| Summary: | Runoff water from cities can contain a significant amount of pollutants that are disposed of in the drainage systems without treatment. To counteract this problem, sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) can be used, specifically the bioretention systems. Within these technologies, the use of plants is essential, but there is not a suitable list of native species for this purpose. The objective of this research is to define a group of native species that can be implemented in bioretention zones. To achieve this objective, we used herbarium records from three areas in the city of Bogotá with different precipitation levels and 12 criteria: species must be present in the evaluated sites, aesthetic value, safety, weeds, support to the biodiversity, endemic and social function. As a result, a list of 121 species was created, and such were sorted as 10 corresponding to trees, 41 to shrubs or subshrubs, 9 climbers, and 61 to herbs. The results depict the first approach to start using native species in Bogotá’s green infrastructure, and reveal the potential of local biodiversity to improve the city’s resilience and adaptability to climate change.
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