To the knowledge of xerophytic floras of the Earth

Abstract

A review of both classes of flowering plants in the system of A. L. Takhtajan (1987) showed a general picture of the distribution of xerophytic phyla and groups in the Earth floras. The xerophilic lines of development in flowering plants are very ancient, and there are more of them among dicots than monocots. Xerophytic groups are more diverse in the floras of the Southern (compared to the Northern) Hemisphere, where the main centers of development of xerophilic floras are in South America, South Africa, and Australia. At the same time, New World xerophilic floras differ from Old World ones in the presence of a larger number of endemic families. The xerophytic centers of the Northern Hemisphere are in the tropics and subtropics, both in the Old and New Worlds: Africa, Arabia, India, the Mediterranean, North America (Madrean sub-kingdom).