INDEX KEWENSIS

Inconsistencies and Pitfalls in Searching

• Family names:
• Index records are not updated when, for example, a genus is moved to a new family, thus all previous families to which a genus (or species) was ascribed are still in the index. For example, the genus Anthericum appears under both LILACEAE and ANTHERICACEAE.

  Older and/or conserved family names such as CRUCIFERAE remain, but the new family name BRASSICACEAE does not appear in the index; so if you don't find the family name, try the genus name.

• Genus names: All genera to which a species was previously ascribed will appear in the index records.

• Publication names are abbreviated; for the full title consult the Publications List. This list also gives the author of the publication.

• Author names have been listed inconsistently over the years. For example, author entries may be listed with two (or more) different abbreviations, or spelled out in full. For example, Linnaeus is abbreviated both "L." and "Linn." in IKew. A search using wildcard characters (see the database HELP on the toolbar) will usually help you to find all an author's records. (However, in the case of Linnaeus, searching with L* or L. is not efficient.)

  If you are using IKew and see a highlighted author link to APN, or vice versa, those links cannot be relied upon in every case since both databases originated as books, their writing was not a coordinated effort, and not all the links have even been made. It may therefore be more efficient to search APN directly for the author's name, but remember that IKew and APN do not necessarily use the same abbreviations.

• APN can also be accessed via the website http://www.us.ipni.org. This site has the most updated list of authors. It is not the same database as APN or IKew.