UPDATED IN 31⋅01⋅2024
A brief synopsis of several singularities of the South American angiosperms, especially morphological organs, adaptations, chemical, genetic, ecological, habitats, records, among others.
1. MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSE GENERA ‣ a list of genera that this website considers quite diverse in its morphological aspect and habits, with small notes that justify the choice. 4 genera rival each other in morphological diversity on the continent: Baccharis L. (Asteraceae), Valeriana L. (Valerianaceae), Phyllanthus L. (Phyllanthaceae) and Oxalis L. (Oxalidaceae). The determination of which is the most varied does not find a valid parameter in the taxonomy, being a question that depends on the author. SDa considers the above order to represent more morphological variation, as Baccharis ranges from stem-like herbs to dorsel trees, while it does not have floating forms like Phyllanthus neither succulent rosettes like Valeriana.
MOST DIVERSES
Baccharis L. (Asteraceae) ‣ highly diverse genus, ranging from acaulescent species from saline habitats in the Andes to vigorous trees in tropical forests, as seen in Heiden & Bonifacino (Head Topics, 2021); this genus also has phyllocadious, cushions and vine members.
Valeriana L. (Caprifoliaceae) ‣ considered here as the second most morphologically varied genus in South America, it includes 'agavoid' rosettes with long inflorescence of V. plantaginea Kunth (Ecuador and Peru) or short as in V. rigida Ruiz & Pav. (Colombia to Bolivia) and in the twisted leaf species V. macrorhiza Poepp. ex DC. (Cono Sur), upright microphyllous herbs such as V. microphylla Kunth (Colombia to Peru), prostrate herbs with simple leaves like V. glechomifolia F.G. Mey (Brazil) or cut like V. philippiana Briq. (Cono Sur), succulent rosettes like V. henriciii (Graebn.) B. Eriksen (Ecuador and Peru) and V. moyanoi Speg. (Cono Sur), herbaceous lianas such as V. scandens L. (all tropical America) or woody like V. clematitis Kunth. (Mexico to Cono Sur), and type trees like V. tajuvensis Sobral (Brazil).
Phyllanthus L. (Phyllanthaceae) ‣ morphologically well varied in the Brazilian flora, which includes annual species, some microphyllous or even aphyllous, arborescent, lianoids, aquatics and phyllocladics, besides having great variation of types pollen count and chromossomal numbers (Wurdack et al., American Journal of Botany, 2004).
Oxalis L. (Oxalidaceae) ‣ by Gardner et al. (American Journal of Botany, 2012), Oxalis includes annual or acaulescent herbs with lacunose surface (emblematic in sect. Palmatifoliae/SEE), woody shrubs, cushions, lianas, succulents, in addition to having developed numerous geophyte forms: tubers, tuberous roots, rhizomes and bulbs, and is the only genus of Eudicots that evolved several geophyte clades with geographical, morphological and taxonomic implications.
SLIGHTLY DIVERSES
Euphorbia L. (Euphorbiaceae) ‣ although Valeriana is the most varied genus in South America in the opinion of this website, in Brazil here we consider it to be Euphorbia, which we also place as the most morphologically varied genus in the world. Brazilian members includes prostrate tiny herbs, succulent spines, pencil stemmed and foliosous fragile herbs.
Begonia L. (Begoniacae) ‣ based primarily on Moonlight et al. (Taxon, 2018), one can consider Begonia's morphological diversity as one of the largest in the flowering plants, rivaling Euphorbia and Valeriana; the different patterns of shape, texture and coloring of leaves, habits, and flowers are of an incredible variety and it impresses this to be an unquestionably natural group.
Paepalanthus Mart. (Eriocaulaceae) ‣ another with a remarkable diversity of shapes, from tiny to robust rosettes (e.g. in Andrino, fieldgudes, 2015).
Turnera L. (Passifloraceae) ‣ with a remarkable diversity of leaf shape patterns and flower variants, as seen in L. Rocha et al. (ScienceDirect, 2019).
Brocchinia Schult. f. ex Schult. & Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae) ‣ by Givnish et al. (Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation, 1998), this genus has the greatest diversity of means of capturing nutrients among all angiosperms at the generic level, and of morphological variation among Bromeliaceae, and includes carnivores (B. reducta Baker, B. hechtioides Mez), myrmecophytes (B. acuminata L.B. Sm.), (possible) nitrogen fixation by symbiosis (populations of B. tatei L.B. Sm. in the north of Gran Sabana), tank epiphytes (B. hitchcockii L.B. Sm. and B. tatei, optional), terrestrial (B. gilmartiniae Varad.), semi-arboreal (B. micrantha (Baker)Mez., B. paniculata Schult.f., the latter occurs in Brazil), paludiculous (B. melanacra L.B. Sm. (fire resistance), B. prismatica L.B. Sm. and B. steyermarkii L.B. Sm.) and conventional terrestrial forms; in addition, it includes some of the smallest (5 cm) and largest (8 m) bromeliads, arborescent rosettes and lianoid species.
Ficus L. (Moraceae) ‣ by Hodkinson et al. (BOOK, 2007) is one of the most diverse genera in terms of habit and form of life, as it includes evergreen and deciduous, epiphytic and hemi-epiphytic trees (some strangling), creepers, shrubs, and has species ranging from reophytes to lithophytes.
2. MORPHOLOGICAL CENTER OF DIVERSE IN SOME WIDER GENERA - some widely distributed genera reach their greatest morphological variability in certain specific regions.
Draba L. (Brassicaceae) has all diversity of size in n South America, showing tremendous variability in the growth habit, though most of the paramo taxa have woody lower stems and often form subshrubs; all typically woody lower stems are restricted to South America (Al-Shehbaz, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 2018). Pavonia Cav. (Malvaceae) has its center of species diversity in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, where the broadest range of morphological diversity occurs (Grings et al., Systematic Botany, 2011). Sinningia Nees. (Gesneriaceae), highly centered of E & SE Brazil stands out in their family accumulating some quite remarkable singularities, such as the smallest of all (S. minima A. O. Araújo & Chautems, endemic to wet rocks in SE Pará state, growing to a maximum size of 2.5 cm - Araujo et al., Phytotaxa, 2015), the unique annual members of family in New World (S. nordestina Chautems, Baracho & J.A.Siqueira, endemic to NE Brazil, Gesneriad Reference Web), the unique epiphytes in New World outside Episceae (Hinoshita, Dissertation, 2014), and one the most bizarre member of family (S. tuberosa (Mart.) H. E. Moore, a tuberous species with a storage organ in the form of a tuber and produce usually only one leaf per reason, endemic to mountains of SE Brazil - K.Kubitzki, vol VII, 2004).
3. EPIPHYTES ‣ the discussion of the complex and extreme variety of 'epiphyte' in South American flora is above the objectives of this website; however, it is worth noting some groups, starting with the Ericaceae family. Zotz (Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013) is a most large list of epiphytes worldwide, showing number of 27,614 spp. (including primary hemiepiphytes) representing 913 genera in 73 families, or approximately 9% of extant vascular plant diversity.
By Luteyn (The Botanical Review, 2002) Ericaceae is the sixth largest family in number of epiphytes in the Neotropics, after Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, Araceae, Piperaceae and Gesneriaceae; about 45% of the family species in the region are epiphytes (c. 340, but with a marked distinction: the species with an upper ovary are terrestrial (except populations of Gaultheria erecta Vent. in Costa Rica and some individuals of Lyonia octandra (Sw.) Griseb. from Jamaica - therefore, no South American record), whereas, except for Vaccinium L. and Gaylussacia Kunth, all those of the lower ovary tend to be epiphytes.
In this perspective, seven genera of Vaccinieae (inferior ovary) may have epiphytic species in Brazil; in the search for <Ericaceae epiphytes> in Flora 2020 (SEE) only Satyria panurensis (Benth. ex Meisn.) Hook. f. ex Nied. is identified as such; therefore, it can be concluded that only 1 of the nearly 400 epiphytic Ericaceae of the neotropics occurs in Brazil - and even though in South America they are much less than 340, it is still a very small representation.
In Acanthaceae, by Zotz (Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013), only two spp., in Hansteinia Oerst (= Habracanthus Nees, by Mobot, but Habracanthus = Stenostephanus Nees by Daniel (Archive.org, 1995) and Loutheridium S.Watson, are epiphytes; by Profice & Leitman (Phytotaxa, 2013), the herb Clistax bahienses Profice & Leitman (Bahia state in Brazil) is the 3rd true epiphyte of the family, differing from its two cogenerics, both terrestrial shrubs.Other unique epiphyte types among their families include Burmannia kalbreyeri Oliv. (Burmanniaceae) from Costa Rica to Ecuador and Venezuela, non-holomycotrophic (NYBG), and Ludovia lancifolia Brongn. (Cyclanthaceae) from Central America to Peru, Guianas and Brazil, (Gomes, FP & Mello-Silva, R. Flora of Reserva Ducke, 2006); Voyria aphylla (Jacq.) Pers. and V. spruceana Benth. (Gentianaceae) have already been collected growing as epiphytes at about 30 m in height in Colombia (Merckx, Mycoheterotrophy: The biology of plants living on fungi, 2013); despite the 'epiphyte' fame of Araceae, true epiphytes in the family, in the New World, occur only in Anthurium Schott., Philodendron Schott. and Stenospermation Schott. (Zots, 2013).
Amaryllidaceae epiphytes are exclusive to Pamianthe Stapf. (3, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, 1 each), Hippeastrum Herb. (5, all endemic to Brazil) and some groups of southern Africa (Zotz, 2013). The two species of Cochliostema Lem. (Commelinaceae, Central America to Ecuador) are the only ones in the family with bromeloid habit as tank epiphytes (K.Kubitzki, vol IV, 1998, p. 110).
Solanum morelliforme Bitter & Münch (Solanaceae) is the only epiphyte species in sec. Petota (´potatoes'), and is only described for two areas: S Mexico to Honduras, and forests near Lake Titicaca, in Bolivia and Peru (Jansky et al., Front. Plant Sci., 2016). Other 3 spp. of this genus are epiphytes, such as S. evolvulifolium Greenm. (Costa Rica to Peru and Venezuela) and S. phaseoloides Pol. (Mexico to Panamá), by Tepe & Bohs (Systematic Botany, 2011).
