Abstract:

Aims: In order to understand the current status of wild vascular plant resources in Jiangxi Province and to provide basic information for the further development of biodiversity conservation, it is necessary to revise and update the checklist of vascular plants in Jiangxi.
Method: Based on previous checklists and references, we updated the checklist of wild vascular plants in Jiangxi Province through further historical collections, newly published records and data analysis, as well as the field investigation results conducted by the authors in recent 10 years. The checklist was compiled according to the latest classification of vascular plants, and the distribution of each species at the county and municipal level was verified based on the information of voucher specimens.
Results: In total, the present checklist recorded 4,761 species (including infraspecific taxa) belonging to 1,253 genera in 214 families, with 444 species of pteridophytes in 103 genera and 35 families, 36 species of gymnosperms in 21 genera and 5 families, and 4,281 species of angiosperms in 1,129 genera and 174 families. In pteridophytes, the top five largest families of pteridophytes are Dryopteridaceae (84), Polypodiaceae (55), Pteridaceae (49), Athyriaceae (47) and Thelypteridaceae (47), while Dryopteris (40) is the largest genus of pteridophytes. In gymnosperms, the largest family and genus with the highest number of species are Pinaceae (including 7 genera and 12 species) and Pinus (5), respectively. In angiosperms, the top five largest families are Poaceae (315), Asteraceae (241), Rosaceae (228), Lamiaceae (200), and Fabaceae (197), while the top six largest genera are Carex (71), Rubus (66), Ilex (56), Persicaria (40), Lysimachia (37) and Rhododendron (37), respectively.
Conclusions: Angiosperms are the main constituent of wild vascular plants in Jiangxi Province with 81.3%, 90.1% and 89.9% proportion of the total families, genera and species, respectively. Meanwhile, vascular plant field surveys in Jiangxi Province showed regional unevenness, we therefore recommend that it is necessary to increase the breadth and depth of follow-up field surveys. Furthermore, we call for the strengthening of specialized taxonomic studies on particular families and genera, which will help to revise and update the checklist further.

Key words: biodiversity, species checklist, angiosperm, vascular plant, Jiangxi Province