UPDATE IN 17.02.2023
In this topic we will address certain curiosities about South American flora that do not fit into any of the previous topics.
A. LONGEST AUTOR NAMES ▸ perhaps the species with the largest text by authors among South American angiosperms is:
Heliamphora ceracea Nerz, Wistuba, Grantsau, Rivadavia, A. Fleischm. & S. McPherson.
B. REMARKABLE CITATIONS
• For Lindley (1849), Lagenanthus priceps (Gentianaceae, Venezuela and Colombia, Statflickr) is one of the "one of the noblest plants in existence" - Gentian Research Network (VER).• Burman and Soderstrom (see Fernandez et al., Checklist, 2012), in 1990, stated that Glaziophyton mirabile (Poaceae) was the "oddest bamboo in the world".• For Lytton J. Musselman, Hydnoraceae (today in Aristolochiaceae) are "the strangest plant in the World!" - Neotropical Hydnoraceae.• Ducke on Aguiaria excelsa (Malvaceae endemic to the Rio Negro basin): "I am not aware of similar seed chamber in any other plant species" - Cardoso et al., Neodiversity, 2015.
C. NEOLOGISMS OF THIS SITE
exxotaxa - any group of species that occurs natively in South America but not natively in Brazil. Ex.: exxospecies (Koeberlinia spinosa), exxogenera (Matucana), exxofamily (Cornaceae).
D. TYPE-GENUS IN SOUTH AMERICA ▸ many genera native to Brazil are types of their family and order; here let's not list them; let us list the exxogenera that play this role.
Type-exxogenera of this own order (but non of this own family): Huertea.
Type-exxogenera of this own their family (but non of this own order, 8): Morus, Hydrangea, Haloragis, Francoa, Loasa, Primula, Goodenia and Calycera; only the two firsts occur in Colombia.
Type-exxogenera of thos own order and family (11): Gentiana, Buxus, Vitis, Metteniusa, Cornus, Malpighia, Santalum, Berberidopsis, Cucurbita, Saxifraga, and Canella; six firsts occur in Colombia.
E. BOTANIC IS DINAMIC
2,875 angiosperm species was described from Brazil between the years 1990 and 2006 (Sobral & Stehmann, Taxon, 2009).
Many genera have recently been imploded, resulting in many combinations within their families, e.g. Hyptis.
On the other hand, many were expanded, gaining and incorporating a series of others, eg. Miconia.
Notable changes are spread in some groups, for example Androlepis Alliance in Bromelioideae (Ramírez-Díaz, J. Bromeliad Soc., 2019), Ocotea complex in Lauraceae (Penagos Zuluaga et al., American Journal of Botany, 2021), Lobeliodeae in Campanulaceae (Kagame et al., PhytoKeys, 2021) and Espeletia clade in Asteraceae (Mavárez, Harvard Papers in Botany, 2021).
It is worth highlighting the placement in Chen et al. (Phytotaxa, 2015), work describing 18 spp. from a family before with 53 spp., which states that Anisophylleaceae is the most unknown of the angiosperm families. By Moonlight et al. (Taxon, 2018), Begonia L. is the genus in absolute numbers that grows most in the flowering plants, with 341 spp. described in 10 years; among the interesting data of the work, is the possibility that there are 300 Begonia to be described in Borneo alone.
Perhaps the most bizarre case of description in South America is a genus of orchids believed to be endemic to Brazil: Archivea Christenson & Jenny (Orchidaceae), known only from a watercolor (Wikimedia) dated 1823 and deposited in the Kew Gardens archives, a circumstance that motivated the naming of its only species, Archivea kewensis Christenson & Jenny, as well explained in Boyce (Malayan Nature Journal, 2011). Nothing is known about its distribution, and it could be that it is from the subtribe Stanhopeinae, via Whitten (American Journal of Botany, 2000), or even a wrong painting. About the author of the watercolor, T. Duncanson, NSAA found no reference.
The species concept is varied, and this can generate certain conceptual problems in some groups, reaching the peak of the problem in Hieracium L. (Asteraceae). POWO list 4,566 spp. (SEE), largest genus worldwide. K.Kubitzki (vol. VIII, 2007) suggests only c. 60 to 1,000 spp. Not far away, Taraxacum Weber, another Asteraceae, appears with 2,421 spp. on the platform, with Richard (New Phytologyst, 1970) suggesting only 60 macrospecies; here we accept POWO numbers.
F. SPECIES OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN
G. HISTORICAL PLANTS Some species are known only in their cultivated or invasive form (such as the Brugmansia, which will be mentioned later), or only by collections without identification of origin. As examples can be cited Opuntia leoglossa Font & M.Köhler (Köhler & Font, Phytotaxa, 2021) in Cactaceae, known only invasive populations in Australia and Spain.