A curious relationship between plants is the exclusivity of given orchids on their support plant, a phenomenon observed mainly in Brazil and Africa. In Brazil a number of endemic orchids occurs epiphytically on the stems of different Velloziaceae. Well-known is the case of Constantia cipoensis Porto & Brade which occurs only in association with V. piresiana L. B. Smith and V. compacta Mart. ex. Schult. f., which occur on rocky outcrops above 1000 m elevation. Similarly Pseudolaelia vellozicola (Hoehne) Porto & Brade is known to occur only on the stems of Velloziaceae, which grow on rock outcrops in eastern Brazil (Porembsk, Nordic Journal of Botany, 2008).
For a excellent work for Atlantic Forests epiphytes, see Nunes Ramos (Ecology, 2019); 2,095 species was compiled for Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018.
4. SINGULAR TROPHIC MODE ‣ a summary of parasites, holomycotrophs and carnivorous in South America.
CARNIVOROUS plastid molecular phylogenies that broadly sampled angiosperm lineages imply that carnivorous plants evolved in 14 families and 6 orders (Fleck & Jobson, Plants, 2023, accepted here).
There are (6:9/)204 spp. of carnivores South America (141 in Brazil, 66 endemic), in Paepalanthus Mart. (Eriocaulaceae), Drosera L. (Droseraceae), Philcoxia P. Taylor & V.C. Souza (Plantaginaceae), Heliamphora Benth. (Sarraceniaceae), Genlisea A.St.-Hil., Utricularia L., Pinguicula L. (Lentibulariaceae), Catopsis Griseb., Brocchinia Schult. & Schult.f. (Bromeliaceae), in the first six genera Brazil has endemic species; only Pinguincula does not occur in Brazil, which is the continental center of diversity for Philcoxia (a endemic genus), Genlisea, Drosera and Utricularia; Venezuela, on the other hand, is the center of diversity for Brocchinia and Heliamphora; Paepalanthus, Triantha (Tofieldiaceae, Canada, U.S.A.), Catopsis and Brocchinia are the only carnivorous monocots, and the only genera simultaneously with carnivorous and non-carnivorous species (1 out 257, 1 out 4, 1 out of 20 and 2 out of 17, respectively).
Families with carnivorous species but without such representatives in Brazil include Tofieldiaceae (Triantha occidentalis, Canada, U.S.A.), Linderniaceae (Crepidorhopalon droseroides, Mozambique), Roridulaceae (2, South Africa), Drosophyllaceae (Drosophyllum lusitanicum, Portugal, Spain, Marocco), Diocophylleaceae (Triphyophyllum peltata, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone), Nepenthaceae (183, Madagascar to China, up to Australia) - all these mutually and nationally disjuncts, Cephalotaceae (1, W Australia), Byblidaceae (8, Australia, New Guinea).
The Brazilian Paepalanthus bromelioides Silveira unique carnivorous Eriocaulaceae, forms a water-holding tank within its rosette of leaves and is currently considered a carnivore based on δ 15 N values that indicate nitrogen uptake from animal prey. Experimental demonstrations of nutrient absorption are yet to be executed.
| FAMILY | GENERA | SA | BR | ONLY BR | NOTES |
| ERIOCAULACEAE | Paepalanthus | 1 | 1 | 1 | tropical America; carnivorous member endemic to mountains of Minas Gerais state, SE Brazil. |
| DROSERACEAE | Drosera | 43 | 31 | 21 | Mainly wet soils, high diverse in mountains of Brazil and Australia. |
| PLANTAGINACEAE | Philcoxia | 7 | 7 | 7 | A single carnivorous genus in this family, nematode-eating from sandy dry soils in Maranhão, Goiás, Bahia and Minas Gerais states in E Brazil. |
| SARRACENIACEAE | Heliamphora | 23 | 5 | 1 | High table-montane habitats in Guyana Highlands: Western Group (6 spp., 3 in Brazil, one endemic) and Eastern Group (17, two in Brazil, none endemic). |
| BROMELIACEAE | Brocchinia | 1 | 1 | Guyana Highlands habitats, to low sandy solis to humid high table mountains (tepuis). | |
| Catopsis | 2 | 1 | Epiphytes very widely in tropical America, mainly in Caribbean. | ||
| LENTIBULARIACEAE | Genlisea | 20 | 18 | 12 | Two subgenera, subg. Genlisea from over range of genus, and subg. Tayloria (9) endemic to Brazil. |
| Pinguicula | 12 | Mainly wet soils; 5 spp. occur from Venezuela to Bolivia, and five in Argentina and Chile, all in two endemic clades, Isoloba sect. Ampullipalatum with 8 spp. in both regions, and Temnoceras sect. Heterophylliformis, monotypic, with P. elongata Benj. from Colombia and Venezuela. | |||
| Utircularia | 97 | 78 | 25 | Mainly wet soils. | |
| 204 | 142 | 67 |
Only Brazil, Australia, South Africa and the U.S.A. have endemic genera in carnivores, with Philcoxia being the largest of them.
| 1 | BRAZIL | Philcoxia (7 sp., PLANTAGINACEAE) | ||||
| 1 | AUSTRALIA | Cephalotus (1 sp., CEPHALOTACEAE) – a single genus in this family. | ||||
| 1 | SOUTH AFRICA | Roridula (2 sp., RORIDULACEAE) – a single genus in this family. | ||||
| 2 | UNITED STATES | Darlingtonia (1 sp., SARRACENIACEAE), Dionaea (1 sp., DROSERACEAE). | ||||
For new species, Fleischmann & al. (Willdenowia, 2009) described Heliamphora uncinata Nerz, Wistuba & A.Fleischm., H. ciliata Wistuba, Nerz & A.Fleischm. and H. huberi A.Fleischm., Wistuba & Nerz. in 2009. In 2011, the Associazione Italiana Piante Carnivore (AIPC Special Issue 4: News of 2011) summarizes a series of species of carnivorous plants discovered during the year, in particular some Brazilian ones in Droseraceae, Sarraceniaceae and Lentibulariaceae.
HOLOMYCOTROPHS the best site for this group of plants is Mycoheterotrophy.com. Following circunscription of Merckx (Mycoheterotrophy: The biology of plants living on fungi, 2013) exclusively for holomycothophics species of angiosperms, 91 spp. in 24 genera of 7 families are holomycotrophs in South America; Brazil has 66 sp. in 24 genera in 6 families, with 24 spp. endemics - and a genus, Pogoniopsis Rchb.f. (2, Orchidaceae).
Of the families with holomycotrophs in South America, only Triuridaceae and Corsiaceae are globally composed of holomycotrophs types, but only two of the represented genera have chlorophyll and holomycotrophics species: Burmannia L. and Microchilus C.Presl; in the former, only B. tenella Benth., of the New World species, is holomycotrophic; in the latter, from 9 spp., only the enigmatic M. pedicelatus (Cogn.) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase from Brazil is supposed to be holomycotrophic; Mathias Engels (Tese, 2014) citation on pg. 118 its occurrence in Paraguay, and highlights that it has not been collected for several decades and may not be holomycotrophic. The table below lists only holomycotrophic species.
MICOHETEROTROPHS FROM SOUTH AMERICA
FAMILY GENERA SA BR ONLY BR NOTES CORSIACEAE Arachnits 1 Arachnitis uniflora Phil. from Bolívia, Peru, Argentina e Chile, up to Falklands Is. ERICACEAE Monotropa 1 Several genera and species in Northern Hemisphere; in South America only M. uniflora L., collected in Colombia. GENTIANACAE Voyria 17 13 1 22 spp., 21 in Neotropics and one in W Africa. Voyriella 1 1 One species in N South America. BURMANNIACEAE Apteria 1 1 One widely distributed species in Neotropics. Burmannia 1 1 Pantropical genus, centered in Asia. Campylosiphon 1 1 Two species, New World and Africa one each. Dyctiostega 1 1 One widely distributed species. Gymnosiphon 12 7 Pantropical. Hexapterella 2 1 Two spp., one widely distributed and one only in Venezuela. Miersiella 1 1 Only one species in over tropical South America. THISMIACEAE Thismia 23 20 13 tropical America, tropical Asia to Oceania, U.S.A. Tiputinia 1 Only one spp. known only from Ecuador and S Peru. TRIURIDACEAE Lacandonia 1 1 1 Two very rare spp.; one in Mexico, another in Brazil. Peltophyllum 2 2 1 Two restricted spp. in Brazil, Guyana and Argentina. Sciaphila 8 6 2 Widely distributed and restricted spp.; also Old World. Soridium 1 1 One widely distributed species in Neotropics. Triuridopsis 2 Two spp., Peru and Bolivia one endemic each. Triuris 3 2 1 Three species, scattered from Mexico to Brazil. ORCHIDACEAE Platythelys 1 1 1 9 spp., only one (Brazil, Paraguay) mycoheterotrophic. Degranvillea 1 One sp. from French Guiana and Suriname. Uleiorchis 4 3 2 Four species in over tropical America. Pogoniopsis 2 2 2 Two species endemics to Brazil. Wullscglaegelia 2 2 Two widely distributed species in Neotropics. TOTAL 91 66 24
Five genera do not occur in Brazil, with Degranvillea Datermann only in French Guiana and Suriname, Monotropa L. only in Colombia, and the rest all in Peru, from there extending either to Ecuador, Bolivia or the Southern Cone; Brazil has endemic species in all genera with endemic species in a country of South America, except Gymnosiphon Blume, with endemisms only in Guyana, and Hexapterella Urb., with a Venezuelan endemic; at South American holomycotrophics familiar lineages, Ericaceae and Corsiaceae are the unique absents in Brazil. The first report of holomycotrophic dicot in Argentina was Voyria aphylla (Jacq.) Pers. (Gentianaceae) via F. E. Gatti & H. A. Keller (Bonplandia, 2019), in Misiones.
In tropical South America grows the tallest documented holomycotroph, Sciaphila purpurea Benth. (Triuridaceae) from Peru to French Guiana and Brazil, which can reach a height of almost 1.5 m tall (POWO | Triuridaceae).
