Floristic survey of aquatic macrophytes in Cerrado wetlands of a Quilombola community in eastern Maranhão, Brazil.

This study provides a floristic survey of aquatic macrophytes in the Quilombola community of Saco das Almas, located in the municipality of Brejo, eastern Maranhão, Brazil. We carried out eleven quarterly field expeditions between January 2023 and March 2025. We recorded 100 species of aquatic macrophytes, distributed across 40 families and 70 genera, including the first record of Luziola bahiensis (Steud.) Hitchc. (Poaceae) for the state and the rare and critically endangered Griffinia nocturna Ravenna (Amaryllidaceae). This is the most extensive floristic inventory currently available on aquatic macrophytes in the Cerrado wetlands of Maranhão. Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, and Melastomataceae were the most species-rich families, while exclusively emergent and amphibious life forms predominated (~70% of species). Our results fill long-standing gaps in the knowledge of Maranhão's aquatic flora, particularly in its Cerrado region, and highlight the need to extend surveys to other Cerrado and Amazonian wetlands in the state. The inventory establishes a robust baseline for biodiversity monitoring and provides important data to advance ecological research, guide taxonomic studies, and inform wetland conservation strategies in Maranhão.