The six floral kingdoms of biodiversity

We love when our alcohol-free endeavors and nature overlap (see our article Foraging for Mocktails in our Spring 2023 issue, “The Nature Issue”), almost as much as we love sharing new information with our readers! So when when we were researching our newest sponsor, Abstinence Spirits, we just had to share the information we learned about the floral kingdoms of the world.

Brought to you by AFTER partner, Abstinence Spirits

Includes affiliate links

Did you know the globe is divided into six “Floral Kingdoms” also known as “phytochorion,” each characterized by their unique subsets of biodiversity (and, logically, overlapping roughly with the six unique areas of animal diversity).

While most of these “kingdoms” cover large swaths of the earth, the tiniest and most diverse of the kingdoms is Cape Floral region which encompasses only the western half of South Africa and southern half of Namibia (see map below) and also happens to be one of the most diverse biospheres on earth.

Recognized as a World Heritage Site for it biodiversity the Cape Floral is home to over 9000 species of plants—60% of them not found elsewhere in the world—and the world’s most diverse population of non-tropical plants. One of the best known of these species is the Protea, a beautiful flowering plant with many different types, some of which are picturered on the Abstinence bottles. This plant is named after the Greek god Protea, son of Posseidon, revered for his ability to transform into many shapes.

See links below to learn more about the Floral Kingdoms of the world.

Sources & More information:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytochorion

https://www.britannica.com/science/floristic-region

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/plants/african-protea

https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots/cape-floristic-region/species

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The six floral kingdoms of biodiversity