Floristic element
floristic element (noun,biogeography term, pl. floristic elements) – a virtual group of plants or plant-like organisms that show the same or similar distribution patterns. The term is an important part of floristics, the science that examines the cause of plant distribution. Two examples may help to understand the concept of a floristic element: (1) Lichens that grow only at alpine elevations in Central Europe are typically much more abundant towards the North or even the Arctic, where they also occur at low elevations. Thus, these alpine lichens form an arctic floristic element of the central European flora. (2) Amanita muscaria, the Fly Agaric, is a common mushroom of coniferous forests. In Central Europe these forests were naturally restricted to high elevations. Throughout Europe large spruce plantations, however, led to a massive range extension of the Fly Agaric. This fungus thus originally represented an boreal floristic element that, however, now is a well established part of the central European flora.
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