longer possible to create hyperlinks that explicitly include species names for this database.
• The Plant List (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden; http://www.theplantlist.org/; previously listed among the ‘Search databases’). The Plant List has been static since 2013, but was used as the starting point for the Taxonomic Backbone of the World Flora Online (WFO). Users should check the link to World Flora Online above.

Which taxa (including species, subspecies, varieties and genera) are included in the Switchboard?

The list of taxa in Version 3.0 of the Switchboard is a compilation of all those recorded in the 45 main information sources indicated above. As already noted, the Switchboard is not restricted to woody plants, but these taxa are CIFOR-ICRAF’s primary concern and database selection in the Switchboard reflects this.

We exclude links for plant names provided only at the family level. Also excluded are names judged to be vernacular, when manually inspecting species with fuzzy matches using the process described below.

Detailed information on standardization of botanical names

The majority of plants are listed in the Switchboard according to their currently accepted botanical name. To ensure this nomenclature was adopted, we first checked individual species lists for the different databases against the Taxonomic Backbone version 2021.12 of World Flora Online (WFO) with the WorldFlora package (version 1.10; functions WFO.match and WFne; Kindt 2020). Taxa where fuzzy matches were encountered between the submitted name and the name in the taxonomic backbone – these could be current names or synonyms used to retrieve the current name – were manually verified where matching distances were 2 or 1. When the fuzzy match was accepted as a credible match during the manual verification, this was indicated as ‘manual’ in a separate field of ‘Match Type’ in the Switchboard (for a detailed description of direct and fuzzy matches and the matching distance, see Kindt 2020; for similar scripting pipelines used for standardization of plant names, see this Rpub). Information on the type of matching is provided in the Switchboard when searching for a taxon (see this example) and when showing hyperlinks (see this example).

An exception was made in the first step for the TRY Database, where only direct matches were considered among the 279,875 accepted species names that were downloaded.

In a second step, we checked a consolidated list of species that had not yet been matched directly or manually against the Taxonomic Backbone version 8 of the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP), again using the WorldFlora package. The same process was used to manually verify fuzzy matches.

In a third step, we checked accepted names from the WCVP with the WFO, again by using the WorldFlora package and the taxonomic backbone of WFO. This was done for situations where a synonym had been included in the WCVP but not in the WFO, as in this example.

Via the process described here, names from the different databases were matched as follows:

• 489,147 (99.5%) names were matched with the WFO, the majority being 485,293 (99.2%) direct matches (included were 318 ‘direct matches via the WCVP’).
• 1,373 names were matched with the WCVP, the majority being 1,359 direct matches.
• 881 names (< 0.2%) could not be matched.

The process resulted in 247,204 unique standardized plant names, 245,570 that were matched with WFO and 839 that were matched with the WCVP.

Among the unique names matched with the WFO, 243,770 had the taxonomic status of ‘ACCEPTED’, 1,483 had the status of ‘UNCHECKED’ and 317 had the status of ‘DOUBTFUL’. Among the unique names matched with the WCVP, 821 were accepted.

The unique accepted names in the WFO and the WCVP corresponded to 238,768 (96.9%) names at the species level and 5,884 (2.4%) names at the genus level. One of the new databases, the Global Database of Plant Services for Humankind, provides information only at genus level.

Further information in the Switchboard on sources of plant names

Notations in the Switchboard given after the plant name provide the authority (if available from the consulted source) and the basis of the confirmation of the name, where WFO = The World Flora Online; and WCVP = World Checklist of Vascular Plants. The basis of confirmation also includes a statement on whether the match was direct (e.g., WFO Accepted) or manual after a fuzzy match (e.g., WCVP Manual).

Please be aware that the spelling and status (current or synonym) of plant names is a dynamically evolving field. We encourage users to recheck the current status of a species against WFO or WCVP by following the links given above to their respective websites.

Acknowledgment

The development of the Switchboard was made possible by support from the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA; supported by the CGIAR Fund Donors). This latest update specifically was supported by funds from the Provision of Adequate Tree Seed Portfolio in Ethiopia project (PATSPO), which is financed by the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative.

Any comments concerning the Switchboard can be sent to: [email protected]