PARASITES a high reference: Nickrent (Taxon, 2020); by this reference, "angiosperms that morphologically and physiologically attach to other flowering plants by means of a haustorium have evolved 12 times independently resulting in 292 genera and ca. 4,750 species. Although hemiparasites predominate, holoparasitism has evolved in all but two clades, Cassytha (Lauraceae) and Krameria (Krameriaceae). Santalales contains the largest number of genera (179) and species (2,428) among the 12 parasitic plant lineages whereas Orobanchaceae is the largest single family with 102 genera and over 2,100 spp. Santalales contains the widest array of nutritional modes including autotrophic non-parasites (13/71), hemiparasites (149/2,312), and holoparasites (17/45)".
South America has 876 parasitic spp. in 68 genera of 17 families; Brazil has 278 spp. in 47 genera of 13 families. 132 spp. and 5 genera are endemics to Brazil (Oryctina, Lathrophytum, Notochilus, Physocalyx and Magdalenaea). Endemic genera, despites Brazil, occur only in Chile (Desmaria and Notanthera).
| FAMILY | GENERA | GENERA | SPECIES | NOTES | |||||
| SA | BR | ONLY BR | EXXOGENERA | SA | BR | ONLY BR | |||
| EHRETIACEAE | Lennoa | 1 | 1 | 1 | Colombia and Venezuela. | ||||
| MITRASTEMONACEAE | Mitrastemon | 1 | 1 | 1 | Colombia. | ||||
| CITYNACEAE | Bdalophytum | 1 | 1 | 1 | Colombia. | ||||
| APODANTHACEAE | Apodanthes | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Pilostyles | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| ARISTOLOCHIACEAE | Prosopanche | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3 | |||
| KRAMERIACEAE | Krameria | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | |||
| LAURACEAE | Cassytha | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| CONVOLVULACEAE | Cuscuta | 1 | 1 | 65 | 22 | 9 | |||
| OROBANCHACEAE | 15 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 149 | 41 | 25 | |
| XIMENIACEAE | Ximenia | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | |||
| OLACACEAE | Dulacia | 1 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 4 | |||
| Ptychopetalum | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| BALANOPHORACEAE | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 13 | 5 | |
| MISODENDRACEAE | Misodendron | 1 | 1 | 8 | Argentina and Chile. | ||||
| SCHOEPFIACEAE | Quinchamalium | 1 | 1 | 1 | Peru to Chile and Argentina. | ||||
| Schoepfia | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| LORANTHACEAE | 17 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 283 | 111 | 63 | |
| OPILIACEAE | Agonandra | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | |||
| SANTALACEAE | 12 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 298 | 56 | 17 | ||
| TOTAL | 68 | 47 | 5 | 21 | 876 | 278 | 132 | ||
Three Olacoid parasitic genera (all root hemiparasites) occur in South America: Ptychopetalum, Dulacia (Olacaceae) and Ximenia (Ximeniaceae), with 18 spp. in continent, 15 in Brazil (exceptions three Dulacia) and 6 endemics, in the three genera. Agonandra also is parasitic (Toan Lee et al., Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 2018). Santalaceae has 298 spp. in South America, only 56 in Brazil (41 of them in Phoradendron), 17 endemics (in Phoradendron, Antidaphne, Acanthosyris and Thesium), Loranthaceae has 283 spp. in South America, 121 in Brazil, 61 endemics. Of 598 spp. absent in Brazil, 357 (~ 3/5) are Phoradendron, Neobratsia, Cuscuta, Dendrophtora or Psittacanthus. Parasitism on Schoepfia was described in Werth et al. (Biotropica, 1979). Three lineages with hemiparasites are monogeneric and phyllogenetically isolated: Krameria (within own family Krameriaceae), Cassytha (within green family Lauraceae) and Cuscuta (within green family Convolvulaceae). All these genera occur in Brazil, with 26 spp., 4 in Krameria (two endemics), one in Cassytha and 22 in Cuscuta (9 endemics). Cuscuta includes hemi and holoparasites but definition by species, in Brazil, is unavailable. Orobanchaceae has 15 genera in South America, all fully parasitics, 10 in Brazil (largest diversity of continent in genera, with 40 spp., 24 endemics), three endemics; all Brazilian members are hemipasasitics; of the 5 missing genera, 4 are non endemic to continent: Euphrasia and the holoparasitic Aphyllon occur locally in Peru to Argentina, Chile and Bolivia (20 spp. in area); Pedicularis and Lamourouxia occur locally in Colombia to Ecuador (3 spp. in area, the latter also in Peru); Neobartsia has 48 spp. restricted from Venezuela to Argentina, and has a bigger radation in Andes. 20 genera in this family are holoparasitic, but only Aphyllon occur in South America.
Two holoparasitic lineage does not occur in South America: Rafflesiaceae and Cynomoriaceae. Three holoparasitic lineage occur, in South America, only in Colombia and Venezuela: Lennoa (Ehretiaceae), Bdallophytum (Cytinaceae) and Mitrastemon (Mitrastemonaceae), with 3 spp.
Isophasic parasitis is very rare, a feature that, in Santalales, is only known for in several species of Arceuthobium (North American A. americanum Nutt. ex Engelm., A. douglasii Engelm., and A. pusillum Peck, and the Himalayan A. minutissimum Hook.), but only on their most common hosts trees, in Phoradendron perredactum Rzedowski & Calderón, from Mexico (Kuijt, Acta Botanica Mexicana, 2011), and in Tristerix aphyllus. Only two several parasitic plants infect cactis, both Loranthaceae subtribe Ligariinae: Tristerix aphyllus (Miers ex DC.) Barlow & Wiens attacking Trichocereeus chiloensis (Colla) Britton & Rose in Chile, and Ligaria cuneifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Tiegh. on Corryocactus Britton & Rose in Peru (Mauseth et al., Cactus and Succulent Journal, 2006). Tristerix aphyllus also has the most derived parasite in Santalales, as a endophytic parasite on cacti, whose endophytic life history may allow the parasite to escape the hot and desiccating desert conditions; however, this species retain some chlorophyll, and in spite of these extreme advances toward parasitism, true holoparasites are absent in the order despites Balanophoraceae (Science Direct | Holoparasitic).
5. SMALLESTS and LARGESTS
By its own observations, the SDa intuits that the smallest known angiosperms (the observed size is at the height of the plant's flowering maturity) fall into three groups, all well distributed in the world: terrestrial nanoplants¹ (Miscellany | Neologisms), Araceae Lemnoideae², and isophasic microparasites³ in Santalaceae and Apodanthaceae.
¹Some plants of high mountains Peru, compete among the smallest of their groups - some among the smallest in over terrestrial angiosperms; as an example, Viola liliputana H. H. Iltis & H. E. Ballard (Violaceae), a acaulescent perennial herbs, up to 1.1 cm tall, is mentionable (Ballard & Iltis, Brittonia, 2012), cited in this work as possibly the smallest known terrestrial dicot. However, Lysipomia mitsyae Sylvester & D.Quandt (Campanulaceae), minute glabrous short-lived monocarpic herb and also from Peru, 1.8–4(–5.5) mm tall, is smaller; this species occur only in Cuzco region (Sylvester et al., Taxon, 2016).
Possibly the smallest terrestrial dicot in Brazil is Lepuropetalon spathulatum Elliot (Celastraceae), a herb forming hemispherical tuft, up to 2 cm tall and wide, rarely larger, which was cited as the smallest terrestrial angiosperm in Chile by M. Alvarez et al. (Feddes Repertorium, 2012); images of this plants at Flora Nativa de Uruguay | Celastraceae; in Brazil this species was collected in small low sites in E Rio Grande do Sul state. The smallest of all Cactaceae can also be considered a nanoplant: Blossfeldia liliputiana Werderm, from S Bolivia to N Argentina, only about 10-12 mm in diameter at maturity (llifle | Bloosfeldia). Other groups with 'nanospecies' is Orchidaceae. Orchids with flowers less than 2mm diameter includes several species in Platystele Schltr. from tropical Andes, such as P. ornata Garay (IOSPE), P. enervis Luer (IOSPE), and the smallest Peruvian Orchidaceae, P. peruviana Rizo-Patron (Rizo-Patron, Phytotaxa, 2022), and diminute Campylocentrum Benth., including the smallest of all Orchidaceae, C. insulare C. E. Siquiera & E.M. Pessoa, a aphyllous species endemic to Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil (Siqueira et al., Systematic Botany, 2015).
²Arguably, the smallest known plants belong to the floating aquatics of the Wolffia branch of subfamily Lemnoidaee of Araceae - Wolffia Horkel ex Schleid and Wolfiella Helgelm., which are quite simplistic forms, unparalleled in any other group, lacking traditional elements of land plants, and often reduced to feathers in a single frond; for Wolffia, 4 spp. occur in New World (two in Brazil, none endemics), all with fronds ranging from 1.4 to 1.6 mm. The smallest New World species is W. borealis (Englem.) Landolt. from North America, followed by W. brasiliensis Wedd. - these the smallest angiosperm species in South America and Brazil. Worldwide, all seven smallest species are in Old Wold, with the smallest (smallest of all angiosperms) being W. angusta (Roxburgh) Hartog & Plas from Malay Peninsula, New Guinea and Australia, with with fronds on all dimensions smaller than 1 mm (Almanaque Z).
³Just looking at the size of the flowering part of the Apodanthaceae species, very rarely a species exceeds 10mm in length (A. Blarer et al., Plant Syst. Evol., 2004); however, the isophasic part of the plant can challenge its tiny size. In South America has only isophasic microparasites at Apodanthaceae, with 4 spp., one Apodanthes and three in Pilostyles. In Brazil occur 1 sp. of each genus.
Begonia elachista Moonlight & Tebbitt (Begoniaceae), from lowlands of Peru, is the world smallest species of genus, that reaches maturity at fewer than 5 cm in height (Moonlight P.W. et al., European Journal of Taxonomy, 2017). Careful observation of the SDa suggests that Annona warmingiana Mello-Silva & Pirani maybe the smallest of all Magnoliales species. Dorstenia gracilis Carauta (Moraceae), endemic to E Brazil is possibly the smallest species of this family worlwide (our own observation, based on CNC Flora | Dorstenia gracilis). The smallest of all Gesneriaceae is Sinningia minima A. O. Araújo & Chautems, endemic to wet rocks in SE Pará state in N Brazil, growing to a maximum size of 2.5 cm (Araujo et al., Phytotaxa, 2015). Raddiella vanessieae Judz., endemic to French Guiana, is smallest known bamboo, flowering at only 2 cm high (Judziewicz, J. of the Bot. Res. Institute of Texas, 2007).
