Flora of the Cuatro Cienegas bolson region, Coahuila, Mexico, I.

Abstract

The Bolsón de Cuatro Ciénegas and the surrounding mountain ranges that are located on the eastern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert in the central part of the State of Coahuila in Mexico support a diverse vegetation with a rich flora. The bag is extraordinary in that there are extensive chalky dunes, and copious warm and mineralized water such as lagoons, beaches, rivers, underground conduits, wells, artesian wells, and swamps. The research region includes approximately 2,00 square km and the altitude varies from 700 m at the bottom of the pocket to more than 3,000 m at the top of the Sierra de la Madera. The vegetation is divided into the following zones: 1) grassland, 2) aquatic and semi-aquatic environments, 3) chalky dunes, 4) transition, 5) scrubby desert, 6) chaparro, 7) oak and piñon forests, 8) montane forests Pine, Fir, and Pseudotsuga. The known flora of vascular plants is made up of 824 taxa corresponding to 796 species of 429 genera of 111 families. The typical localities of 26 taxa are in this region and 8 of them are endemic.