The lamiids possibly radiated from an ancestry of tropical trees with inconspicuous flowers and large, drupaceous fruits, given that these morphological characters are distributed across a grade of lineages (Icacinaceae, Oncothecaceae, Metteniusaceae) subtending the core lamiid clade (Boraginales, Gentianales, Lamiales, Solanales, Vahlia). Furthermore, the presence of similar morphological features among members of Aquifoliales suggests these characters might be ancestral for the Gentianidae (euasterids) as a whole.

No abstract

Mappia includes four species of trees and shrubs distributed in Central America, Mexico and the Greater Antilles. Mappia has historically been associated with the genera Casimirella (=Humirianthera), Icacina, Leretia and Nothapodytes, collectively comprising the Mappia complex, and over the years authors have merged or maintained these genera based on various lines of morphological and anatomical evidence. Here we present a phylogenetic study of the Mappia complex, based on morphological and molecular data, to assess monophyly of Mappia as well as relationships among other icacinaceous genera. Our results indicate that Mappia is sister to the Asiatic genus Nothapodytes, consistent with previous studies, and that Leretia, Icacina and Casimirella form a clade more closely related to other genera of Icacinaceae (e.g., Alsodeiopsis, Iodes, Phytocrene) than to Mappia+Nothapodytes. These results support recognition of Mappia as a distinct entity, and here we provide an updated taxonomic treatment for the genus, recognizing four species including three from Mexico and Central America (M. longipes, M. mexicana, and M. multiflora) and one from the Greater Antilles (M. racemosa).

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.

The Yucatan Peninsula as biogeographic province consists of the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan, a more natural area also includes the northern regions of Belize, and Guatemala, and it is known as the Yucatan Peninsula Biotic Province. This province has karst geology, low surface hydrography, elevations below 350 meters, and a gradient of precipitation that allows the formation of different plant associations and the deciduous forest, semideciduous forest, and the evergreen forest are the most commons ones. The floristic information of this region is constantly updated. In the present work, this process is exemplified through an update for the endemic vascular flora and the recognition of new records from the last floristic checklist of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula (Carnevali et al., 2010). Likewise, the application of a density index of botanical collection (IDCB, number of botanical collections /area) has been proposed, as a tool to evaluate the state of floristic knowledge by country, state or other administrative political unit. For example, a previous estimation for the Yucatan state yielded an index of 159 samples/km 2. This parameter was calculated for the entire region and the three states. In general, the floristic knowledge of the region is still in progress (new species, and new records), the state best collected is Yucatan, followed by Quintana Roo and Campeche. These last two states require more botanical collections, especially outside the area of influence of roads and populated centers.