The tallest tree in Brazil and in South America is Dinizia excelsa Ducke (Fabaceae): a specimen with an unbelievable 88.5m in height, in a remote region of the Paru State Forest, in Pará state (Gorgens, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2019); it is a record for the Amazon, at least 20 m taller than any other record already mentioned, and it is surprising for the existence of others around it with a height greater than 80m, which has always been considered unthinkable for any specimen in South America. In the list of the List of Superlative Trees our Dinizia is the 10th tallest in the world, after five American conifers, three Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) from Tasmania and Shorea faguetiana Heim. (Dipterocarpaceae) from Borneo, this being the 2th largest tree in the tropical region of earth, the largest non-Malvid angiosperm, and the largest angiosperm in the New World. For a map of all locations of trees 70m taller in Amazon forest, see Gorgens et al., Global Change Biology, 2020.
However, González-Espinosa et al. (Flora & Fauna International, 2011, p. 87) mentions Ulmus mexicana (Liebm.) Planch. (Ulmaceae, Mesoamerican) as being up to 87m, but the List of Superlative Trees does not mention this record; this is considered the largest tree in Mesoamerica and Mexico. At Monumental Trees, the largest documented tree for South America is a Gyranthera caribensis Pittier (Malvaceae, endemic to Venezuela) from Yaracuy, Venezuela, which reached 63.43m in height (SEE), and is the only angiosperm in South America over 50m mentioned on the website.
Malvids are certainly those who dominate the niche of giant trees; just to contextualize, it is worth mentioning the tallest native trees in Africa: Entandrophragma excelsum (Dawe & Sprague) Sprague (Meliaceae, Uganda to N Malawi), with giant limbs that grow around Kilimanjaro (see Giant Trees Discovery in Africa); for five times in a row members of Shorea faguetiana were the tallest trees in the tropical world (Wikipedia); both are Malvids.
Many of the largest members of some orders and families in Brazil correspond to trees in the group. In this sense, by Magnanini & Magnanini (National Council of the Biosphere Reserve of the Atlantic Forest, 2002, with some errors in nomenclature and family registration, disregarded by SDa), the largest Ericales are Bertholletia, Cariniana, Lecythis (Lecythidaceae), in Lamiales is Paratecoma (Bignoniaceae) and in Myrtales is Vochysia (Vochysiaceae), all in the 60m range.
In this text there is reference to a Paratecoma peroba (Record & Mell) Kuhlm. (Bignoniaceae, with photo in work) with 53m high in Espírito Santo; for other trees with equal or greater height the work mentions several Lecythidaceae and Fabaceae. In Salomão (Bulletin of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, 2009) there is a photo of Bertholetia excelsa Bonpl. tree with DPA (trunk width at chest height) of 3.87m and 48m high; according to the data of Magnanini & Magnanini (2002), this exact specimen would only be smaller in DAP than its cousins Cariniana legalis, Cariniana estellensis, by Hymenaea courbaril (Fabaceae) and Caryocar villosum (Caryocaraceae), and in height Paratecoma peroba; Magnanini & Magnanini (2002) also speaks of a Bertholetia excelsa with a DPA of 5.25 m in Itupiranga (Pará state). The work Plantas Raras do Brasil talks about Pouteria oxypetala from São Paulo and Micropholis resinifera from Amazonas, both Sapotaceae (Ericales), about 50m high.
In the 50m range, reaches the tallest trees in orders Malvales (Ceiba, Huberodendron) and Malpighiales (Hevea, Caryocar). Cardoso et al. (Neodiversity, 2015) speaks of Aguiaria excelsa (Malvaceae) up to 50m in height.
Ceroxylon quindiuense (Karst.) H.Wendl. (Arecaceae) is tallest of all Monocots worldwide; it's grows in E Andes of Colombia (rarely in the W Colombian Andes), with a disjunct distribution in the Andes of northern Peru (Wikipedia). Siphocampylus clade (Campanulaceae), from Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, is composed of robust shrubs or trees that are exceptionally tall for the centropogonid clade (Lagomarsino & Aguilar, PhytoKeys, 2020). The tallest plants in the Lychnophorinae tribe of Asteraceae, are Gorceixia decurrens Baker reaching up to 7m, and Eremanthus arboreus (Gardner) MacLeish, reaching 5m (Leouille et al., Phytotaxa, 2019), both endemics to Brazil. Hydrangea serratifolia (Hook. & Arn.) F. Phil. (Hydrangeaceae) is the largest woody liana in Chile, and possibly in Argentina (Chilebosque). Aosa grandis (Standl.) R.H.Acuña & Weigend is among the largest species of Loasaceae, both in terms of absolute plant size and in the size of its organs; in the wild, plants have stems up to ca. 4 m long and 7 cm in diameter; the leaves are usually very large, reaching lengths up to ca. 50 cm, as are the bracteate inflorescences that can grow to more than 1 m long (Acuña & Wigend, Phytotaxa, 2018). Gunnera manicata Linden ex André is the largest species of all order Gunnerales, and it's endemic to high mountains of southern Brazil (Wikipedia). Despite Myrrhidendron donnellsmithii Coulter & Rose (Apiaceae) being the tallest member of its family in Central and North America (up to 5m, Procupez, Revista de Biologia Tropical, 1996), his cogeneric M. glaucescens (Benth.) J.M. Coult. & Rose (PHOTOS | VPA) is not the biggest member of the family in South America (fewer 2m tall., Coulter, JWAS, 1927), a position occupied by forms of Eryngium L. from S Brazil and adjacent countries, with Eryngium pandanifolium Cham. & Schltdl. reaching to 4m (Correia & Pirani, Flora Fanerogâmica do Estado de São Paulo, vol. 4, 2005) and E. chamissonis Urb. up to 3,5 m high (Reflora). Maranta gigantea N. Luna & E. M. Pessoa and M. zingiberina L. Andersson (Marantaceae), from forests of NE Brazil, are the tallest species in this genus, up to 1,8 m tall. (Luna et al., Phytotaxa, 2018). In tropical South America grows the tallest documented holomycotroph, Sciaphila purpurea Benth. (Triuridaceae) from Peru to French Guiana and Brazil, which can reach a height of almost 1.5 m tall (POWO | Triuridaceae). Based on K.Kubitzki (vol XIV, 2016, p. 3), we sugests that Duckeodendron cestroides Kuhlm., endemic to Brazilian portion of Amazon rainforest, is the largest member of Solanaceae. Heliamphora ionasi Maguire (Sarraceniaceae), endemic to two tepuis in E Venezuela, has the largest pitchers in the genus, which can be up to 50 cm in height (Wikipedia | Heliamphora ionasi). Spergularia manicata (Skottsb) Kool & Thulin, endemic to remote San Ambrosio Island, off the coast of Chile, in the only member of Caryophyllaceae that may grow to a small tree (Kool & Thulin, Taxon, 2017). Drosera magnifica Rivadavia & Gonella (Droseraceae) from E Minas Gerais in SE Brazil is the largest species of sundrew in New World and a third of world - the other two being D. regia L. from South Africa and D. gigantea Lindl. from Australia (Gonella et al., Phytotaxa, 2015). Oxalis gigantea Barnéoud, endemic to Chile, is largest species of genus (World of Succulents). The largest bamboos (and Poales) from New World are Guadua chacoensis (Rojas) Londono & P. M. Peterson (S Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia) and G. angustifolia Kunth., from Mexico to Peru (Judd, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1992). Sobralia altissima D.E. Benn. & Christenson (Orchidaceae), endemic to Amazonia of Peru, is tallest of all orchids, reaching up to 13.4m tall (The Sobralia Page, 2007). Begonia parvifolia Liebm. from Costa Rica to Peru is possibly the tallest member of this genus in New World (Daily Mail), and B. luxurians Scheidw. is possibly the tallest Begonia from Brazil (Plants Rescue, PHOTO). Holoregmia viscida Ness. (Martyniaceae) from NE Brazil is the largest member of entery family (data for high in Rabelo-Costa et al., PLECEVO, 2022).
The entire size range of the Velloziaceae is composed of Brazilian species: from fewer 10 cm in Vellozia abietina Mart. and V. minima Pohl, to more than 6 m in V. gigantea N.L.Menezes & Mello-Silva (POWO | NTK Velloziaceae). Based on Penneys et al. (Phytotaxa, 2020), we sugests that Lithobium cordatum Bong., endemic to rocky habitats in SE Brazil, is possibly the smallest of all Melastomataceae in New World, that form small rosettes that do not exceed 3 cm in diameter; for the tallest members of this family in New World, the most likely are Miconia Ruiz & Pav. (e.g. M. poeppigii Triana), Mouriri Aubl., Tessmannianthus (NTBG | Melastomataceae), as T. cenepensis Wurdack in Ecuador and Peru up to 25 m, T. calcaratus (Gleason) Wurdack up to 30m in Colombia, and T. heterostemon Markgr. up to 45m in Peru and Ecuador (SEE); all remaining species are fewer 20m: T. carinatus Almeda (SEE), T. cereifolius Almeda (SEE), T. gordonii Almeda (SEE), and T. quadridomius Wurdack (SEE, pg. 247).
6. WOODS ‣ Ochroma pyramidale (Cav. ex Lam.) Urb. (Malvaceae), native to almost all tropical America, has one of the lightest woods available, with a density of only between 0.04 and 0.34 g/cm³ (Wikipedia). Dinizia excelsa Ducke (Fabaceae) has sthe highest average species-level wood density in the Amazon of 0.94 g/cm³ (Gorgens et al., Global Change Biology, 2020).
