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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.

ResumoMonimiaceae, uma família basal de Angiospermas, compreende 28 gêneros e aproximadamente 220 espécies que ocorrem predominantemente em florestas úmidas. No Brasil está representada por cinco gêneros e cerca de 43 espécies. A Mata Atlântica é considerada um dos centros de diversidade da família e nela ocorrem os cinco gêneros representados no Brasil e a maior parte das espécies, muitas das quais endêmicas desse bioma. O presente estudo buscou conhecer e caracterizar as espécies de Monimiaceae ocorrentes no estado Espírito Santo. O estudo resultou na identificação e caracterização morfológica de 21 táxons pertencentes a três gêneros: Macroturus e Macropeplus com uma espécie cada e 19 para Mollinedia. O gênero Macropeplus é citado pela primeira vez para o estado, bem como Mollinedia puberula. É apresentada uma chave para identificação, descrições morfológicas, distribuição geográfica e comentários. Palavras-chave: Laurales, Macropelus, Macrotorus, Mata Atlântica, Mollinedia. AbstractMonimiaceae, a basal angiosperm family, comprises 28 genera and approximately 220 species that inhabits predominantly rainforests. In Brazil, it is represented by five genera and about 43 species. The Atlantic forest is considered one of the centers of diversity of this family. In this biome occurs the five genera represented in Brazil, as well as most of the species, many of them endemic to this biome. The present study aims to characterize the species of Monimiaceae that occur in the state of Espírito Santo. The study resulted in the identification and morphological characterization of 21 taxa belonging to three genera: Macrotorus and Macropeplus, both with one species, and Mollinedia, with 19 species. Macropeplus is reported for first time to the state of Espírito Santo, as well as Mollinedia puberula. A key to identification, morphological descriptions, geographic distribution and comments are provided.

The plant Mollinedia stenophylla Perkins (Monimiaceae) is endemic to southern Brazil and, until 2015, had not been seen for 122 years. We located a single population of the species on the margin of a watercourse in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro state. We describe the location of the species, comment on its morphology, ecology and conservation, assess its conservation status, propose conservation measures, and discuss the potential value of local action plans for this and other narrow endemic plant species. Mollinedia stenophylla has whorled leaves, clonal reproduction and a low height, unusual traits in the genus Mollinedia. Using the IUCN Red List criteria we assess the species as Critically Endangered. This example highlights the importance of investing time in plant surveys and taxonomy, especially in megadiverse countries such as Brazil.