An updated checklist of Mozambique’s vascular plants

Abstract

An updated checklist of Mozambique’s vascular plants is presented. It was compiled referring to several information sources such as existing literature, relevant online databases and herbaria collections. The checklist includes 7,099 taxa (5,957 species, 605 subspecies, 537 varieties), belonging to 226 families and 1,746 genera. There are 6,804 angiosperms, 257 pteridophytes, and 38 gymnosperms. A total of 6,171 taxa are native to Mozambique, while 602 are introduced and the remaining 326 taxa were considered as uncertain status. The endemism level for Mozambique’s flora was assessed at 9.59%, including 278 strict-endemic taxa and 403 near-endemic. 58.2% of taxa are herbaceous, while shrubs and trees account respectively for 26.5% and 9.2% of the taxa. The checklist also includes ferns (3.6%), lianas (1.7%), subshrubs (0.5%) and cycads (0.3%). Fabaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae are the three most represented families, with 891, 543 and 428 taxa, respectively. The extinction risk of 1,667 taxa is included, with 158 taxa listed as Vulnerable, 119 as Endangered and as 24 Critically Endangered. The geographical distribution, known vernacular names and plants traditional uses are also recorded.