7. BASAL GROUPS ‣ basal groups at South American species includes Gunnera herteri Osten, basal among Gunneraceae, known only from S Brazil and Uruguay (K.Kubitzki, vol IX, 2007, pg. 180) and Anomochloideae (2/4, tropical America), with genera Anomochloa Brongn., endemic to Brazil, and Streptochaeta Schrad. ex Nees (Mathews et al., American Journal of Botany, 2000).
8. LIFE CICLE and LONGEVITY‣ three Brazilian species are unique annual among their groups: Raddiella minima Judz. & Zuloaga among bamboos (endemic to Mato Grosso state, by Filgueiras & Gonçalves, The Journal of the American Bamboo Society, 2004, pg. 10); Gunnera herteri Osten among Gunnerales, known only from S Brazil and Uruguay (K.Kubitzki, vol IX, 2007, pg. 180); and Sinningia nordestina Chautems, Baracho & J.A.Siqueira, the unique annual among New World Gesneriaceae (Gesneriad Reference Web), endemic to NE Brazil.
At longevity, the List of Superlative Trees: Oldest proposes the ten oldest trees, and the second on the list is a gymnosperm from Argentina and Chile (Fitzroya cupressoides Hook. f. ex Lindl., Cupressaceae), in a Chilean individual; Ruy et al. (Anais ds Academia Brasileira de Ciência, 2013) makes an estimate of a xylopodial specimen of Jacaranda decurrens Cham. (Bignoniaceae), a species native from center Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, in Itutinga, Minas Gerais, and gives the plant 3,801 years, being, according to the publication's information, one of the oldest native plants of the Neotropics. An individual from Cariniana legalis (Mart.) Kuntze (Lecythidaceae) in Santa Rita do Passo Quatro (São Paulo state, Brazil) is identified by many sources (eg, Revista Galileu, SEE) as being around 3,000 years old; however, as highlighted by the AVPH Group (SITE), there is contention and controversy about this age, and cites that it may not even be 1,000 years old; SDa does not accept this supposed age of 3,000 years.
9. ODD HABITS and ADAPTATIONS ‣ in addition to some exceptions already mentioned above for certain genera or species that have a certain singularity in their genus or family, it is worth mentioning several important cases involving South America plants.
TREES
For trees, a worldwide global list of trees are available in GlobalTreeSearch. The List of superlative trees includes a series of rankings on trees (in addition to the largest, widest and oldest), such as more volumous, thicker, thicker branches, deeper barks and larger canopy in covered area; SDa does not have any consistent information about our records on these last issues, unfortunately; a summary of floristic variation and distribution of richness of tree and tree-like taxa in Brazil is available in Luciene Castuera-Oliveira, Ary Teixeira de Oliveira-Filho and Pedro V. Eisenlohr (Acta Botanica Brasilica, 2019).
For a general analysis of trees, it is worth visiting E. Beech et al. (Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 2017), which provides a general scenario of the world's trees: 60,065 spp., almost half (45%, 27,203) in just 10 families, with Fabaceae (5,405), Rubiaceae (4,827) and Myrtaceae (4,330) leading full; and Myrtaceae are the three genera that lead at this level: Syzigium R.Br. ex Gaertn. (1069), Eugenia L. (884) and Eucalyptus L´Hér (747). Brazil leads with 8,715 spp. of trees, followed by Colombia (5,776) and Indonesia (5,142). Almost 3/5 of the trees are national endemisms, mainly in Brazil (4,333), Madagascar (2,991), Australia (2,584) and China (2,149).
Rhodospatha arborescens Temponi & Croat (Araceae), endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais state, is the only species among the 29 of its genus with helophytic habit and arborescent growth, which is something rare as a whole in Araceae, also occurring only in Montrichardia L. and Philodendron Schott (Temponi et al., Brittonia, 2012).
Passiflora L. (Passifloraceae) includes 9 spp. as true trees, all from Colombia but one (in Peru), 4 endemics, remaining up to Costa Rica, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru; P. lindeniana Planch. ex Triana & Planch up to 20m high (Almanaque Z/Flora World). Ipomoea includes six true trees (up to 15m tall in a mexican endemic), all from Mexico, I. wolcottiana Rose, Gard. & Forest and I. pauciflora M. Martens & Galeotti up to Peru in South America (Almanaque Z/Flora World).
Ludwigia anastomosans (DC.) H. Hara (Onagraceae) is a unique tree species in the genus; it is a remarkable tree restricted to river banks in the central Brazilian savannas and Atlantic Forest of Brazil, so unique and composes a section of this alone (Zardini & Raven, Systematic Botany, 1992). Uncommon dendroid habits also occur in Bromeliaceae, mainly in Brocchinia (see dendroid palm-like B. micrantha (Baker) Mez., and vellozioid B. uaipanensis (Maguire) Givnish). Aristolochia arborea Linden is the most arborescent species of this genus (Angios Bergianska), known from Mexico to Colombia (POWO).
In Cistaceae, by Angios Bergianska/Malvales/Cistaceae, Pakaraimaea dipterocarpacea Maguire & Ashton shows a taller tropical tree from Venezuela and Guyana, an aberrant genetically isolated divergence from the rest of the family, which are mostly shrubs or herbs mostly concentrated in cold regions Northern Hemisphere.
HERBS
Herbs are ununsual in groups such as Clusiaceae and other tropical mainly-tree families; among Schoepfiaceae, herbs occur only in Quinchamalium Molina (C & S Andes, Angios Bergianska), and in Rhamnaceae, possibly only in Crumenaria decumbens Mart. from Guatemala to Honduras, Bolivia and Brazil (Angios Bergianska); among Lychnophorinae subtribe of Asteraceae, herbs occur only in Centratherum Cass. (Leouille et al., Phytotaxa, 2019); dwarf species of Dioscorea (Dioscoreaceae) are short, usually less than 50 cm, entirely or occasionally missing a climbing stem, appearing as self-supported or prostate herbs; this habit has mainly in African savannah, absent in Asia, but some in the New World: Mexico (2) and Brazil, with at least 6 spp. (Araújo, Antar & Lombardi, Kew Bulletin, 2016).
In Bignoniaceae, few herbs occur, with New World members belonging Tourretia Foug. (1) from Mexico to Bolivia and Eccremocarpus Ruiz & Pavon (5) from Colombia to Cono Sur, these herbaceous vines (Udulutsch Acevedo-Rodríguez, BOOK, 2022), and Argylia D. Don. from Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (K.Kubitzki, vol VII, 2004).
LIANAS
Unique lianas among their families includes Vasconcellea horovitziana (V.M. Badillo) V.M. Badillo (Caricaceae) from Ecuador (e-Monography of the Caricaceae), Thoracocarpus bisssectus (Vell.) Harling (Cyclanthaceae) from over tropical South America (Gomes, F. P. & Mello-Silva, R., Flora da Reserva Ducke, 2006), and Velloziella Baill. (3 spp.), from Venezuela up to E Brazil, among Orobanchaceae (POWO | Orobanchaceae). Lianoids are uncommon in Oxalis L. (Oxalidaceae), and such only occur in South America (Emshviller, The Botanical Review, 2002), as O. lotoides Kunth and O. medicaginea Kunth, both native to Venezuela to Peru. Desmoncus Mart. (Arecaceae) includes the only liana palms from the New World alongside Chamaeodora elatior Mart. from Mexico and Central America and Bactris glassmanni Med.-Costa & Noblick ex A.J.Hend. from Brazil (Lianas in Neotropics), and are the Neotropical equivalents of Old World rattans; by Hendeson (Phytotaxa, 2011), of the genus only D. stans Grayum & de Nevers from Costa Rica does not have a lianoid habit; against their essentially lianoid family, types like Abuta grandifolia (Mart.) Sandwith and Cissampelos ovalifolia DC. from Menispermaceae are tree and herbs, respectively; both occur in a vast area of South America (Neotropical Menispermaceae). At Brassicaceae, lianoids occur only in Heliophila from South Africa, some Australian Lepidium, and in Cremolobus from South America (K. Kubitzki & C. Bayer, vol V, 2003).
PROSTRATES
Ilex prostrata Groppo (Aquifoliaceae, Brazil) stands out in its genus for being the only one with a prostrate habit in the country (Groppo & Pirani, Kew Bulletin, 2002).
SHRUBBY
Mollugo ulei (Pilger) Thulin, a Molluginaceae endemic to a small range in northern Bahia state, is the only one of its genus with a shrubby habit (Thulin & al., Taxon, 2016).
CUSHIONS 1
Ribes frankei Weigend & Breitkopf (Grossulariaceae), endemic to mountains of Peru, is the unique cushion-like species among this family (Weigend ey al., Novon, 2010).
EPHEDROIDS
One of the most bizarre habits in Verbenaceae is ephedroid, present only in the three genera of tribe Neosparoneae, from S Bolivia, Chile and Argentina (O'Leary, American Journal of Botany, 2010).
CAULIROSULATES
Caulirosulate Asteraceae in Brazil (Loeuille, Systematic Botany, 2015) occur in the genera: Prestelia, Proteopsis and Minasia, all in Lychnophorinae clade.
SUCCULENTS
Among succulent notes, although some 30 plant lineages have been classified as succulent, only a small subset of those are species-rich and ecologically important elements of arid and semiarid ecosystems worldwide (Arakaki et al., PNAS, 2011). These lineages include the ice plants (Aizoaceae, c. 2,000), the spurges (Euphorbia L., c. 2,100, c. 650 of which are succulent), the stonecrops (Crassulaceae, c. 1,400), the aloes (Aloe, c. 400), the agaves (Agave L., c. 200), the stapeliads and asclepiads (Apocynaceae/Asclepiadoideae, c. 3,700, c. 1,150 of which are succulent) and especially the cacti (Cactaceae, c. 1,850).
