Flora of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

4013291- 3

Floristic Elements,
Orders of Plant Communities and
Endemicity
Dr. Widad Aljuhani
 Floristic Element
• A group of plants that show the same or similar distribution
patterns.

• The term is an important part of floristics.

• Examples of a floristic element:
• Lichens that grow only at alpine elevations in central Europe.
• Amanita muscaria, is a common mushroom of coniferous forests.
 Characteristics of floristic Studies

• A Flora almost always contains scientific names, and it may also include common
names, literature references, descriptions, habitats, geographical distribution,
illustrations, flowering times, and notes.
• Less often, Flora include such specialized information as data on plant chemistry,
reproduction, chromosome numbers, and population occurrences.
• Sometimes the plants are listed alphabetically, and sometimes they are
represented within a classification system that indicates which plants are most
similar or are thought to be related.
• Floras often also include devices called "keys" that enable
the user to identify an unknown plant.
 Styles of Floristic Studies
• There are four common patterns of floristic
studies
1. Floristic studies based on aggregation lists
• Preparing an initial list of plants in a particular
area
• Suitable for an urgent need: when there is a need
to making preliminary idea of a plant
• For guide plant collectors to plant locations
2. Field study
• Focuses on a specific geographical area
• This study usually includes specific policy boundaries and records
natural species within its borders.
3. Square category

• studying plants in an approximate rectangle: the length= 1degrees of

latitude, the width = 1 degrees of longitude
• This space is particularly convenient when the center of floristic studies
matches the center of the rectangle.
• The best study is that based on natural differences in soil and climate
factors, geological composition and etc.
4. A study based on plant taxa

• Usually limited to a major taxa in the

plant kingdom
• Such as vascular plants, floral plants
... etc
• The most complete floristic that
takes into account all vascular plants
or seed plants.
 Plant Communities
Definition: Plant communities are groups of plants sharing a common
environment that interact with each other, animal populations, and the
physical environment.

The plant community of a given habitat has three basic characteristics

1. A community consists of plants of two or more different species
2. A plant community consists of such species of plants which can live
and grow together in a particular habitat
3. A plant community is well organized
 Importance of Plant Community
Plant community descriptions provide information about:
• The common and rare species found within them
• Typical species composition
• Physical appearance and structure of vegetation
• The physical environment with which they are associated.

These information provide a common framework for ecologists,

foresters, environmental planners, and others to use in environmental
planning, and conservation.
 Roles of Plant Community
• A plant community is a recognizable and complex assemblage of plant
species which interact with each other as well as with the elements of their
environment and is distinct from adjacent assemblages.
• A plant community is not a static entity: rather it may vary in appearance
and species composition from location to location and also over time.
• This overall appearance is created by the particular species present, as well
as their size, abundance, and distribution relative to one another.
• Dominant species, those whose presence most influences the community
environment and composition, are often the largest or the most abundant
and may be a single species or several codominant species.
• Community structure and distribution are dictated by the delicate balance
of environmental factors: soils, climate, topography, geography, fire, time,
and humans and other living beings.
 Species Endemism
• Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a
defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or
other defined zone, or habitat type.

• Such as the most unique plants on the islands.

• They were probably once very similar to another plant on the

mainland, but in response to environmental changes, they slowly
evolved into a new life form that had never existed before.
 Examples of endemic species
-Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to
the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae.
Many non- Australian species tend to be thorny,
whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not.

-Alpine plants are adapt to the harsh conditions of

the alpine environment, which include low
temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, and a
short growing season. It is found in Alps Mountain
Range.
Difference between Native plant and Endemic plant
• Native plants grow in more than one area, but the
endemic plant grows only in a particular region.
• Sometimes species become endemic due to habitat
destruction, while not geographically isolated on an
island.
• The Redwood Forest on the West Coast of the United
States is endemic in that it is now almost entirely
limited to California.
• Redwoods were cover much of the United States but
have been destroyed through logging and are now
limited to a small conservation
 References
• https://www.slideshare.net/aadit63/endemic-species-of-plants
• https://www.slideshare.net/GhassanHadi/endemism-42029998
• http://glossary.lias.net/wiki/Floristic_element
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/endemic-plants-and-animals-definition-examples-quiz.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemism
• https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/what-are-flora-and-fauna.php
• http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/intindex.htm
• https://www.slideshare.net/vaishnavsankark/flora-and-faunageography
• http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/intindex.htm
• https://www.slideshare.net/singhchawlagursimran/ppt-on-natural-vegetation-and-wildlife-by-
gursimran-singh
• https://www.slideshare.net/saketjain29/natural-vegetation-and-wildlife-15764220
• https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Conservation/WildPlants/PlantCommunities/Pages/default.aspx
• file:///C:/Users/Rosma/Downloads/LEC2(2).pdf
• http://polyland.calpoly.edu/overview/archives/derome/communities.html
• http://www.geographynotes.com/biosphere/plant-community-meaning-and-characteristics-
biosphere-geography/2894