science

Index Filicum

Index Filicum is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Index Filicum rather than just read about it. In short: Index Filicum is a discontinued series of botanical indices on ferns, started by Carl Christensen in 1906 and continued in the form of seven supplements by Christensen and other authors until 1997. As of supplement 5, the index also covered lycophytes and horsetails.

Key takeaways

Index Filicum belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Index Filicum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Index Filicum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Index Filicum is a discontinued series of botanical indices on ferns, started by Carl Christensen in 1906 and continued in the form of seven supplements by Christensen and other authors until 1997. As of supplement 5, the index also covered lycophytes and horsetails. There was an earlier work of the same name by Thomas Moore, published in eight volumes between 1857 and 1863. The forward to supplement seven stated that the supplements would be issued every five years from then on. However, since then, no further volume has been issued. Kew Gardens, the publisher of the two most recent supplements, has decided instead to rely on the International Plant Names Index (http://www.ipni.org/index.html — online).

Index Filicum volumes Index Filicum, sive Enumeratio Omnium Generum Specierumque Filicum et Hydropteridum, ab Anno 1753 ad Finem Anni 1905, Descriptorum adjectis Synonymis Principalibus, Area Geographica, etc.. by Christensen, Carl Frederik Albert. Hafniae apud H. Hagerup. 1906. lx/744/(2) pp., hardcover. Supplement I: Index Filicum, Supplementum (I) 1906-1912. by Christensen, Carl Frederik Albert. Hafniae apud H. Hagerup. 1913. vi/132 pp, hardcover. Supplement II: Index Filicum, Supplementum Preliminaire (II), pour les Annees 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916. by Christensen, Carl Frederik Albert. S. A. I Le Prince Bonaparte, Hafniae. 1917. iv/60 pp, hardcover. Supplement III: Index Filicum, Supplementum Tertium, pro Annis 1917-1933. by Christensen, Carl Frederik Albert. apud H. Hagerup. 1934. 220 pp, hardcover. Supplement IV: Index Filicum, Supplementum Quartum, pro Annis 1934-1960. by Pichi-Sermolli, Rudolfo E. G. International Bureau for Plant Taxonomy and Nomenclature, Utrecht, Netherlands. 1965. vi/370 pp, softcover. Supplement V: Index Filicum, Supplementum Quintum pro Annis 1961-1975. by Jarrett, F. M., with collab. of T. A. Bence et al. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1985. 400 pp, hardcover. ISBN 0-19-854579-7; B 84–29402. Supplement VI: Index Filicum: Supplementum Sextum [Supplement 6] pro annis 1976-1990. by Johns, R. J. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. 1996. 414pp, softcover. ISBN 1-900347-11-3. Supplement VII: Index Filicum: Supplementum Septimum [Supplement 7] Pro Annis 1991-1995. by Johns, R. J., P. J. Edwards, R. Davies and K. Challis. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. 1997. 124pp, softcover. ISBN 1-900347-26-1.

Other Relevant Indices Grimes, J. W., and B. S. Parris. Index of Thelypteridaceae. Kew Publishing, Kew Royal Botanical Garden, United Kingdom. 1986. 54pp, PB. ISBN 0-947643-03-6. Herter, W. G. Index Lycopodiorum. W. G. Herter, Basel. 1949. Øllgaard, Benjamin. Index of the Lycopodiaceae. Kongel. Danske Vidensk. Selsk., Biol. Skr. 34. Copenhagen. 1989. ISBN 87-7304-195-5. Reed, Clyde F. Index to Equisetophyta. Reed Herbarium, Baltimore, MD. 1971. Reed, Clyde F. Index Selaginellarum. Memorias da Sociedade Broteriana. 1966. Reed, Clyde F. Index Isoetales. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana. 1953. Reed, Clyde F. Index Psilotales. Boletim da Sociedade Broteriana, Vol. XL. 30/2 pp., PB. 1966.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Index Filicum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Index Filicum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Index Filicum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Index Filicum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Index Filicum

In research: Index Filicum appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Index Filicum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Index Filicum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ferns, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Index Filicum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Index Filicum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Index Filicum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Index Filicum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Index Filicum in simple terms?

Why does Index Filicum matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Index Filicum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Index Filicum.