An updated inventory of Brazilian seed plants is presented and offers important insights into the country's biodiversity. This work started in 2010, with the publication of the Plants and Fungi Catalogue, and has been updated since by more than 430 specialists working online. Brazil is home to 32,086 native Angiosperms and 23 native Gymnosperms, showing an increase of 3% in its species richness in relation to 2010. The Amazon Rainforest is the richest Brazilian biome for Gymnosperms, while the Atlantic Rainforest is the richest one for Angiosperms. There was a considerable increment in the number of species and endemism rates for biomes, except for the Amazon that showed a decrease of 2.5% of recorded endemics. However, well over half of Brazillian seed plant species (57.4%) is endemic to this territory. The proportion of life-forms varies among different biomes: trees are more expressive in the Amazon and Atlantic Rainforest biomes while herbs predominate in the Pampa, and lianas are more expressive in the Amazon, Atlantic Rainforest, and Pantanal. This compilation serves not only to quantify Brazilian biodiversity, but also to highlight areas where there information is lacking and to provide a framework for the challenge faced in conserving Brazil's unique and diverse flora.

Vanilla palmarum is an obligately epiphytic orchid distributed widely throughout South America with emblematic specificity for species of palms. This epiphyte-phorophyte association was examined through the analysis of specimens available via the database of Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental and from Brazilian herbaria. We recognized nine species as hosts of V. palmarum in Brazil: Acrocomia aculeata, Attalea phalerata, Attalea speciosa, Elaeis guineensis, Mauritia flexuosa, Syagrus cearensis, S. coronata, S. schizophylla, and S. vagans. The most important phorophytes of V. palmarum were found to be A. speciosa (Cerrado), A. phalerata (Pantanal), M. flexuosa (Amazon Forest) and S. coronata (Caatinga). Future management actions must consider the association between V. palmarum and its phorophyte palm species in order to ensure the protection of this ecological interaction.

MAPPING THREATS TO THE ORCHID POPULATIONS IN AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AREA IN BAHIA, NORTHEAST BRAZIL

The historical background of studies on Brazilian Orchidaceae dates back almost 400 years. In this review, we provide an overview of the current knowledge on Brazilian Orchidaceae across three thematic axes: 1. diversity, distribution, and endemism; 2. taxonomy and systematics; and 3. structural, genetic, and ecological characterization. Brazil harbors five naturalized and 202 native genera, of which 23 are endemic to the country. There are currently 2515 accepted species (out of 9907 species names). Among the 7218 synonyms, 3915 are heterotypic, yielding a synonymy rate of 60.9%. Brazil is the second country in orchid endemism with 1540 endemic species. Apostasioideae is not present in Brazil, but the remaining four orchid subfamilies are represented by 16 tribes and 23 subtribes. The richest phytogeographic domain is the Atlantic Forest (1398 spp.), followed by the Amazon Forest (784 spp.) and Cerrado (656 spp.). The richest subtribes are Pleurothallidinae (642 spp.), Laeliinae (397 spp.), and Oncidiinae (283 spp.). Moving beyond a purely taxonomic and phylogenetic framework, this work offers a comprehensive synthesis of Brazilian Orchidaceae, encompassing the state of the art in cytogenetics, anatomy, population genetics, reproductive biology, and pollination. Despite these advances, there are pronounced disparities among regions, taxa, and research approaches. The persistence of these shortfalls highlights the urgent need for integrative research frameworks. Future progress in Brazilian orchidology depends on the strengthening of collaborative networks and interdisciplinary approaches.

A new epiphytic species of Epidendrum from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest is described and illustrated. Epidendrum campos-portoi grows in Upper-Montane Ombrophilous Forest in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, southeastern Brazil. The new species differs from E. subpurum, the morphologically closest species, mainly in the thinner, cylindrical stem, not thickened, inflorescence in a raceme, and green flowers.