The Chapada das Mesas National Park is a federal reserve located in the State of Maranhão, in an ecotonal region of the Brazilian Northeast Cerrado. Aiming to assess the influence of biogeographic patterns and support restoration actions for regions where information is scarce, we analyzed the floristic composition of savanna and forest Cerrado physiognomies, the floristic relationships with other Brazilian Cerrado areas and investigated the floristic relationships between the Cerrado and the Amazon, and the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest biomes. A total of 242 species in 181 genera and 64 families are recorded in our study. Fabaceae was the most representative family. We report 50 new records of species for Maranhão, four new records for the Cerrado biome and one vulnerable species. The separation of the gallery forest from cerradão and typical cerrado by ordination shows the influence of water availability and soil characteristics on floristic composition. In Cerrado ecotonal regions, such as Mato Grosso and Maranhão, the presence of species shared with the Amazon is expressive. In addition to the Amazon, physiognomies had greater floristic connection with the Caatinga flora. Our data demonstrates that the marginal areas of the Brazilian Cerrado may present high species diversity.

Eryngium foetidum L., a biennial herb with diverse applications in food and traditional medicine, holds economic and pharmacological significance. Given its growing commercial interest, implementing biotechnological approaches like plant tissue culture is vital for sustainable propagation and metabolite production. In this study, we investigated the in vitro photoautotrophic potential of Eryngium foetidum, examining growth, chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic pigments, and anatomical features under sucrose concentrations (0 and 30 g L⁻¹) and gas exchange rate (14 and 25 μL L⁻¹ s⁻¹ CO₂). Acclimatization and survival rates of plants after ex vitro transfer were also assessed. Eryngium foetidum exhibited robust growth in both photoautotrophic and photomixotrophic conditions, with natural ventilation significantly enhancing plant development. Chlorophyll a fluorescence and photosynthetic performance were influenced by sucrose and gas exchange, highlighting the importance of these factors in plant micropropagation. Moreover, the species demonstrated remarkable plasticity during acclimatization, with high survival rates and rapid inflorescence development. The research provides valuable insights into optimizing in vitro cultivation conditions for Eryngium foetidum, emphasizing the potential for large-scale clonal propagation and exploring secondary metabolites. The observed phenotypic plasticity underscores the adaptability of the species to diverse environments. These biotechnological strategies open avenues for future studies, including the application of elicitors for enhanced secondary metabolite production.