The Organization for Flora Neotropica (OFN), established in 1964, is the only organization with the mission of producing a published inventory of the plants of the entire New World tropics. This region, the Neotropics, supports the richest and most poorly known plant communities of any tropical flora. The main objective of OFN is the production of a Flora of the entire tropical American region published in a monographic series, Flora Neotropica. As of 1997, 75 monographs treating 7,346 species of fungi, lichens, mosses, and seed plants have been published.

In addition to the production of monographs, the goals of OFN are to: Aid botanists in obtaining the facilities needed for their work Establish collaboration among the world's botanical institutions doing research on the neotropical flora Facilitate training of future systematists Strengthen local herbaria and botanical institutions in Central and South America, and Promote the protection of natural vegetation in the Neotropics