Wood of Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess (Calophyllaceae) from over tropical New World, was use exclusively in the production of masts and crossjacks for ships, and, therefore, it is the country’s first hardwood, at a law of January 7th, 1835 (sun.eduzz).
Drosera magnifica Rivadavia & Gonella (Droseraceae), endemic to Minas Gerais state, is the first plant species to be recorded as being discovered through photographs on a social network, a remarkable new species of sundew from Brazil (Guinness).
H. NEAREST GENERA
Many of c. 1380 genera in South America absents in Brazil occur near Brazilian borders; among them, some of the most notable are Asterogyne (Arecaeae, Brittonia), Brasenia (Cabombaceae, Darwiniana), Jasarum (Araceae, GBIF), Pakaraimaea (Cistaceae, PlosOne), Achlyphila (Xyridaceae, NYBG, pg. 12), Pyrrorhiza (Haemodoraceae, PhytoKeys), Pseudomonotes (Dipterocarpaceae, GBIF), Yasunia (Lauraceae, SEE), Steinbachiella (Fabaceae, SEE), Sarcotoxicum (Capparaceae, GBIF), Caa (Apocynaceae, Lilloa), Argemone (Papaveraceae, Brittonia, pg. 99).
I. NON NATIVE NOTES AT SOUTH AMERICA
A page dedicated to alien or invasive flora, whether in South America coming from other regions, or from South America invading other regions. For a classification regarding the origin, impact and adaptation of non-native species, a great reference is Pyšek et al. (Taxon, 2004), from where we take the diagram below.For some data about aliens in Brazil, see Zenni, R.D. (Rodriguésia, 2015).
BRAZILIAN SPECIES INVADING OTHER COUNTRIES• Chapman et al. | Gymnocoronis spilanthoides DC. (OEPP/EPPO Bulletin, 2017) - speaks of the entire colonization of G. spilanthoides (Asteraceae, from southern South America) throughout the Old World.
• CABI | Eicchornia crassipes (LINK) - this page reports the invasive and dangerous character of this species restricted to the tropical systems of South America in various parts of the world, including historical citations.
• A. Rimac et al. | The Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa Planch.) invasion reaches Southeast Europe (BioInvasions Records, 2018) - Egeria densa (Hydrocharitaceae) invading rivers off the coast of Croatia, Europe.
EXOTIC SPECIES INVADING THE NEW WORLD• Alves and Roque (Checklist, 2016) | first record of the African Sclerocarpus africanus (Asteraceae) in South America (in Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia state, Brazil).
• Barbosa M.L., Alves M. & Roque N. (Rodriguésia, 2022) | first record of Heterosperma (H. ovatifolium Cav., Asteraceae) for Brazil, collected in Paitá municipality, Bahia state.
• Alves et al. (CheckList, 2013) | firts report of naturalization of Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (Saururaceae) in Brazil, established in Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro state.• Barcelos and Heiden | the first record of the African Helichrysum foetidum (Asteraceae) in South America (Canguçu and Pinheiro Machado municipalities, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil).
• F. M. Florâncio et al. (Aquatic Botany, 2021) | detailed data from Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle in Itaipu Dam in Brazil and Paraguay.
• Antar et al. (Webbia, 2022) | first record of Camelia sinensis (L.) Kutze (Theaceae) in Atlantic Forest domain in Brazil.
J. REMARKABLE PLANT SPECIES WORLDWIDE
Paris japonica Franchet (Melanthiaceae), endemic to Japan, has the largest genome of any plant yet assayed, about 150 billion base pairs long (Wikipedia).
Pilea cavernicola A.K. Monro (Urticaceae) endemic to S China is possibly the shadiest plant worldwide, with survive only ca 0.04-2.78 % full daylight (Monro et al., NCBI, 2012).
Clerodendrum kamhyoae Phillipson & L.Allorge (Lamiaceae) from Madagascar it is one of the most exuberant cauliflorous plants there is (SEE).
Sedum suaveolens Kimnach (Crassulaceae), with n > 320, from Mexico, has tha largest cromossomes number at flowering plants (Mota et al., NCBI, 2016).
Bulbophyllum nocturnum J.J.Verm., de Vogel, Schuit. & A.Vogel (Orchidaceae) from New Britain, Papua New Guinea, is the first species of orchid known to consistently flower during the night, and close its flowers during the day (Wikipedia).
The tallest of all Ericaceae in New World is some Agarista D.Don from Mexico and North America, by Judd (Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 1984).
Despite the appearance, Besleria macropoda Donnell Smith (Gesneriaceae) from Costa Rica is not a true epiphylly (Berger et al., Phytotaxa, 2015).
