Aims: Due to the application of new technologies, more extensive field surveys, and data sharing, researchers are continuously discovering and describing new plant species, leading to a constant increase in the number of known plant species worldwide. Annual analysis of the published data of new vascular plant taxa not only enriches our understanding of plant diversity but also provides a crucial foundation for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.

Methods: The data were derived from the IPNI (https://www.ipni.org/), Tropicos (https://www.tropicos.org/), and WCSP (https://wcsp.science.kew.org/). Statistics of new taxa of vascular plants published in 2023 were available as of April 30, 2024 excluding new combinations, new statuses or new names and bryophyte data.

Results: In 2023, at least 2,316 new taxa of vascular plants (based on data available as of April 30, 2024; the final number will increase by ca. 20% and to ca. 2,900) were described worldwide, including 1 new family, 11 new subfamily, 4 new supertribes, 7 new tribes, 3 new subtribes, 102 new genera, 9 new subgenera, 41 new sections, 8 new subsections, 5 new series, 1,967 new species, 79 new subspecies, 67 new varieties, and 12 new forms. These new taxa belonged to 162 families and 914 genera, among which Orchidaceae, Asteraceae, and Rubiaceae were the top three families with the most new taxa described. The 2,316 new taxa of vascular plants were described worldwide in 192 journals and 12 books by 1,983 scholars, of which 60 authors published more than 10 new taxa. Phytotaxa and PhytoKeys were the top two journals in terms of the numbers of new taxa of vascular plants published in 2023 and published 526 and 182 new taxa, respectively. Among the 2,125 new species and infraspecific taxa, 2,061 belonged to angiosperms, 58 to lycophytes and pteridophytes, and only 6 to gymnosperms, and 254 to Orchidaceae alone. The 2,125 new species and infraspecific taxa were from 115 countries and regions. Asia and South America were the hotspots of discoveries of new species and infraspecific taxa, with 873 and 506, respectively. By country, China, Brazil, and Mexico were the top three with the most new species and infraspecific taxa discovered in 2023, with 207, 197, and 116, respectively.