South African National Plant Checklist (SANPC)

[This is the official yearly release of the South African National Plant Checklist for 2026. The name records included in this release were extracted from the taxonomic backbone of the Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) by the SA National Plant Checklist Coordinator., BODATSA is a BRAHMS v.8 database that houses the plant taxonomic backbone, e-Flora of South Africa content, and specimen level information from the three herbaria of the South African National Biodiversity Institute [SANBI; namely the National Herbarium (PRE), Compton Herbarium (NBG), and the KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium (NH)], as well as data on the living collections of the SANBI National Botanical Gardens., The name of a plant is the key to all the information that is available for that plant. With ongoing taxonomic research resulting in new species descriptions and refining of classification systems, it is essential to keep abreast of systematic changes that influence the names of plants. Having a well-maintained, correct and up-to-date plant species inventory (checklist) is essential to all foundational and applied biodiversity research., SANBI is mandated in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (2004) to coordinate and promote the taxonomy of South Africa’s biodiversity, as well as to collect, generate, process, coordinate and disseminate information about biodiversity. SANBI is thus obligated to provide and manage a checklist of South African plants and to make this National Plant Checklist available to all end-users., Accurate species checklists underpin all biodiversity research in the country. The South Africa National Plant Checklist forms the backbone for projects relating to the country’s flora, e.g. the e-Flora of South Africa and the SANBI Biodiversity Advisor website (https://biodiversityadvisor.sanbi.org/), where the Checklist is subsequently disseminated along with information about each plant species; Status Reports for Biological Invasions (https://www.sanbi.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Biological-invasions-Report-in-South-Africa-in-2022.pdf)—where the Checklist serves as a list of potential invasive taxa yet to be investigated for inclusion in such reports; the Red List of South African Plants (https://redlist.sanbi.org/); and the National Biodiversity Assessment (https://www.sanbi.org/biodiversity/building-knowledge/biodiversity-monitoring-assessment/national-biodiversity-assessment/).]