Brazilian plant specimens at the Regnellian herbarium: history and repatriation

Abstract

This article visits the history of Brazil-Sweden's partnership in botany and the contribution of Anders Fredrik Regnell and other botanical collectors to the knowledge of Brazilian flora. The importance of the herbarium of Stockholm (S) is widely recognized for its collections of Brazilian plants, one of the largest in the world. The majority of the collections from Brazil date from the period between the second half of nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. The main collectors of Brazilian flora from that phase, whose bulk of collections are in Stockholm are Anders Regnell, Gustaf Malme, Per Dusén, Carl Lindman and many others sponsored by the Regnellian fund. The herbarium also houses substantial collections of August Glaziou, a great contributor to the knowledge of the flora of state of Goiás, and Adolf Ducke, pioneer in the taxonomy of Amazonian tree species. The cooperation between Brazil and Sweden is currently being renewed through Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and the Reflora Program, allowing repatriation of Brazilian specimens housed in Stockholm.

A new saxicolous species of Acisanthera (Melastomataceae: Marcetieae) from Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, Mato Grosso, Brazil

“…The region currently delimited as the National Park was initially visited by several naturalists in the 19th century who gathered relevant ethnological and scientific information about the people, fauna, flora and famous landscapes (Barman 1971;Santos 2016). Initial botanical explorations were undertaken by Georg Heinrich Langsdorff (1774-1852) and Ludwig Riedel (1790-1861) in 1827, during the Russian Imperial Scientific Expedition to Brazil (Barman 1971), and by Oskar Andersson Gustaf Malme (1864-1937 during his expeditions to Mato Grosso in 1892-1894and 1901-1904(Santos 2016. Despite these early efforts, biological studies in the Chapada dos Guimarães are still scarce.…”

“…Here, we describe a new species of Acisanthera that is apparently endemic to rocky sandstone walls of the Chapada dos Guimarães. The first specimen of this new species was collected 119 years ago by Oskar Andersson Gustaf Malme during his "second expedition Regnelliana" (Plantae Itineris Regnelliani II.di), a productive exploration to the interior of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, which resulted in about 2,600 botanical collections (Santos 2016).…”

Exploring the overlooked diversity of plant-associated Cerrado Microfungi

“…The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in 1870, 14 years before Regnell's death established the Regnellian Herbarium at the Swedish Museum of Natural History to accommodate the Brazilian collection, today with 11,500 plant specimens, containing 7,500 nomenclatural types from Brazil. The Regnellian Fund created with resources originating from the fortune donated by Regnell remains still active (SANTOS 2016).…”

Bryophytes from Glaziou's Historical Collections: Revisiting the Flora of Rio de Janeiro and Implications for Conservation

“…Auguste François Marie Glaziou was born in Lannion, Bretagne (France) in 1828 and studied botany in Paris at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Dom Pedro II, the Brazilian Emperor, invited him in 1858 to work in Brazil as director of the Imperial House of Parks and Gardens in Rio de Janeiro city, where he resided until his return to France in 1897 (Santos 2016). During this time, he carried out much fieldwork and collaborated in expeditions in the states of Brazil.…”