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Floristic region
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fynbos in the Cape floristic region World map using color coding to show the distribution of major floral kingdoms, subkingdoms, and regions. Key floral kingdoms include Boreal (green), Neotropical (pink), Paleotropical (yellow), South African or Capensic (purple), Australian (orange), and Antarctic (blue). Boundaries for subkingdoms, regions, and divisions are marked with different colored lines, and major regions such as Indoafrican, North American, and Malesian are labeled across continents.
Quick Facts
Also called:
floristic kingdom or floral kingdom
Key People:
Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper
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fynbos in the Cape floristic region
fynbos in the Cape floristic region Fynbos in the Cape floristic region, Western Cape, South Africa.

Floristic region

ecological area
Also known as: floral kingdom, floristic kingdom
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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Last updated
•History

Floristic region, any of six areas of the world recognized by plant geographers for their distinctive plant life. These regions, which coincide closely with the faunal regions as mapped by animal geographers, are often considered with them as biogeographic regions. The chief difference is the recognition by plant geographers of the Cape region of South Africa as a distinct major unit because of its rich flora, which includes more than 1,500 genera, 30 percent of which are native nowhere else in the world.

The regions are: Boreal (North America, Europe, northern and central Asia, and North Africa), Palaeotropical (including African, Indo-Malaysian, and Polynesian subregions), Neotropical (South and Central America), South African, Australian, and Antarctic.

The Australian region is the most isolated, followed closely by the South American portion of the Neotropical region. Both of these areas contain a large number of unique plant species. Madagascar, long separated from Africa, is sometimes considered a separate region because of its unusual flora.

World map using color coding to show the distribution of major floral kingdoms, subkingdoms, and regions. Key floral kingdoms include Boreal (green), Neotropical (pink), Paleotropical (yellow), South African or Capensic (purple), Australian (orange), and Antarctic (blue). Boundaries for subkingdoms, regions, and divisions are marked with different colored lines, and major regions such as Indoafrican, North American, and Malesian are labeled across continents.
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biogeographic region: Flora
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.