A B S T R A C TGreen areas are free spaces in the city that must have some vegetation and tend to assume social, aesthetic, ecological, educational and psychological functions. The urban afforestation is characterized as one of the essential elements that compose the ecosystem of the cities and part of this afforestation involves the squares. The city of Picos, in the State of Piaui, has temperatures between 22ºC e 39°C and the squares are an alternative to provide well-being for the population. This study aimed to carry out an inventory of shrubby-tree plants in five of the city's main squares, considering: species richness and abundance, plant health, phytogeographic origin and the presence of toxic plants. The total number of individuals was 252, distributed in 35 species. The five species of highest occurrence were Ixora coccinea L., Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Adenanthera pavonina L., Terminalia catappa L., and Duranta repens L., representing 62.69% of the studied community. It was found around from seven to two tree/species, considering the relation between richness and abundance of species. Regarding the phytogeographic origin of the species, it was possible to identify 51.0% of exotic and 49.0% of native. The phytosanitary analysis showed that 95.23% of the trees are in good condition, with no visible damage. Considering the presence of toxic plants or with proved allergenic activity, Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum, Duranta repens L., and Mangifera indica L. were detached and can mean some hazard to the people that use the squares. Keywords: Green areas, shrub-tree species, phytosanitary.
R E S U M OÁreas verdes são espaços livres na cidade que devem possuir algum tipo de vegetação e tendem a assumir funções social, estética, ecológica, educativa e psicológica. A arborização urbana caracteriza-se como um dos elementos mais importantes que compõem o ecossistema das cidades e parte dessa arborização envolve as praças da cidade. Picos é uma cidade que apresenta temperaturas entre 22ºC e 39°C e espaços públicos, como suas praças, são uma alternativa para proporcionar bem-estar para a população em geral. Deste modo, este estudo objetivou realizar um inventário das plantas arbustivo-arbóreas existentes em cinco das principais praças do município de Picos-PI, considerando: riqueza e abundância de espécies, fitossanidade, origem fitogeográfica e presença de plantas tóxicas. Um