The cataloging of the vascular plants of the Americas has a centuries-long history, but it is only in recent decades that an overview of the entire flora has become possible. We present an integrated assessment of all known native species of vascular plants in the Americas. Twelve regional and national checklists, prepared over the past 25 years and including two large ongoing flora projects, were merged into a single list. Our publicly searchable checklist includes 124,993 species, 6227 genera, and 355 families, which correspond to 33% of the 383,671 vascular plant species known worldwide. In the past 25 years, the rate at which new species descriptions are added has averaged 744 annually for the Americas, and we can expect the total to reach about 150,000.

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Comparison of the common floristic elements between the West Indies and the surrounding continents shows a mosaic of affinities that are stronger to Central America and South America as a whole than with either one of them separately or with North America. However, since only 28% of the total West Indian seed plant flora is shared with other geographic regions of the world, the referred exercise is of limited value. Numerous tables are provided to show the distribution of genera throughout the archipelago. The application of phylogenetic studies into the service of biogeography is herein regarded as the next necessary step in elucidating the origins and affinities of the West Indian flora.Resumen El estudio comparativo de los elementos florísticos que existen en común entre las Indias Occidentales y los continentes circundantes muestran un mosaico de afinidades más cercanas a Centro América y Sur América en su totalidad, que con cualquiera de ellos por separado o con Norte América. Sin embargo, este estudio es de valor limitado ya que solo el 28% del total de la flora de plantas con semillas en las Indias Occidentales es compartido con otras regiones del mundo. En este estudio, se muestran numerosas tablas resumiendo los valores de endemismos, la distribución de los géneros dentro y fuera del archipiélago, así como los géneros más especiosos. La utilización de estudios filogenéticos al servicio de la biogeografía en las Indias Occidentales es considerado como el próximo paso esencial para la elucidación del origen y de las afinidades de la flora Antillana.