Catalogue of the Plants of Cuba
by the IUCN SSC Cuban Plant Specialist Group

Published online on: December 2, 2024.
https://doi.org/10.70925/cat.2024

What is the Catalogue of the Plants of Cuba?

The  Catalogue of the Plants of Cuba was develop to address the need for a comprehensive reference on the plants occuring in Cuba for their management and conservation. Cuban and Caribbean endemics are often overlooked and synonymized with more widespread taxa in neotropical studies due to limited access to regional plant specimens and a lack of understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics and geographical specificities. This oversight risks the extinction of small, restricted populations, highlighting the need for accurate taxonomic resources. The catalogue standardizes taxonomic and ecological data, compiling all scientific names attributed to Cuban flora, and identifying native, endemic, and exotic plants while excluding transient or erroneously recorded taxa. It categorizes plant habits, provincial and extra-Cuban distributions, and associated vegetation types. Taxa are classified according to stable phylogenetic family systems, facilitating global data integration. The development of the Catalogue involved 54 Cuban and international experts who refined preliminary family lists, ensuring taxonomy, nomenclature, and distribution data accuracy. It introduces 52 nomenclatural novelties and includes chapters summarizing family inventories, territorial floras by province, and taxonomic insights.