Abstract:

Aims: To comprehensively understand the current status of wild vascular plant resources in Guangxi and provide basic information for the corresponding biodiversity conservation practice, it is necessary to revise and update the checklist of vascular plants in Guangxi.

Method: Based on the authors’ forthcoming book “Catalogue and Red List of Plant Species in Guangxi”, we updated the checklist of wild vascular plants in Guangxi.

Results: The results showed 262 families, 1,793 genera, 8,221 species, 57 subspecies, 460 varieties, and 1 form of wild vascular plant in Guangxi. Among them there were 36 families, 118 genera, 699 species, 3 subspecies, 13 varieties, and 1 form of lycophytes and pteridophytes; and 7 families, 21 genera, 60 species, and 5 forms of gymnosperm; 219 families, 1,654 genera, 7,462 species, 54 subspecies, and 442 forms of angiosperms. In addition, 129 families, 385 genera, 1,209 species, 2 subspecies, and 49 varieties of karst obligate plants were counted in this paper, accounting for 14.42% of the total taxa in Guangxi. The top ten largest families of karst obligate plants are Gesneriaceae, Asparagaceae, Orchidaceae, Rubiaceae, Urticaceae, Begoniaceae, Acanthaceae, Primulaceae, Lauraceae, and Euphorbiaceae. In contrast, the top ten largest genera are Primulina, Begonia, Aspidistra, Elatostema, Spiradiclis, Polystichum, Petrocodon, Lysimachia, Strobilanthes, and Paraboea, respectively. 4 genera (Metapilea, Heteroplexis, Allostigma, and Gyrogyne) and 901 species, 3 subspecies, and 61 varieties of vascular plants are endemic to Guangxi, accounting for 11.04% of the total species in Guangxi. A total of 349 taxa of vascular plants in Guangxi are on the List of National Key Protected Wild Plants (2021). It accounted for 33.46% of the species of wild vascular plants under national key protected wild plants in China.

Conclusions: The dynamic update of this checklist is the periodic summary and induction of wild vascular plants in Guangxi. There are still 253 suspected species to be confirmed. These species provide a clear direction for further improving the catalog of wild vascular plants in Guangxi. Therefore, this paper calls on related botanical researchers to conduct more in-depth investigations and research on wild vascular plant diversity in Guangxi.

Key words: Guangxi, vascular plant, biodiversity, checklist, new taxon, new record