Succulents in New World, is the large radiations, are few in Aizoaceae and Asclepiadoideae. Mexico has high diversity in Crassulaceae, Agavaceae and Euphorbiaceae, with few members in South America. In addition to the Cactaceae, are the Crassulaceae with Sedum L. in South America, represented by the rosettes (of obsolete Echeveria DC.) and the erect or prostate forms (of Sedum s.s. and obsolete Villadia Rose); 26 of the 38 spp. of this group in South America are endemic to Peru, and can be seen for Cuzco plants in Pino, Galiano, Vargas & Kamm (Cactus and Succulent Journal, 2017) and for Cajamarca plants in Pino & Cieza (Haseltonia, 2009). Asclepiadoideae has few members in New World, only in genera Asclepias L. (only A. subulata Decaisne at this genus, from North America and Mexico), Ruehssia H.Karst (3 succulents in New World, Guyana, Venezuela and Brazil one endemic each), Dictyanthus Decne and Matelea sl. Aubl., these with 9 succulents, known only in Mexico and Central America (Eggli, Book, 2002). In Solanaceae, succulent forms are found only in Sclerophyllax Miers. from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, like S. cynocrambe (Griseb.) Griseb.; and in Nolana L. from Peru, Chile and Galapagos, like N. galapagensis (Christoph.) Johnst. (K.Kubitzki, vol. XIV, 2016, pg. 296). Monocots succulents in New World are in Asparagaceae, Amaryllidaceae (Rauhia Traub. from Peru), Bromeliaceae, Commelinaceae (Callisia Loefl., Tradescantia L. and Tipogandra Raf. members, in Brazil occur members of three), Dioscoreaceae (Dioscorea L.; includes members in Africa, Mexico, Chile and Brazilian endemic species D. basiclavicaulis Rizzini & Mattos-Filho, a high bizarre species, unique in their genus its thickened succulent perennial stems) and Orchidaceae (Eggli, Book, 2001).
The work of Pino et al. (Haseltonia, 2012) discusses a group of succulent Peperomia (Pipearceae) with transparent leaves, restricted to the south of Ecuador and the Peruvian Andes, formed by species that resemble some Crassulaceae or Caryophylalles; the work reinforces Peru as a succulent hotspot in South America.
MANGROVES
Based on The World Mangroves (FAO, 2007), considering the denial of the pteridophyte Acrostichum aureum L. as a mangrove, excluding Nypa fruticans Wurmb. (Arecaceae) as part of the lists (for not being native to the New World, via Wikipedia - Nypa fruticans), and confirming Hilairanthus bicolor (Standl.) Cornejo in Colombia by VPA (SEE) and the description of Pelliciera benthamii (Triana & Planch.) Cornejo from Panamá (Cornejo, Havard Papers in Botany, 2020), it can be concluded that there are 10 species of mangroves in the New World, nine in South America; seven of them occur in Brazil: Rhizophora mangle L., R. racemosa G.Mey., R. harrisonii Leechm., Conocarpus erectus L., Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F. Gaertn., H. schaueriana (Stapf & Leechm. ex Moldenke) Cornejo and H. germinans (L.) Cornejo. The exceptions are H. bicolor from Pacific coast from Mexico to Colombia, and the two Pelliciera Triana & Planch.
However, with 8 spp. of mangroves, the country with the greatest diversity on species, genera and families in the continent is Colombia.
The excellent work brings other remarkable data. One is that Brazil has the 3rd largest area of mangroves in the world (smaller only than Indonesia with c. 1/5 of the mangroves on Earth in this country, and Australia, equivalent to the area of mangroves of all other South American countries combined, with 7% of the world total, and tied with Nigeria; on p. 43 refers to mangrove trees over 45 m high in the mouth of the Amazon, in the genera Rhizophora L. and Hilairanthus Tiegh.
AQUATICS
By Murphy et al. (Aquatic Botany, 2019), exists 3,457 aquatic flowering plants; the region around Distrito Federal and Goiás states in center Brazil is the richest global hotspot for macrophyte α-diversity.Aquatic strains unique in their groups are some Ludwigia L. (Onagraceae, such as L. sedoides (Bonpl.) H. Hara) and Phyllanthus fluitans Benth. ex Mull.Arg. (Phyllanthaceae); but one of the most interesting aquatic plants in Neotropics is Jasarum steyermarkii G.S.Bunting., a plant with permanently submerged leaves and is the only true example of this life form among neotropical Araceae (unlike tropical Asia, very rich in this habit for Araceae); it occurs only in rivers in E Venezuela (Bolivar state) and W Guyana (T. Croat, Aroideana, 1988). Neptunia Lour (Fabaceae) is morphologically unlike any other mimosoid because of its (semi-)aquatic lifestyle (Koenen et al., American Journal of Botany, 2020).
CUSHIONS 2
Cushion plants represent a special life form which usually has character combinations such as short-node intervals, compact branches, solitary flowers or few-flowered racemes, and dome- or mat-shaped cushions. They are common among perennial herbs growing on high-altitude mountains and are thought to be associated with dry and cold environments, such as the high Andes and Patagonia, Himalayas, and New Zealand Alps. Aubert et al. (Alpine Botany, 2014) updated the cushion plants catalogue in which they recognized 1,309 species of 63 families and 273 genera.
In South America occur 280 cushions in 86 genera at 38 families among 20 orders, 18 if them in Eudicots (Almanaque Z). By country, the diversities are Venezuela (21 spp. in 12 genera at 10 families), Colombia (38 spp. in 20 genera at 13 familes), Ecuador (53 spp. in 28 genera at 18 families), Peru (72 spp. in 35 genera at 22 families), Bolivia (64 spp. in 34 genera at 22 families), Argentina (194 spp. in 67 genera at 31 families), and Chile (158 spp. in 59 genera at 30 families).
The Top 5 genera (Azorella, Nototriche, Junellia, Pycnophyllum and Benthamiella) composes more than 1/3 of all cushions in South America (90 spp). None of them occur in Brazil. Some claims for cushions in South America are not on this list. Jalcophila M.O. Dillon & Sagást. and Aphanactis Wedd. in Asteraceae (K.Kubitzki, vol. VIII, 2007); Englerocharis Musch. (Brassicaceae) from Peru (Al-Shehbaz et al., Kew Bulletin, 2012); Gamocarpha DC. and Moschopsis Phil. (Calyceraceae) from Chile and Argentina (Pozner & al., Taxon, 2021). Ribes frankei Weigend & Breitkopf (Grossulariaceae), endemic to mountains of Peru, is the unique cushion-like species among this family (Weigend ey al., Novon, 2010).
Although there is no citation in the literature, many species of Poales do Brazil could be considered cushions, within the current limits adopted, namely Paepalanthus glabrifolius Ruhland (SEE), P. pseudotortilis Ruhland, P. acantholimon Ruhland (SEE), P. caparoensis (SEE), Leiothrix plantago (Mart.) Giul. and L. curvifolia Ruhland (Eriocaulaceae), Abolboda killipii Lasser and A. americana (Aubl.) Lanj. (Xyridaceae); all of these are endemic to Brazil except the Abolboda Bonpl., which extend into the adjacent countries of the Guiana Shield. In Mexico there are only 13 cushions in 6 genera of two families: Cactaceae with Echinocereus (2), Epitelantha (1), Ferocactus (1) and Mammilaria (7), and Caryophyllaceae with Arenaria bryoides and Colobanthus quitensis.
UNDERGROUND ORGANS
Pausas et al. (New Phytologist, 2018) list 2,116 spp. in various categories of plants with underground organs, as lignotuber and xylopods (266), many of then from savannas from Brazil; for a complete Excel link, see TableS1.xls. Basal burls are cited for Rubiaceae (Palicourea), Salicaceae (Cesaeria) and Fabaceae (Mimosa, Stryphnodendron); woody rhizomes in Annonaceae (Annona), Celastraceae (Maytenus), Chrysobalanaceae (Parinari), Ericaceae (Vaccinium), Erythroxylaceae (Eythroxylum), Fabaceae (Clitoria, Mimosa), Cyrillaceae (Cyrilla), Myricaceae (Morella), Malpighiaceae (Byrsonima), Solanaceae (Solanum) and Sapotaceae (Pouteria); taproot tuber for Apiaceae (Klotzschia), Apocynaceae (Prestonia), Bixaceae (Cochlospermum), Caricaceae (Jacaratia), Euphorbiaceae (Manihot), Fabaceae (Eriosema), Lamiaceae (Amasonia) and Moraceae (Dorstenia); lignotuber from Anacardiaceae (Lythraea), Asteraceae (Podanthus), Lauraceae (Cryptocarya), Monimiaceae (Peumus), Quillajaceae (Quillaja) and Salicaceae (Azara); rhizophores in Asteraceae (Chrysolaena, Gyptis, Orthopappus, Smallanthus) and Smilacaceae (Smilax); stems tubers from Asteraceae (Lessingianthus, Trixis); roots crown from Aquifoliaceae (Ilex), Asteraceae (Baccharis, Gyptis, Lessingianthus, Piptocarpha), Connaraceae (Rourea), Fabaceae (Mimosa, Periandra, Vachelia), Hypericaceae (Hypericum), Melastomataceae (Miconia), Primulaceae (Myrsine) and Proteaceae (Gevuina, Roupala); xylopodium for Acanthaceae (Poikilacanthus, Ruellia), Amaranthaceae (Froelichia, Gomphrena, Pfaffia), Anacardiaceae (Anacardium), Annonaceae (Annona, Duguetia), Apocynaceae (Asclepias, Blepharodon, Hemipogon, Mandevilla, Oxypetalum, Prestonia), Aristolochiaceae (Aristolochia), Asteraceae (Aldama, Aspilia, Baccharis, Calea, Chresta, Chromolaena, Chrysolaena, Dimmerostemma, Disynaphia, Elephanthopus, Eupatorium, Gyptis, Isostigma, Jungia, Lessingianthus, Mikania, Moquiniastrum, Ophyrosporum, Panphalea, Pterocaulon, Riencourtia, Stenocephalum, Trichogonia, Vernonanthura, Wedelia), Bignoniaceae (Anemopaegma, Jacaranda), Bixaceae (Cochlospermum), Cordiaceae (Varronia), Calophyllaceae (Kielmeyera), Caryophyllaceae (Polycarpaea), Celastraceae (Peritassa, Salacia, Tontelea), Convolvulaceae (Ipomoea, Distimake), Erythroxylaceae (Erythroxylum), Euphorbiaceae (Acalypha, Croton, Manihot, Microstachys, Sapium, Tragia), Fabaceae (Aeschynomene, Andira, Bauhinia, Betencourtia, Calliandra, Centrosema, Cerradicola, Chamaecrista, Clitoria Collaea, Crotalaria, Desmanthus, Harpalyce, Microptilium, Mimosa, Nanogalactia, Stylosanthes, Tephrosia), Gesneriaceae (Sinningia), Lamiaceae (Eriope, Glechon, Hyptis, Medusantha, Ocimum), Lythraceae (Cuphea, Diplusodon), Malpighiaceae (Byrsonima, Camarea, Tetrapterys), Malvaceae (Eriotheca, Krapovickasia, Waltheria, Wissadula), Menispermaceae (Cissampelos), Martyniaceae (Craniolaria), Melastomataceae (Chaetogastra, Piptolepis), Oleaceae (Menodora), Orobanchaceae (Buchnera), Passifloraceae (Passiflora, Piriqueta), Polygalaceae (Monnina), Rhamnaceae (Crumenaria), Rubiaceae (Declieuxia, Galianthe), Solanaceae (Schwenckia), Verbenaceae (Casselia, Lantana and Lippia), Sapindaceae (Serjania), Vitaceae (Cissus, Clematicissus) and Sapotaceae (Pradosia).
