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.

-(Synopsis of the genus Manihot Mill. (Euphorbiaceae) in São Paulo State, Brazil). Among Euphorbiaceae, the genus Manihot stands out primarily by its taxonomic complexity. It is a Neotropical genus with 98 species distributed from Texas to Argentina. In Brazil, the region of Planalto Central, especially the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás,and the state of Bahia in the Northeast region can be considered the centers of diversity forthe taxon. The aim of this study was to prepare a monograph of the genus Manihot in São Paulo State.

Abstract— A new species of Phyllanthus with phylloclades endemic to the State of Bahia is described here. Phyllanthus dracaenoides can be recognized for its peculiar habit that resembles a species of Dracaena, a very unusual height of up to 7 m, the plagiotropic phylloclades spirally arranged, and its vermiform cincinni. Notes on its habitat, taxonomic affinity, conservation status, geographic distribution, illustrations, and photographs are provided.

Two new species of Manihot endemic to the Amazon region are described here: Manihot australis and M. striata. Important diagnostic characters distinguishing the new species such as presence or absence of indumentum, form and size as well presence or absence of ribs in fruits, among other, are discussed and illustrated by line drawings and photographic plates. Information about their natural habitat and distribution is also provided.

We describe Phyllanthus chapadensis, a new phyllocladiferous species of the genus Phyllanthus probable endemic to the Chapada dos Veadeiros region, Goiás, Brazil, in the Cerrado region. This region is located in Central Brazil with a high number of endemic Angiosperms, unique landscapes, and distinct and peculiar phytophysiognomies. The species described here belongs to Phyllanthus sect. Choretropsis, a Brazilian exclusive group of plants characterized by presenting phylloclades. The new species resembles P. spartioides and P. sarothamnoides, which occur in the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil, due to its upright shrubby habit, with thin and delicate phylloclades. However, it can be differentiated by the morphological characteristics of phylloclades and flowers. We present the main morphological distinctions between these species, distribution map, illustrations, flowering and fruiting seasons, and a proposal of the conservation status of the new species.

We described a new species of Phyllanthus currently known from a single fragment of Ombrophilous Dense Forest in the Jequitinhonha Valley, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Phyllanthus pedicellatus is the second species of the genus with phylloclades found in the Atlantic Forest domain, once mostly Brazilian Phyllanthus with these kinds of specialized branches grow in open vegetation as “campos rupestres” and cerrado. The name is a reference to its remarkable pedicels of pistillate flowers. We present illustrations and photographs of the new species in its habitat, comments on its relationships to other Brazilian Phyllanthus, and its conservation status.

O estudo das plantas é tão antigo quanto a própria humanidade. Estudá-las é fundamental para diminuir as barreiras da “cegueira botânica” e do “analfabetismo botânico”, conceitos estes decorrentes da forma como a Botânica é ensinada nas escolas. Para auxiliar na superação disto, foi proposto uma sequência didática de Botânica através do Ensino por Investigação para os 9º anos do Ensino Fundamental II em uma escola municipal de Araras/SP. Para avaliação, utilizou-se um único questionário de quatro perguntas com os estudantes em dois momentos: antes e após as aulas. Os resultados indicaram que este é um caminho plausível, pois quadruplicou o número de estudantes que conseguiram fazer uma relação válida entre um órgão vegetal e sua respectiva função na planta. Portanto, o presente artigo traz que o ensino de Botânica deve ser explorado de formas diferentes do tradicional a fim de reduzir as lacunas da Educação Básica.

Dedico este trabalho ao meu país, por ter me mostrado o melhor lugar do mundo para estudar o gênero Manihot Mill. (Euphorbiaceae) e ter a flora mais exuberante do mundo. Dedico ainda para todos aqueles que deste possam usufruir futuramente. Agradecimentos Meus mais sinceros agradecimentos ao meu orientador, Dr. Vinicius Castro Souza, por ter gentilmente aceitado me orientar e contribuir com a minha formação. À Dra. Inês Cordeiro, do Instituto de Botânica, pela gentileza em me auxiliar não apenas durante a realização desta dissertação, mas também em meu primeiro contato com o grupo, em minha Iniciação Científica sobre o grupo no Estado de São Paulo (O gênero Manihot Mill. (Euphorbiaceae) no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil). À Dra. Letícia Ribes de Lima, por sua paciência em me apresentar o grupo pela primeira vez e me orientar em meu primeiro trabalho. Aos membros da banca, que aceitaram solicitamente em contribuir com este trabalho. Aos curadores de todos os herbários listados nesta dissertação, que me receberam tão bem. Ao Dr. Márcio Lacerda Lopes Martins e Moises Mendoza, por me auxiliarem várias vezes com os artigos científicos e com as espécies novas. À Maíra Gonzales Mezzacappa, que com tanto esmero ilustrou as plantas desta dissertação e à Angélica Faria de Resende, que elaborou alguns dos mapas aqui apresentados (Figuras 1 e 2). Aos meus colegas de trabalho do Laboratório de Taxonomia da Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), pelo apoio, em especial à Marianna Conceição Rodrigues, pelas inúmeras viagens juntas, à Carolina Delfini, que me apoiou em vários momentos e me ensinou a fazer os mapas de distribuição das espécies, ao