Following the IUCN Red List (SEE, on 12.10.2021), searchig extinct angiosperms from South America, there are 12 fully extinct angiosperms in South America, in 11 genera, most in Sapotaceae and Myrtaceae (7 of 13), here listed as their most actual names: Sicyos villosus Hooh.f., Blutaparon rigidum (A. St.-Hil.) Mears and Delilia inelegans (Hook.f) Kuntze were endemic to the Galapagos, Ecuador; Mida fernandeziana (Phil.) Sprague was endemic to Juan Fernandes, Chile; Arachis rigonii Krapov. & W.C.Greg. was endemic to Bolivia; Pradosia mutisii Cronquisti, Casearia quinduensis Tul. (IUCN) was endemic to Colombia; Campomanesia lundiana (Kiaerski.) Mattos, Chrysophyllum januariense Eichler, Myrcia neocambessedeana E. Lucas & Sobral, Pradosia glaziovii (Pierre) T.D. Penn and Pouteria stenophylla Baehni were endemic Brazil. Mida fernandesiana is not recognized in the VPA. Pradosia mutisii and Casearia quinduensis are cited in the VPA both as from Colombia and Ecuador.
Also according to the IUCN, 10 angiosperms from the continent are extinct in nature, but survive in cultivation; 7 of them are Brugmansia Pers. (Solanaceae), according to the text a genus entirely known only for cultivated species, about which there is no record in herbaria of wild individuals; site information suggests that it is endemic to South America, with five spp. confined to western South America, from Colombia to Chile: B. arborea (L.) Lagerh. (IUCN), B. aurea Lagerh. (IUCN), B. sanguinea (Ruiz & Pav.) D.Don (IUCN), B. versicolor Lagerh. (IUCN) and B. vulcanicola (A.S. Barclay) R.E. Schult. (IUCN); B. insignis (Barb.Rodr.) Lockwood ex R.E.Schult. (IUCN) extending from Colombia and Brazil, and B. suaveolens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) Sweet (IUCN) possibly endemic to the forests of northeastern Brazil; but, due to the lack of records of these species in herbaria, mentioned above, these distributions can never be confirmed and the vast majority of sources, some among the most important such as the VPA, do not consider Brugmansia as native to Brazil; here recognizes only 5 spp., by Dupin & Smith (Taxon, 2018). The other three species that are extinct in the wild in South America are Senecio leucopeplus Cabrera (IUCN) from Argentina, Sophora toromiro (Phil.) Skottsb. from Easter Island in Chile (IUCN), and Terminalia acuminata (Allemão) Eichler (IUCN) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the latter, however, recent records in nature are being analyzed (Wikiparks).
L. LATITUDINAL RECORDS
The two southermost plants grows in Antartida: Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) Bartl. (Caryophyllaceae) and Deschampsia antarctica E. Desv. (Poaceae), both only in coastal rocks, and also in South America (oceanwide-expedition).
M. REMARKABLE DISJUNCTIONS
In NSAA searches, the most complete work on disjunctions is that of Thorne (Chicago Journals, 1972), who defined sixteen categories and 34 subcategories of disjunct ranges of intercontinental magnitude; here are some patterns of disjunction that are often present in South American genera.
South America ✕ Africa - by Sytsma et al. (Int. J. Plant Sci, 2004), of the 12 or so families of flowering plants exhibiting the striking amphi-Atlantic disjunct pattern involving only the Americas and Africa, eight are essentially American families (e.g., Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Caricaceae, Humiriaceae, Loasaceae, Mayacaceae, Rapateaceae, Vochysiaceae) with ca. 3,500 species in the Americas compared with just over 10 in Africa (Thorne 1973); previously, was conclusively demonstrated with a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Rapateaceae that the single African genus Maschocephalus is of recent origin (late Miocene) via longdistance dispersal. Arguments have been made for similar young ages of African taxa in Bromeliaceae and Mayacaceae and perhaps the remainder of these eight families.
The most remarkable disjunction of angiosperms, by this blog, is Pitcairnia feliciana (A. Chev.) Harms & Mildbr, the only species among more than 3,000 bromeliads to be born in Africa, and certainly the most notable plant of Guinea; for images of the plant in natural habitat, see Raiwen/Flickr.
N. NOTES FOR RARITIES - the occurrence of a species in a given geographic context depends on its distribution area, the size of its population and the specificity of the habitats; the table below, whose reference was not accurately detected, illustrates the 8 possible scenarios of occurrence of a plant.
