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.

Nothostele is a rare genus endemic to central Brazil. The taxonomy of the genus is controversial and almost every taxonomist has had a different point of view regarding its generic and subtribal classification. After the first collection 138 years ago, N. acianthiformis has been collected again and we report here a phylogenetic analysis of the genus based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and plastid matK and trnL-trnF sequence data. Our results show that Nothostele belongs to subtribe Spiranthinae and is sister to Eltroplectris within the Stenorrhynchos clade. A reanalysis of gynostemium morphology shows that the presence of a hamulus was misinterpreted in Nothostele and that the placement of the genus in Cranichidinae based on morphology of the pollinarium is unwarranted. Furthermore, the flattened, sessile, prostrate leaves of N. acianthiformis, which are described here for the first time, occur in some Spiranthinae but are atypical in Cranichidinae. Specimens from Brasília in the Brazilian central plateau are a distinct new species, which is described here as N. brasiliaënsis. Currently, the genus comprises two disjunct species restricted to the cerrado and rocky field vegetation of central Brazil.

A taxonomic revision of the Brazilian species of Encyclia is presented, based on analysis of roughly 1,400 herbarium specimens, including types. Thirty-nine species and one variety are listed for Brazil; we indicate 101 synonyms, of which eight are newly proposed. Lectotypes are chosen for five names (E. chironii, E. dutrae, E. paraënsis, E. tripartita and Epidendrum capartianum), including accepted names and synonyms. Two names are indicated as invalid (E. randii var. rondoniensis and E. vazzoleri), one name as a nomen nudum (E. guesneliana) and another as superfluous (Epidendrum pabstii). The occurrence of E. auyantepuiensis and E. thienii is confirmed for Brazil, and new occurrences are documented of E. fimbriata in Minas Gerais (in addition to Bahia) and E. linearifolioides in Maranhão and possibly Paraná (in addition to Matto Grosso and Tocatins States and Bolivia and Paraguay). All species are described and illustrated, and distribution maps are included. For both varieties of E. patens, nomenclatural and taxonomic notes are provided.

O cenário atual das coleções botânicas do município de Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brasil é apresentado. As informações foram obtidas através de consultas a bancos de dados virtuais, referências bibliográficas e trabalhos de campo. Até o momento, a flora inclui 1.057 espécies distribuídas em 950 angiospermas, 38 pteridófitas (licófitas e samambaias) e 69 briófitas (musgos e hepáticas). Dentre estas, 36 espécies estão ameaçadas de extinção, 101 são novas ocorrências para a Bahia e seis endêmicas do município. Os dados aqui levantados demonstram a necessidade de aprofundar o conhecimento da diversidade florística do município de modo a direcionar as ações que visem a conservação da flora da região, por meio de coletas sistemáticas, melhoria na qualidade das identificações, enriquecimento das coleções botânicas e produção de monografias taxonômicas.