Smilax L. (Smilacaceae) is the only Monocot in this list.
Aditional forms includes citation of Caryocar brasiliense Cambess. (Caryocaraceae) in White (Gardens Bulletin Singapure, 1976); fire-adapted rhizomatous forms of Myrtaceae (can be found in Eugenia in southern Africa, in several species of Eucalyptus in Australia, and in Eugenia, Campomanesia and Psidium in the Brazilian and Bolivian Cerrado - K.Kubitzki, vol. X, 2011, pg. 212); in addition, by Deveccchi et al. (Phytotaxa, 2018) it can be considered that at least 5 spp. of Homalolepis Turcz. (Simaroubaceae) are geoxylic. Xylopodiuns also occur in Cambessedesia in Melastomataceae (Fidanza & Almeda, Harvard Papers in Botany, 2011). By K.Kubitzki (vol VIII, 2007), Soaresia Sch. Bip. and Gaillardia Foug. (Asteraceae) from Brazil to Cono Sur also has xylopodia. Eriosema (DC.)Rchb. (Fabaceae) also has xylopodium (Cândido et al., Phytotaxa, 2014). In Vochysiaceae, some Vochysia Aubl. also has xylopodia (Paulo Oliveira & Peter Gibbs, Journal of Tropical Ecology, 1994).
Simon & Pennington (International Journal of Plant Sciences, 2012) brings some complementary reviews on the topic. Revermann et al. (Checklist, 2017) provides an analysis of geoxylics of Angola; Davies et al. (New Phytologist, 2014, well illustrated) gives a very general and detailed analysis of the geoxylics of Africa as a whole.
MIMICRY
Plant mimicry is something neglected in the literature, but it is worth mentioning Macrocentrum droseroides Triana from Venezuela and Guyana, a Drosera-like species of Melastomataceae (SEE), and Moldenhawera Schrad. (Fabaceae, genus endemic to Brazil), which mimics some Malpighiaceae (Queiroz et al., PRE-PRINT, 2023).
JUNCOID
The peculiar juncoid nature of the culm internodes septate lumina in Glaziophyton Franchet., endemic to Rio de Janeiro state, apparently has not been described for any other known bamboo species (Fernandez et al., Checklist, 2012).
PECULIAR GROWT
There is very little information about plants that grow towards the ground; perhaps the most remarkable species is Tillandsia reclinata E.Pereira & Martinelli (Bromeliaceae), endemic to exposed rocks in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil (POWO | Bromeliaceae); for images, see Expedição Fitogeográfica/2018.
SEA GRASSES
The sea grasses, the only submerge saltwater angiosperms, includes 76 spp. (see maps of all world seagrasses distibution for family in M. U. Gumusay et al., European Journal of Remote Sensing, 2018), all belong to the order Alismatales and occur in South America in 10 species of 6 genera: three mono-represented in the New World by Syringodium filiforme Kütz (Cymodoceaceae), Thalassia testudinum Banks & Sol. ex K.D.Koenig (Hydrocharitacae) and Heterozostera chilensis J.Kuo (Zosteraceae); the other three genera (Ruppia, Haliphila, Halodule) cover the six Brazilian marine grams: Ruppia maritma L. (Ruppiaceae, widely distributed), Halophila decipiens Ostenf., H. baillonis Asch. ex Dickie (Hydrocharitaceae), Halodule wrightii Asch., H. beaudettei (Hartog.) Hartog., and H. emarginata Hartog. (Cymodoceaceae); the latter the only endemic in Brazil; photos of the 6 can be seen in Bate Papo com Netuno. In addition to all of these nine, there are also in South America Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande (TROPICOS) mentioned for Argentina, and R. filifolia (Phil.) Skottsb.(TROPICOS) for W South America.
SOUTH AMERICAN SEA GRASSES
FAMILY SPECIES BRAZIL NOTES ZOSTERACEAE Heterozostera chilensis Chile, found only in three bays: Herradura Bay, Salado Bay and Tongoy Bay. HYDROCHARITACEAE Thalassia testudinum Salt waters of the Caribbean Sea from Florida to Colombia and Venezuela. Halophila decipiens Pantropical. Halophila baillonis Costa Rica to N Venezuela, Caribbean, NE Brazil (Paraíba, Pernambuco and Piauí states, SEE). CYMODOCEACEAE Syringodium filiforme Caribbean, Florida to Venezuela. Halodule wrightii Cosmopolitan. Halodule beaudettei Madagascar, Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and along the Pacific coast from Panama to Mexico, and a disjunct 5,500 km distant population on NE Brazilian coast. Halodule emarginata ENDEMIC Brazil, from coasts of Piauí to the northern part of São Paulo state. RUPPIACEAE Ruppia maritima Cosmopolitan. Ruppia filifolia Ecuador to Cono Sur.
Colombia and Venezuela have 5 genera and 6 species each, the South American hotspots being marine grasses, largely due to the great diversity of such forms in the Caribbean Sea.
LARGEST DIVERSITIES BY COUNTRIES
FAMILY GENERA SPECIES 1 VENEZUELA 3 5 6 1 COLOMBIA 3 5 6 1 BRAZIL 3 3 6
ENDEMICS BY COUNTRY
1 BRAZIL Halodule emtaginata (CYMODOCECEAE) 1 CHILE Heterozostera chilensis (ZOSTERACEAE)
Copertino et al. (Brazilian Jornal of Oceanography, 2016) describes the state of sea grasses in coasts of Brazil well. Barros et al. (Feddes Repertorium, 2015) reporting the first records for Piauí of Halophila baillonis Asch. ex Dickie, and Barros et al. (Feddes Repertorium, 2017) reports the first recordes in Ceará of Halodule emarginata Hartog. In 2018 N. P. da Silva et al. (Feddes Repertorium, 2018) talks about sea grasses of Piauí state, with 5 spp. in two genera of two families. By Barros (2015): "... apart from H. baillonis, we recorded Halodule wrightii, Halodule sp. and Halophila decipiens, characterizing the seagrass meadow of Cajueiro da Praia [coast of Piauí state] as the most diverse on the Brazilian coast...".
For the discovery of seagrass (Halodule wrightii Asch., Cymodoceaceae) in Fernando de Noronha Is. (Pernambuco state, Brazil), see K.M. Magalhães and C.B. Amaral (Aquatic Botany, 2021).
DISSECATION TOLERANTS
Mark et al. (American Journal of Botany, 2021) lists all documented dissecation tolerant (DTs, ressurgente in portuguese) species, among 6 orders. Reviewing the names by POWO, there are 222 spp. in 35 genera along 10 families; members dissecation-tolerant of Asparagales and Myrothamnaceae, Gesneriaceae, Linderniaceae and Plantaginaceae also occur only in Old World. In New World dissecation-tolerants occur only in five families.
Lamiaceae has a single dissecation-tolerant worldwide, Clinopodium giliesii (Benth.) Kuntze, endemic to Chile.
Cactaceae also has a single dissecation-tolerant species, Blossfeldia liliputana Werderm., S Bolivia and N Argentina.
In Velloziaceae, all Talbotia and Xerophyta from Africa and Madagascar are dissecation-tolerants; 6 spp. of Barbacenia, 2 Barbaceniopsis and all 118 spp. of Vellozia are DTs, all from Brazil except members of Barbaceniopsis and V. andina endemic to Bolivia.
In Cyperaceae, the eight DT members of Afrotrilepis, Carex, Coleochloa, Cyperus and Microdracoides are found only in Africa to Seychelles and Madagascar, Egypt to Kazakhstan; members of South American Trilepis (by Porembski and Barthlott, Plant Ecology, 2000), Cephalocarpus, Bulbostylis and Everardia (by Porembski, Aliso, 2006) also maybe DT, but no details are available concerning their desiccation tolerance; the pantropical Fimbristylis dichotoma (L.) Vahl is the only plenity recognized DT of Cyperaceae in New World.
In Poaceae, all 24 DT's species of Micrachne, Poa, Eragrostiella, Eragrostis, Oropetium, Tripogon occur only from tropical Africa to tropical Asia and Australia; in New World occur only members of Sporobolus (six DTs, S. atrovirens (Kunth) Kunth endemic to Mexico, remaining six from Old World), Tripogonella (three, two in Old World and T. spicata (Nees) P.M.Peterson & Romasch. from Texas to Argentina and Brazil) and Microchloa (three DTs, two in Old World and M. kunthii Desv. from Africa, tropical Asia and from U.S.A. to Argentina, absent in Brazil).
In short, in the New World there are 132 spp. of dissecation-tolerants, two dicots, four Poales and 126 Velloziaceae. Brazil has 125 spp., 119 endemics. Brazilian endemics from Velloziaceae correspond to more than half of all world diversity of these plants, and 90,15% of all DT's in New World.
MYRMECOPHYTES
Domatium-bearing plants are present in one family of ferns, absent in gymnosperms, and generally widespread in angiosperms, although they are absent in basal eudicots. The higher eudicots, however, contain the majority of myrmecophytes, with Rubiaceae having the highest number (162 species), followed by Melastomataceae (144 species), via Chomicki & Renner (New Phytologist, 2015); for New World, with data from from Guillaume Chonick (Wixsite, 2022), 375 spp. in 51 genera at 22 families occur in New World; all these lineages occur in Brazil, except Mespilodaphne, Encyclia, Myrmecophila, Alexia, Samanea, Vachellia, Besleria, Myrcia, Hoffmania, Tachia, Allomaieta, and Blakea.
