Knowledge of the geographic distribution of plants is essential to underpin the understanding of global biodiversity patterns. Vascular epiphytes are important components of diversity and functionality of Neotropical forests but, unlike their terrestrial counterparts, they are under-represented in large-scale diversity and biogeographic analyses. This is the case for the Atlantic Forest - one of the most diverse and threatened biomes worldwide. We provide the first comprehensive species list of Atlantic Forest vascular epiphytes; their endemism patterns and threatened species occurrence have also been analyzed. A list with 2,256 species of (hemi-)epiphytes - distributed in 240 genera and 33 families - is presented based on the updated Brazilian Flora Checklist. This represents more than 15% of the total vascular plant richness in the Atlantic Forest. Moreover, 256 species are included on the Brazilian Red List. More than 93% of the overall richness is concentrated in ten families, with 73% represented by Orchidaceae and Bromeliaceae species alone. A total of 78% of epiphytic species are endemic to the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to overall vascular plant endemism in this biome estimated at 57%. Among the non-endemics, 13% of epiphytic species also occur either in the Amazon or in the Cerrado - the other two largest biomes of Brazil – and only 8% are found in two or more Brazilian biomes. This pattern of endemism, in addition to available dated phylogenies of some genera, indicate the dominance of recent radiations of epiphytic groups in the Atlantic Forest, showing that the majority of divergences dating from the Pliocene onwards are similar to those that were recently reported for other Neotropical plants.

ResumoÉ apresentada uma revisão taxonômica das espécies de Andropogon L. que ocorrem no Brasil com base em coletas, observação de populações no campo e análise de coleções de 72 herbários nacionais e internacionais. Foram confirmadas 28 espécies, incluindo A. gayanus Kunth, introduzida da África para cultivo, além de uma subespécie e uma variedade. O trabalho inclui chaves de identificação, descrições e ilustrações para todos os táxons, além de dados sobre distribuição geográfica, hábitat, período de floração, nomenclatura e comentários gerais. Palavras-chave: Gramineae, taxonomia. AbstractA taxonomic revision of the genus Andropogon L. in Brazil is presented. Based on field collections, observation of the populations and revision of 72 national and international herbaria, 28 species, including A. Gayanus Kunth introduced from Africa were confirmed, besides one subspecie and one variety. The work includes key for the identification of the confirmed taxa, descriptions and illustrations, as well as data about geographic distribution, habitat, flowering periods, typification, synonymy and general comments.

-(Synopsis of the genus Andropogon L. (Poaceae -Andropogoneae) in Brazil). A survey of the genus Andropogon for Brazil confirmed the occurrence of 28 species, one of them introduced from Africa, A. gayanus Kunth. A synopsis of the species, including a key for their identification, illustrations as well as data on their geographic distribution are presented.

Scleria is the fifth largest genus of Cyperaceae, and the third most diverse genus of Cyperaceae in Brazil. In Santa Catarina the floristic account of Cyperaceae is in need of updating, particularly as the Atlantic forest, home to many species of Scleria, is one of the most threatened environments worldwide. Scleria is thus a leading candidate for an updated floristic account, particularly so as to identify the conservation status of its species within the remaining natural vegetation. The survey has confirmed thirteen taxa including a new subspecies, S. georgiana ssp. australis, here described. Scleria sellowiana is lectotypified here. A species identification key, morphological descriptions, geographic distributions, global conservation status according to IUCN Red List criteria, habitats, phenological aspects, taxonomic notes and illustrations are provided for each species.

This study consists of a checklist and an analysis of the spatial distribution of the species of Orchidaceae of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Based on literature, the accepted names and current synonyms for the species in the state are cited. The occurrence of 121 genera and 560 accepted species was detected, 12 of them endemic. Of the three subfamilies represented in the state, Epidendroideae is the most representative, with 94 genera and 432 species, followed by Orchidoideae with 25 genera and 122 species, and Vanilloideae, with only two genera and six species. According to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 24 species fall within the vulnerable category, seven are endangered and four are critically endangered. The life form, plant formation and habitat of each species are also presented.