Melanesian and Micronesian floral region

views updated

Melanesian and Micronesian floral region Part of R. Good's (1974, The Geography of the Flowering Plants) Polynesian floral subkingdom, within his Palaeotropical floral kingdom, and geographically coinciding with Micronesia (Marianas, Carolines, Marshall, Kiribati, and Tuvalu) and Melanesia (New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji, but not New Caledonia). The flora is not rich and although there is an appreciable endemic (see endemism) component at the species level, most of the species belong to large, widespread genera. The status of the endemism is not high, therefore, and reflects the fact that the flora is largely derived from Malesia to the west. See also floral province and floristic region.