Cuba documents over 8,300 plant species in new inventory
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Cuban scientists released the second edition of the Catalog of Cuban Plants, documenting 8,392 plant taxa across the island nation.
The Cuban Plant Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Species Survival Commission created the catalog to establish a consistent standard for studying and protecting Cuba’s plant life. This new edition expands upon the first by including non-vascular plants, hornworts, liverworts, and mosses, bringing the total documented taxa to over 8,300.
The catalog reveals that 6,961 of the documented plants are native to Cuba, with 3,019 species found nowhere else, representing 43.4% of the native flora. Researchers noted that this high number of endemic species underscores the unique character of Cuba’s plant life, but also suggests a need for careful monitoring, as many of these plants have small populations and limited ranges. Alongside native species, the catalog also lists 1,431 exotic plants, 725 of which have become naturalized.
The catalog details plant life across Cuba’s 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, finding the eastern region, Guantánamo, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguín, to be the most floristically diverse. It also includes inventories of cultivated plants and plant genetic resources preserved in Cuban institutions. This work arrives as a response to concerning trends, with a 2021 study identifying 22 Cuban plant species as extinct and hundreds more as endangered or vulnerable.
