Checklist of rust fungi (Pucciniales) occurring in Portugal

The order Pucciniales encompasses over 5000 recognised species, grouped in 120 genera. Commonly known as rust fungi, they are strict biotrophic pathogens of vascular plants, often responsible for important economic losses in agriculture and forestry. Other species are often uncommon and could be endangered. Portugal, including the Macaronesian archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, is geographically placed in a confluence point between Europe, Africa and America, and it may be a natural or human-driven entry-point of exotic biological entities into mainland Europe. In this work we have retrieved and analysed data for 2313 occurrences of rust fungi from 253 species based on 115 publications and our own surveys. This list was updated according to current taxonomic framework and georeferenced using the GBIF platform. The present checklist includes host names, seasonality, life cycle stage, geographical distribution and comments. A list of rust fungus sorted according to their host plants was also prepared. Altogether, this will provide a tool for diagnosis of rust fungi occurring in Portugal (and elsewhere in Europe), enabling to understand their spatiotemporal dynamics and to point out recent introduction of exotic species, along with situations of potential conservationistic value.