The carnivorous plant genus Utricularia L. (bladderwort) comprises about 240 species distributed worldwide and is traditionally classified into two subgenera (Polypompholyx and Utricularia) and 35 sections, based mainly on general and trap morphology. It is one out of the largest carnivorous genera, representing ca. 30% of all carnivorous plant species, and is also the most widely distributed. According to previous phylogenetic studies, most infrageneric sections are monophyletic, but there are several incongruences considering their relationships and also the dissenting position of some species as a result of a too few (mostly one or two) molecular markers analyzed. Thus, here we present a multilocus phylogeny for Utricularia species with a wide taxonomic sampling (78 species and 115 accessions) based on six plastid (rbcL, matK, rpl20-rps12, rps16, trnL-F) and nuclear DNA (ITS region) sequences. The aim is to reconstruct a well-resolved tree to propose evolutionary and biogeographic hypotheses for the radiation of lineages with inferences about the divergence times of clades using a molecular clock approach.

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.

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The carnivorous plant Pinguicula filifolia occurs in western Cuba and shows a restricted distribution due to habitat specificity associated with poor wet soils. Its populations are distributed mainly in south Pinar del Río (Cuba) and in Isla de la Juventud. Plants from one isolated location in NW Pinar del Río shows morphological differences with respect to the rest of the known populations observed in nature. Subsequent detailed morphological analysis of specimens led to the description of Pinguicula filifolia subsp. alba as a new subspecies. It differs from the typical subspecies in several reproductive traits involving flower, fruit and seed characters and is so far known only from the type locality.