The first complete checklist of vascular plants in the Akmola region, Kazakhstan: A key to understanding biodiversity importance

This article presents for the first time a checklist of vascular plants of the Akmola Region (AR), based on four years of field expeditions (2020–2024), extensive research on herbarium specimens, and relevant literature. Based on our results, 1,164 vascular plant species of 471 genera and 101 families have been documented in the AR. This list includes local (native) and alien (introduced and naturalized) species. The checklist contains the following information: life form; habitat; economic importance; distribution of species by floristic regions in Kazakhstan; and frequency of occurrence in AR. Of these, 18 species are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Additionally, nine endemic species were recorded in the AR, including Achillea × kasakhstanica Kupr. & Alibekov, Astragalus chaetolobus Bunge, A. juvenalis Delile, A. kasachstanicus Golosk., Brachanthemum kasakhorum Krasch., Clausia robusta Pachom., Myosotis kazakhstanica O.D.Nikif., Thymus crebrifolius Klokov, and Zygophyllum subtrijugum C.A.Mey. Seven new species for the flora of AR were found: Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal, Spinulum annotinum (L.) A.Haines, Bupleurum aureum Fisch. ex Hoffm., Clematis mandshurica Rupr., Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop, Myricaria bracteata Royle, and Viscaria vulgaris Bernh. We also identified 112 alien species of 91 genera and 36 families in AR.