Sharing information between projects A brief overview of

Sharing information between projects A brief overview of some Kew “key” projects, potential areas of overlap and possible exchange mechanisms.

“All plants are hybrids, but some are greater bastards than others” Franz Thonner (photo L Grillich, Vienna 1910) from “Thonner’s analytical key to the families of flowering plants”

Contents … • Overview of some Kew projects • Where are there areas of likely overlap between different types of project? • What needs to be considered when sharing data? - Tracking taxa, characters and intellectual property. • A suggestion.

Pioneers Taxonomic categories Database Geographical coverage Grass species spp Global Elaeocarpaceae spp Global Brunei rattans spp Brunei Laos rattans spp Laos Borneo rattans spp Borneo Euphorbiaceae genera Global Ochnaceae genera Global Salicaceae s. l. & Achariaceae s. l. genera Global Malesian plants fams/gen/spp Malesia (+ Indochina) African plants fams/gen Africa (sub Saharan) Neotropical plants fams neotropics World Grass Species Database – D. Clayton et. al Elaeocarpaceae (Elaeocarpus) – M. Coode

Rattans from SE Asia Taxonomic categories Database Geographical coverage Grass species spp Global Elaeocarpaceae spp Global Brunei rattans spp Brunei Laos rattans spp Laos Borneo rattans spp Borneo Euphorbiaceae genera Global Ochnaceae genera Global Salicaceae s. l. & Achariaceae s. l. genera Global Malesian plants fams/gen/spp Malesia (+ Indochina) African plants fams/gen Africa (sub Saharan) Neotropical plants fams neotropics Rattans of Brunei – Kirkup, Dransfield & Sanderson [CD] Rattans of Laos – Evans & Kirkup [CD, www] Rattans of Borneo – Dransfield & Patel [CD]

Malpighiales Taxonomic categories Database Geographical coverage Grass species spp Global Elaeocarpaceae spp Global Brunei rattans spp Brunei Laos rattans spp Laos Borneo rattans spp Borneo Euphorbiaceae genera Global Ochnaceae genera Global Salicaceae s. l. & Achariaceae s. l. genera Global Malesian plants fams/gen/spp Malesia (+ Indochina) African plants fams/gen Africa (sub Saharan) Neotropical plants fams neotropics Genera of Euphorbiaceae s. l. – Hoffmann, Kirkup, Galster, Challen & Radcliffe-Smith Genera of Salicaceae & Achariaceae s. l. – Zmarzty & Kirkup Genera of Ochnaceae – Kirkup [All on www]

Regional keys Taxonomic categories Database Geographical coverage Grass species spp Global Elaeocarpaceae spp Global Brunei rattans spp Brunei Laos rattans spp Laos Borneo rattans spp Borneo Euphorbiaceae genera Global Ochnaceae genera Global Salicaceae s. l. & Achariaceae s. l. genera Global Malesian plants fams/gen/spp Malesia (+ Indochina) African plants fams/gen Africa (sub Saharan) Neotropical plants fams neotropics Key to Malesian Plants – Malesian Key Group [CD, www] Key to African Plants – K, SANBI, WAG, Ethiopia & Kenya Key Neotropical Plant families – K others?

Areas of potential overlap Upper triangle – Character concepts and feature images Lower triangle – Taxon concepts (coded descriptions) and specimen images

1. Tracking Taxon Concepts • • Name, synonymy Literature reference Specimen lists Geographical distribution Description (which could be coded) Taxon Concept Schema (TCS) Each TC can have a unique ID

2. Tracking Character Concepts • • • Abstract part (leaf length, flower colour) Expression (leaf 5 cm long, flowers blue) Usage (i. e. a list of TCs) CCs change! Structured Descriptive Data (SDD) Tracks the abstract part but not the expression (“characters” vs “states”)? ? • Early days …

GBIF TAPIR trashes SDD

3. Tracking IPR • • Copyright (images, data, software) Database rights (structured data) Methods Partly managed by TCS and SDD standards • XML so easily extended (in house) • Standards would need to be formally changed

We could … • Develop a shared feature list that would at least be useful for regional keys to higher taxa (genera). • Illustrate these features with “standard” drawings and develop ways of linking to specimen & other images in TOAD. • Develop methods for Concept and IPR tracking in conjunction with external projects (eg. Identify. Life).