Governmental Decree No. 71-N “On approval of Red Book of wild flora species of Armenia”.

The present Red Data Book of the Republic of Armenia contains information on additional 223 endangered plant species. The following categories have been given to 675 plant species included in the presented Red Book: (a) Critically Endangered (CR – 141 species). A taxon is Critically Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Critically Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. (b) Endangered (EN – 248 species). A taxon is endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. (c) Vulnerable (VU – 63 species). A taxon is Vulnerable when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Vulnerable, and it is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. (d) Near Threatened (NT – 21 species). A taxon is Near Threatened when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future. Those species are represented in a separate part of the book with the short description of the category of the threat. (e) Data Deficient (DD – 96 species). A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. A taxon in this category may be well studied, and its biology well known, but appropriate data on abundance and/or distribution are 10 lacking. Data deficient is therefore not a category of threat. Listing of taxa in this category indicates that more information is required and acknowledges the possibility that future research will show that threatened classification is appropriate. It is important to make positive use of whatever data are available. In many cases great care should be exercised in choosing between DD and a threatened status. If the range of taxon is suspected to be relatively circumscribed, and a considerable period of time has elapsed since the last record of the taxon, threatened status may well be justified. The species of this category are represented in a separate list. and (f) Least Concern (LC – 106 species). A taxon is Least Concern when it has been evaluated against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened. Widespread and abundant species are included in this category. The species of this category are represented in a separate list. Distribution of the plant species according to floristic and administrative regions of the republic is represented in separate lists.