The shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora.

Ants interact with seeds, and frequently remove their appendages. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of ants on the germination of Guarea guidonia (Meliaceae) seeds through removing the fleshy tissue of their integument (sarcotesta). The seeds were subjected to the following treatments: control (no sarcotesta removal), manual removal, and removal by ants. The results show that germination percentage and time varied among treatments, with removal by ants showing the highest percentage within the shortest possible time. The positive effect of sarcotesta removal by ants points to a possible action of anti-fungal substances. As germination is an essential step for recruitment, ant activity may be important to the regeneration of a deforested area. Further studies should consider germination experiments under natural conditions in order to increase the understanding on plant development.

No abstract

-(Acanthaceae of Marambaia, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). This work consists of the taxonomic treatment of the Acanthaceae Juss. in Marambaia, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and their distribution in the different local plant communities. Five genera and nine species were found in mangrove, sand coastal plains (restingas), rain forest, and in urban areas. Thunbergia alata is introduced and widely naturalized throughout Brazil, and Ruellia blechum is a neotropical species also naturalized; the other species are native: Avicennia schaueriana, Aphelandra longiflora, Justicia brasiliana, J. cydoniifolia, J. plumbaginifolia, Ruellia solitaria, and Schaueria litoralis. Keys to species, descriptions, illustrations, comments on taxonomy, and their distribution in the local plant communities, in other restingas in Rio de Janeiro State, and in Brazil are provided. The species of Acanthaceae in Marambaia are important resources for different groups of pollinators and include typical (Justicia brasiliana, J. cydoniifolia) and exclusive (Schaueria litoralis) species of the restinga; these species plus Avicennia schaueriana are threatened in Rio de Janeiro State. Keywords: Atlantic forest, mangrove, sand coastal plains, taxonomy, threatened species RESUMO -(Acanthaceae da Marambaia, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil). Este trabalho consiste do tratamento taxonômico das Acanthaceae Juss. na Marambaia, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, e sua distribuição nas diferentes formações vegetais locais. Foram constatados cinco gêneros e nove espécies encontradas nos manguezais, na restinga e na floresta ombrófila, além de áreas urbanizadas. Thunbergia alata é introduzida e amplamente naturalizada no Brasil inteiro e Ruellia blechum é uma espécie neotropical também naturalizada; as demais espécies (Avicennia schaueriana, Aphelandra longiflora, Justicia brasiliana, J. cydoniifolia, J. plumbaginifolia, Ruellia solitaria e Schaueria litoralis) são nativas. São apresentadas chave de identificação, descrições, ilustrações, comentários taxonômicos e a ocorrência nas formações vegetais locais, em outras restingas fluminenses e no Brasil. As espécies de Acanthaceae da Marambaia são recursos importantes para diferentes grupos de polinizadores e reúnem espécies típicas (Justicia brasiliana, J. cydoniifolia) e exclusivas (Schaueria litoralis) das restingas; essas espécies, juntamente com Avicennia schaueriana, são ameaçadas de extinção na flora fluminense.

The influence of Guarea guidonia (L.) Sleumer diaspore abundance on ants' preference was studied in a secondary tropical forest area in Brazil. We offered seeds in stations with different abundances (one, two, five or 10 diaspores) for interactions with ants. The number of interactions and of ants were influenced by diaspore abundance during the observation period. Stations with 10 diaspores maintained a high number of interactions throughout the experiment. Incidence of seed cleaning differed among the four groups. Moreover, the number of interactions was positively related to the average percent of seeds cleaned. Diaspore abundance proved to be important for promoting more interactions with ants. Considering that the proportion of seeds cleaned increased with the number of interactions, further experiments should observe ant activity for a longer period. Furthermore, diaspore abundance should be considered in future studies of interactions with ants.