Human flora

Thu Dec 22 02:34:23 UTC 2011

Wiki is correct and OED is short, although there is the slight problem
of generalizing beyond humans. AHD generalizes a bit:

> The bacteria and other microorganisms that normally inhabit a bodily
> organ or part: /intestinal flora./

This has no references to either the species or the organ. Note that
human intestinal flora usually comes in the context of being
/beneficial/, while bovine intestinal flora is what every food
establishment is afraid of--contaminants (E. coli).

Collins takes a different approach--forget the definition of
"flora"--it's just a truncation.

> short for 'intestinal flora'

MWOLD has a complete cop-out:

> plant or bacterial life; /especially/ *:* such life characteristic of
> a region, period, or special environment <fossil /flora/> <intestinal
> /flora/> — compare 'fauna'

Special environment? I believe, it's a bit more specialized than that.
Petri dish flora? Bread crust flora? I don't think so. But, it seems,
non-bacterial, non-plant species (e.g., yeast, molds and fungi) should
be included (of course, some would still say that yeast, molds and fungi
are plants).

WordNet has a more basic definition that encompasses all of the above:

> a living organism lacking the power of locomotion

That certainly incorporates everything but trades off the nuances. I
like InfoPlease (Random House Unabridged, actually) because it
incorporates pretty much everything there is to say about it:

> 1. the plants of a particular region or period, listed by species and
> considered as a whole.
> 2. a work systematically describing such plants.
> 3. plants, as distinguished from fauna.
> 4. the aggregate of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms normally
> occurring on or in the bodies of humans and other animals: /intestinal
> flora./

The problem in the OED flora 3.b. is not so much the restriction to
"plants or plant life" as the supposed meaning of "plants or plant
life". It seems clear that, at least for some OED editors, "plant or
plant life" included things that are not classified as "plant or plant
life" today (or, in some cases, ever). To get the full perspective, go
to the definition of plant n.1 2.a.

> 2. a. /gen./ and /Biol./ A living organism other than an animal, able
> to subsist wholly on inorganic substances, typically fixed to a
> substrate and moving chiefly by means of growth, and lacking
> specialized sensory and digestive organs; /spec./ (more fully green
> plant) such an organism belonging to a group (the kingdom /Plantae/)
> which comprises multicellular forms having cellulose cell walls and
> capable of photosynthesis by means of chlorophyll, including trees,
> shrubs, herbs, grasses, and ferns (the vascular or higher plants), and
> also mosses and liverworts (the bryophytes). Freq. /spec./: a small
> (esp. herbaceous) organism of this kind, as distinguished from a tree
> or shrub; (in informal use) such an organism grown for or known by its
> foliage or fruit, as distinguished from a ‘flower’.
> [Bacteria, formerly classified in the kingdom /Plantae/, have now been
> removed to a separate kingdom, and would generally not be referred to
> as plants. However, in the broadest (non-technical) sense, the term
> still may include fungi (and lichens), which are now classified in a
> separate kingdom, but were formerly regarded as lower (non-vascular)
> plants, together with algae and bryophytes. The position of algae is
> also equivocal: many scientific writers exclude them from the kingdom
> /Plantae/ (placing them in the kingdom /Protista/ or /Protoctista/),
> but green algae are still sometimes treated as lower plants, and
> non-technical use of the word ‘plant’ would often include
> multicellular algae (e.g. seaweeds).]

The explanatory note makes it clear that the old definition is preserved
as a historical artifact. The trouble is that other articles that use
this definition need to be rewritten to make sure that this issue is fixed.

I also have to ask if plant n.1 II. 5.a. and derivatives is not derived
from plant n.3 rather than plant n.1.

Plant n.1
> 5. a. The premises, fittings, and equipment of a business or (chiefly
> /N. Amer./) of an institution; a factory, a place where an industrial
> process is carried out. In extended use: the workers employed at a
> business, institution, or factory. Freq. with modifying word.

Plant n.3
> *Etymology:* < French †/plant/ (see plan n., and compare the Italian
> cognate cited at that entry). Compare earlier plan n.
> /Obs./ /rare/. A ground plan.

VS-)

On 12/21/2011 7:42 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
> Definition 3a of "flora" in the OED says: "The plants or plant life of any particular type of environment."
>
> There are four citations that relate to human/animal flora (the first one possibly not so):
>
> -----
> 1908    Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 5 285   The gas ratio is not an especially important characteristic in mixed fecal flora.
> 1908    Jrnl. Biol. Chem. 5 296   The influence of these organisms upon the intestinal flora of mice.
> 1939    A. Huxley After Many a Summer i. v. 65   He began to talk ... bout fatty alcohols and the intestinal flora of carp.
> 1971    Nature 8 Jan. 120/1   The resident flora of the external auditory canal.
> -----
>
> The problem is that these flora are not plants or plant life (or at least mostly not so). The Wikipedia entry on gut flora (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_flora) says:
>
> -----
> Bacteria make up most of the flora in the colon and up to 60% of the dry mass of feces. Somewhere between 300 and 1000 different species live in the gut, with most estimates at about 500. However, it is probable that 99% of the bacteria come from about 30 or 40 species. Fungi and protozoa also make up a part of the gut flora, but little is known about their activities.
> ----
>
> Benjamin Barrett
> Seattle, WA

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