| POPULATION SIZED | |||
| SMALL | LONGER | ||
| RANGE | LONGER | Low Density Longer Range Many Habitats |
Common |
| Low Density Longer Range Specific Habitats |
High Density Longer Range Specific Habitat |
||
| SMALL | Restricted Range Low Density Many Habitats |
Restricted Range High Density Many Habitats |
|
| Restricted Range Low Density Specific Habitats |
Restricted Range High Density Specific Habitats |
||
A plant may be rare for having few collections, or it may occur with several individuals but in a small area. NSAA considers that the orchid Archivea kewensis Christenson & Jenny, is the rarest plant in Brazil; for details of this statement, see Miscellany-E. By Plantas Raras do Brasil (UEFS, BOOK, 2009), at least another 370 cited are known only by their type material, many haven't been collected for decades or centuries, all of which are tied as the second rarest in the country, by NSAA. In the search for 'individual' in the book above mentioned, some angiosperms are found in hard situation: it is seen that Peritassa sadleri Lombardi (Celastraceae, Espírito Santo) and Symplocos microstyla Aranha, P.W.Fritsch & Almeda (Symplocaceae, Minas Gerais) are known by only two individuals each; Schultesia piresiana E.F.Guim. & Fontella (Gentianaceae, Bahia) and Chionanthus greenii Lombardi (Oleaceae, Minas Gerais), only 1! On the same list could be Andreadoxa flava Kallunki (Rutaceae), unique in its genus, with only 1 individual in the wild or Sambuichi (Artigos Técnico-Scientíficos Natureza & Conservação, 2008), at the Centro de Estudo do Cacau, in Bahia state (CNC Flora); by area, we can be cited Prosopanche caatingicola R.F.Machado & L.P.Queiroz (Aristolochiaceae), known only in 200 m² in Bahia state (Machado and Paganucci, Phytotaxa, 2012) and Phyllanthus eremitus Funez & Hassemer (Phyllanthaceae), in less than 30 individuals, in 10 m², Santa Catarina state (Flora de Santa Catarina). Also by the book mentioned above, some plants are known only for cultivation; among these we can mention Begonia aconitifolia A.DC. (Begoniaceae), Ruehssia carvalhoi (Morillo & Carnevali) F.Esp.Santo & Rapini (as in Marsdenia, Apocynaceae), Sinningia helleri Nees and S. leucotricha (Hoehne) H.E.Moore (Gesneriaceae). None of these are on the IUCN Red List.
In a broader analysis, for genera, it is worth mentioning the density of species from the same group in the same area. Here we quote two unique cases. One is the density of the same family per 10,000 km², taken by countries. Perhaps the greatest of all these diversities, for countries/states/units with more than 40,000 km², belongs to the Orchidaceae of Ecuador, with c. 148,1 spp./10,000 km²; Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil has 163,8 spp./10,000 km² of Orchidaceae. The other case is about the density of species of a genus in the same area. One of the most remarkable example is the even more remarkable aggregation is the 175 spp. of Erica found in less than 625 km² in SW Cape, South Africa (Oliver, Linder, & Rourke, Bothalia, 1983).
For rare species in Brazil, the reference Plantas Raras do Brasil (UEFS, BOOK, 2009) lists 2,291 rare species in Brazil, defined as those species that have a distribution less than 10,000 km², in two or more watersheds.
Silva et al. (PeerJ, 2019) evaluated the distribution of 3,272 species of seed plants that are endemic to Brazil with a range smaller than 10,000 km². This list of species was primarily based on the country’s catalogue of rare plant species in Brazil. We intersected the localities of the restricted-range species with the fifth-order watersheds mapped at a scale of 1:250,000 by the Brazilian government and excluded 918 species that were distributed in more than one watershed, resulting in 2,354 microendemic species.
O. ENDEMIC WEEDS?
Rhaphiodon echinus Schauer (Lamicaeae) is a prostrate herbs known from northeastern Brazil and some adjacent areas in southeastern and wet-center regions, plant controversially mentioned as weed in points of its occurrence area (Alves [Dissertation, 2019], Moreira [Campinas/SP, 2011], Global Compedium of Weeds). In confirming this status, it can be considered the only weed of an endemic genus in Brazil.
P. PROBLEMATICS
Phragmites australis (Nees) Döll, the only Arundinoideae in South America, is cited by the VPA as native to all regions of the New World worked by the platform except Brazil (SEE); Reflora puts it as naturalized (SEE), and POWO also as naturalized (SEE). Why does this genus have such a strange distribution? For beautiful images of in French Guiana, see La Chaussete.
Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae) in Mexico: is there really Impatiens native in Mexico?
Does Spiranthes Rich. really occur in French Guiana?
Is Thismia americana N.Pffeif (Burmaniaceae) a fraud? Wilhelm & Rericha (The Great Lake Botanist, 2018) discuss this hypothesis, without defining a judgment; if so, it would be an astonishing fraud and one of the greatest in modern botany.
Cantua megapotamica Spreng. (Polemoniaceae, POWO) and Juglans brasiliensis Dode (Juglandaceae, POWO), possibly Brazilian species, really exist?
UPDATES
17.02.23 - inclusion of topic from nearest genera.
30.04.22 - inclusion of Hydrilla data in topic H.
18.04.22 - four more topics.