Vascular Plants
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© Chris Penner: Calamagrostis sp. |
Quick facts
Background
Status of knowledge
Richness and diversity in Canada
Species Spotlight - Showy Lady's-slipper, Cypripedium reginae
Species spotlight - Carnivorous plants
Species spotlight - Tamarack, Larix laricina
Species spotlight - Swamp Cottonwood, Populus heterophylla
Results of assessment
Comparison with Wild Species 2000
Threats to Canadian vascular plants
Conclusion
Further information
References
Vascular plant: Higher plants; characterized by the possession of true roots, shoots and leaves containing specialized vascular tissue through which liquids are conducted - Dictionary of the Environment.
Quick facts
There are over 260 000 species of vascular plants in the world. More than 95% of vascular plants are flowering plants, also called angiosperms (e.g. grasses, orchids, maple trees). The other types of vascular plants are gymnosperms (cone-bearing trees, e.g. pine trees, spruce trees) and seedless plants (e.g. ferns, horsetails).
5074 species of vascular plants have been found in Canada, of which 51% have Canada General Status Ranks (Canada ranks) of Secure, 11% have Canada ranks of May Be At Risk, 9% have Canada ranks of Sensitive and 2% have Canada ranks of At Risk.
24% of vascular plant species have a Canada rank of Exotic (not native to Canada), the highest proportion of Exotic species of any group covered in this report.
194 species of ferns and orchids were ranked in both 2000 and 2005. The Canada ranks of 18 of these species (9%) have been changed since 2000; 11 species have been moved into categories with a higher level of risk, six species have been moved into categories with a lower level of risk and one species has been moved into the Extirpated category. The majority of changes were due to improved information; none of the changes were due to biological changes in species distribution, abundance or threats.
Citations for species lists
Vascular Plants
The initial draft vascular plant species list was based upon a list obtained from NatureServe in February 2003. This list was adjusted as necessary based upon the Flora of North America and input from botanists across Canada. Nomenclature followed the most recent comprehensive taxonomic treatment of the species within the available volumes of Flora of North America. Nomenclature of species not currently covered within the Flora of North America followed Kartesz 1999.
Flora of North America, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. New York and Oxford. (volumes 2, 3, 4, 5, 22, 23, 25, 26).
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, JT and CA Meacham. Synthesis of the North American flora [computer program]. Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden: Chapel Hill, NC.
NatureServe. url: www.natureserve.org.
