The floristic composition of some botanical gardens in the Fayoum Depression, Egypt.

The Fayoum Depression (FD) is considered one of the world's oldest agricultural cities and the most fertile agrarian terrain in Egypt. The topography of FD is comparable to that of Egypt, with Qarun Lake situated on Fayoum's northern coastline, resembling Egypt's northern border with the Mediterranean Sea, and the Bahr Yusuf Canal, referred to as FD's backbone, being akin to Egypt's Nile River. This article discusses the cultivated, tree, and weed flora composition of the plants growing in four common gardens in the FD (Fayoum University Gardens—FUGs, Fayoum Plantation International Garden—FPIG, Fayoum Governorate Club—FGC, and Fayoum Zoo—FZ). Two hundred sixteen species and one hundred fifty-one genera representing 58 plant families have been identified. Asteraceae, Moraceae, and Fabaceae are the richest families of the region's floristic composition. Unexpectedly, perennial species (81%) were dominant over annual species (19%). This is a prominent feature in the FD, where perennial species may be more tolerant of climatic changeability than annual species. Six life form categories were found; Phanerophytes (46.5%) were the most common life form, followed by Hemicryptophytes (38%). Furthermore, there were four primary phytogeographical plant groups: worldwide, bi-regional, pluri-regional, and mono-regional. The largest participation rates were seen in the bi-regional and mono-regional categories, with 21% and 53%, respectively. Twenty-seven species (13%) were found to be native to the Saharo-Arabian region. The current results of the flora survey include information on the life form, chorology, and lifespan of the area's wild and cultivated plants, as well as information on their collection, identification, and documentation.