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.

New occurrences of 10 species of angiosperms from Rio Grande do Norte state are reported. These data were collected by an environmental consultancy prior to the establishment of a wind farm. These records demonstrate the presence of knowledge gaps in the Caatinga flora of the state and show how an environmental consultancy can positively contribute towards the documentation of biodiversity in areas prior to their modification by human activities. In particular, at a time when the Brazilian Congress is discussing the elimination of environmental studies for licensing new developments, these new occurrence data highlight the importance of environmental studies.

Resumo Aqui se apresenta a Flora de Combretaceae do Rio Grande do Norte, Nordeste do Brasil, com base na análise comparativa dos caracteres morfológicos de espécimes depositados nos herbários ASE, EAC, FUEL, HEPH, HST, HUEFS, IPA, JPB, MAC, MBM, MOSS, NY, UEC e UFRN, bibliografias especializadas e fotos de coleções-tipo. Para o Rio Grande do Norte são registradas 12 espécies em cinco gêneros: Buchenavia (1 sp.), Combretum (7 spp.), Conocarpus (1 sp.), Laguncularia (1 sp.) e Terminalia (2 spp.). Combretum duarteanum Cambess., C. fruticosum, T. mameluco são novos registros para o estado e Terminalia cf. amazonia poderá ser confirmada como tal, a partir de coleta de espécimes completos. Chaves de identificação para gêneros e espécies, descrições, dados de distribuição geográfica, comentários taxonômicos e ilustrações das espécies são fornecidos.

Justicia thunbergioides (Acanthaceae, Justicieae) is reported for the first time from Paraíba State, northeastern Brazil. It was collected in the municipality of Cuité, Agreste region, a transitional area between the “Zona da Mata” and “Sertão”. This new occurrence in Paraíba extends its range approximately 140 km from the closest population and it was found in hypoxerophytic caatinga, forming dense clumps in open but shaded areas, under scrub vegetation and on stony soil. Acanthaceae in general has a great ornamental potential and this species, in particular, may be used in native plant gardens since it is adapted to semi-arid weather conditions and also attracts local fauna. Description, taxonomic comments, distributional map and images are presented for this taxon. Additionally, a key to distinguish the native species of Justicia in Paraíba is provided.

RESUMO O presente trabalho compreende o levantamento taxonômico das espécies de Chloris e Stapfochloa no Estado da Paraíba, ampliando o conhecimento da flora agrostológica local. Foram realizadas consultas em bases virtuais, visitas a herbários físicos e excursões para coletas e observações em campo. Na área de estudo foi confirmada a ocorrência de cinco espécies de Chloris e uma espécie de Stapfochloa. Chave de identificação, descrições dos táxons, dados sobre distribuição geográfica e importância econômica, ecologia e imagens das espécies são fornecidas.