XVI International Botanical Congess

Two major challenges of basic taxonomy are effective information delivery and user uptake. Various approaches using interactive keys and expert systems facilitate taxonomic work. Electronic applications can provide high quality science in a user friendly medium. The ability to click on a word & be shown an image enhances user interest and acceptance of complex systems. These mechanisms provide attractive and cost effective means of making information more widely available, data so compiled can be used in areas as diverse as biodiversity management and public relations. An important challenge for herbaria and taxonomy is to harness these bioinformatic advances to enhance documentation of floras and encourage projects complementary to the production of revisions and monographs while avoiding competitive resourcing problems.