The Hintons’ legacy to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico

Abstract

Background: The Hinton family comprises three generations of plant collectors that have made an important contribution to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico. They have collected in 13 Mexican states and have provided material for the description of 8 genera and about 555 species new to science. Question: What is the contribution of the collections of the Hintons to our knowledge of the flora of Mexico? Where was their main collecting effort and how many species have been recorded? Species study: Vascular plants Study site: Mexico Method: Different national and foreign databases were consulted and a list of species collected by the Hintons was obtained. The records were reviewed to eliminate synonymy and a complete list of species and their distribution by states was compiled. Results: A total of 28,947 records were obtained and 25,717 of them were identified to species level. In addition to the family's collection, the herbaria with the largest number of records are LL-TEX, K, IEB, and MEXU. The records come from about 2,752 different collecting localities throughout Mexico and account for 5,730 species, 1,573 genera, and 233 families. Conclusions: Many of the specimens collected by the Hintons come from areas that are still underexplored today. The contribution of the Hinton family to the knowledge of the flora of Mexico represents an important legacy and their collections constitute an enduring source of information for people interested in the flora of Mexico.