A checklist of wild vascular plants in Xinjiang, China

In order to fully understand the current situation of wild vascular plant resources in Xinjiang and provide basic information for subsequent work, it is necessary to revise and update the wild vascular plant list in Xinjiang. Based on previous studies, we updated the list of wild vascular plants in Xinjiang through literature collection, specimen study, field investigation and the latest taxonomic research results. In total, the present checklist recorded 4,109 species belonging to 800 genera in 113 families (including infraspecific taxa, the same below), with 52 species of lycopods and ferns in 23 genera and 14 families, 22 species of gymnosperms in 6 genera and 3 families, and 4,035 species of angiosperms in 771 genera and 96 families. The top 4 families of lycopods and ferns with the largest number of species were Aspleniaceae (9 species), Equisetaceae (8 species), Dryopteridaceae (7 species) and Cystopteridaceae (7 species), and the largest genus was Asplenium (9 species). Ephedraceae (11 species) and Ephedra (11 species) were the most abundant families and genera of gymnosperms. Angiosperms are the most important components of wild vascular plants in Xinjiang, accounting for 85.0%, 96.4% and 98.2% of the total number of families, genera and species, respectively. The top 5 families with the largest number of species are Asteraceae (600 species), Fabaceae (465 species), Poaceae (423 species), Brassicaceae (215 species) and Ranunculaceae (181 species). The top 5 genera were Astragalus (212 species), Oxytropis (101 species), Carex (86 species), Artemisia (65 species) and Allium (64 species). In addition, the list covers 53 species and subspecific taxa in 41 genera and 20 families of suspected species in Xinjiang, 59 species of protected plants in 26 genera and 20 families in China; 125 species of protected plants in 73 genera and 46 families in Xinjiang; there are 95 species of threatened plants in 61 genera and 38 families. This study can provide basic data for the revision of Xinjiang Flora and biodiversity conservation.