Polypodiaceae: Microgramma (5); Piperaceae: Piper (18, only two in Brazil); Lauraceae: Mespilodaphne (only M. macrophylla (Beurl.) Trofimov, from Mexico to Panamá), Ocotea (3), Pleurothryrium (4); Siprunaceae: Siparuna (1); Araceae: Philodendron (only P. myrmecophilum Engl., endemic to W Brazil); Orchidaceae: Coryanthes (67), Caularthron (4), Encyclia (only E. belizensis subsp. parviflora (Regel) Dressler & G.E.Pollard from Mexico to Nicaragua); Myrmecophila (9, Mexico to Venezuela, Caribbean); Bromeliaceae: Tillandsia (9); Myrtaceae: Myrcia (only M. madida McVaugh, endemic to Peru); Melastomataceae: Allomaieta (only A. grandiflora Gleason, endemic to Colombia), Blakea (11, Central America to Colombia), Henriettea (only H. cuneata (Standl.) L.O.Williams from from Belize to Colombia), Miconia Ruiz. & Pav. (75, 25 of these in Brazil, 4 endemics); Vochysiaceae: Vochysia (only V. vismiifolia Spruce ex Warm. from northern South America); Urticaceae: Cecropia (47), Coussapoa (only C. asperifolia Trécul from northern South America), Pourouma (2, P. formicarum Ducke and P. myrmecophila Ducke from northern South America are myrmecophytes); Fabaceae: Alexa (only A. cowani Yakovlev, from Venezuela and Guyana), Andira (2, both in Brazil), Macrolobium (only M. acaciifolium (Benth.) Benth. from northern South America), Ormosia (only O. macrophylla Benth. from northern South America), Platymiscium (10), Pterocarpus (only P. amazonum (Benth.) Amshoff from northern South America), Samanea (only S. saman (Jacq.) Merr. from Belize to Venezuela and Ecuador), Tachigali (25), Vachellia (10, all from Mexico to Panamá); Elaeocarpaceae: Sloanea (one undeterminated sp. from tropical America); Euphorbiaceae: Conceveiba (only C. martiana Baill. from norther South America), Sapium (only S. laurifolium (A.Rich.) Griseb. from S Mexico to Brazil); Chrysobalanaceae: Hirtella (7); Salicaceae: Tetrathylacium (only T. macrophyllum Poepp. from Costa Rica to N Brazil); Polygonaceae: Coccoloba (only C. excelsa Benth. from Nicaragua to South America), Magoniella (2), Ruprechtia (2), Symmeria (1), Triplaris (17); Cordiaceae: Cordia (5); Rubiaceae: Duroia (3, all from northern South America), Gleasonia (only G. uaupensis Ducke, endemic to Brazil) Hoffmannia (only H. vesciculifera Standl., from Panamá and Colombia), Palicourea (only P. corymbifera (Müll.Arg.) Standl. from northern South America), Patima (only one now, P. guianensis Aubl. from Brazil and Guianas), Remijia (2, R. glomerata Huber and R. physophora Benth. ex K.Schum. from N Brazil and Venezuela); Gentianaceae: Tachia (T. guianensis Aubl., from Guianas); Gesneriaceae: Besleria (only B. formicaria Nowicke, from Costa Rica to Colombia); Solanaceae: Hawkesiophyton (1, H. ulei (Dammer) Hunz.), Markea (2, M. formicarum Dammer and M. longiflora Miers).
Additionally, we recognizes Merianthera Kuhlm. in this list, with a myrmecophtes species from Brazil (Michelangeli, PCAS, 2010).
10. SINGULARITIES IN PARTS ‣ roots, stems, leaves, flowers, inflorescences, fruits, seedes, and other parts.
INDUMENT
Gunnera herteri Osten, known only from S Brazil and Uruguay, is a unique glabrous species in Gunneraceae (K.Kubitzki, vol IX, 2007, p. 180). Portulaca hirsutissima Cambess. from Brazil and P. confertifolia Hauman from Argentina (Portulacaceae) has hairs in leaf limb, unique with this feature in New World Portulacaceae, like some African species (Santos et al., Phytotaxa, 2016).
DEEPST ROOTS
In List of Superlative trees: Deepest and Longest tree roots, the deepest roots documented are cited in two examples of Moraceae and Asparagaceae in Africa; we don't have any information about the deepest documented roots for South American flora.
BULBS AND TUBERS
Pitcairnia encholirioides L.B.Sm. (Bromeliaceae), endemic to SE Brazil, is a very rare bromeliad and is probably the only record in the literature of typical bulbs in its family (G. Martinelli & R.C. Forzza, Revista Brasileira de Botânica, p. 05). Pitraea Turcz., from Peru and Bolivia to Argentina and Chile, is unique in Verbenaceae in being a tuber-bearing perennial herb (O'Leary, American Journal of Botany, 2010).
ODD LEAVES AND PHYLLOTAXY
The unique leaves of Saccifolium bandeirae Maguire & Pires (Gentianaceae) from Mount Neblina in Brazil and Venezuela are not found in any other plant; they look like upside-down small sacs with a round opening (Gentian Rutgers); Steyermarkochloa Davidse & R.P. Ellis (monotypic, N Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela) is unique in Poaceae for having cylindrical petiole, flattened limb and absence of a ligula (Gerrit & Ellis, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1984); Disciphania cubijensis (R. Knuth) Sandwith is the only Menispermaceae in South America with non-simple leaves (palmately, forests of N Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, POWO | Menispermaceae); Diamantina lombardii Novelo, C.T. Philbrick & Irgang (Podostemaceae, endemic to Brazil) is the only one in the family in the New World with digitized leaves (Philbrick et al., Systematic Botany, 2004); some Eremitis Döll (10 spp., E Brazil) are the only bamboos (Poaceae) known to have blue iridescence on the leaves, via Ferreira et al. (Phytotaxa, 2016); in Araceae, Anaphyllopsis pinnata A. Hay (Venezuela, known only by the type collection) are the only Araceae with truly composed leaves pinned in the New World (K.Kubitzki, vol IV, 1998, p. 27). Rhytidanthera (Planch.) Tieghem from Colombia and Venezuela is the only genus of Ochnaceae with compound leaves (Reinales & Parra-O, BJLS, 2020). Passiflora L. (Passifloraceae) has the greatest variation in leaf blade of any plant genus (Bernaci et al., Systematic Botany, 2014). Didymopanax confusus (Marchal) Fiaschi & G.M.Plunkett (Araliaceae, former Schefflera megacarpa A. Gentry, Colombia, Peru, N Brazil) apparently has the largest number of leaflets for any New World Araliaceae (Gentry, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1981).
Tetrameranthus (Annonaceae), quite aberrant from all other genera of this family because of its spirally arranged (instead of distichous) leaves (Maas et al., PhytoKeys, 2019). Bagassa Aubl. (Moraceae), known only from N Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, is the only genus with opposite leaves in its family (POWO | Moraceae). Paullinia unifoliolata Perdiz & Ferrucci (Sapindaceae) from S Bahia is the only even unifoliate species in this genus; others recognized species may be unifoliate and compound leaves together (Perdiz et al., Brittonia, 2012). The unusual arrangement of the leaves of Sellocharis paradoxa Taub., endemic to Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil, with 5-7 leaflet-like structures in a whorl at the nodes, is unmatched in Fabaceae (POWO | Sellocharis). Yanomamua J.R.Grant, Maas & Struwe, endemic to Mount Araca in Amazonas state, Brazil, is unique in the Gentianaceae as an herb with sessile subcordate pandurate (fiddle-shaped) leaves, and inflorescences composed of oppositely paired solitary flowers situated in the axils of the upper three leaf pairs (Grant et al., Harvard Pappers in Botany, 2006). Despite being impressive for its large leaves, Pentagonia Benth. stands out for being the genus of the only species of Rubiaceae with normal, mature leaves are pinnately lobed to deeply pinnatifid, endemic to Costa Rica. In the New World, occasional individuals of some species of Simira Aubl. may have pinnatifid leaves and a few species of Cruckshanksia Hook. & Arn. have leaves deeply and digitately 2 or 3 lobed (Hammel, Phytoneuron, 2015). The typical venation of Melastomataceae is absent in several groups in New World: Alloneuron Pilg. (Colombia and Peru, more specifically semicraspedodromous or mixed craspedodromous), Guayana highlands or the Brazilian Planalto members of ericoid leaves, subfamily Memecyloideae, Bellucia nigricans (Hook.f.) Penneys, Michelang., Judd & Almeda (endemic to Brazil) and few species of Henriettea DC. from Caribbean (Michelangely et al., Int. J. Plant Sciences, 2011). Petiolate leaves in Bromeliaceae is very rare, known only from Bromelia L., Disteganthus Leme, Cryptanthus Otto & Dietr. and Pitcairnia L´Hér (Monteiro, R.F.; Mantovani, A. & Forzza, R.C., Rodriguésia, 2015).
LARGEST LEAVES
The largest leaves belong to either Gunnera manicata Linden ex. André (Gunneraceae, endemic to Brazil), the palms Raphia regalis Becc. from mainland Africa, Manicaria saccifera Gaertn. from tropical America, Marojejya darianii J.Dransf. & N.W.Uhl from Madagascar, Johannesteijsmannia altifrons (Rchb.f. & Zoll.) H.E.Moore from SE Asia, or the South American waterlily Victoria spp., depending on criteria (Garden of Eaden). Despite a generalized imprecision about parameters to define which is the largest sheet in the world, it is undeniable that one of the largest single sheet belongs to the magnificent and exclusive Brazilian Coccoloba gigantifolia E. Melo, C.A. Cid Ferreira & R. Gribel (Polygonaceae), known only from Madeira river valley in Amazonas and Rondonia states; your leaves can reach incredible 0.6–2.5 x 0.5–1.44 m long (Melo et al., Acta Amazonica, 2019).
Grias L. (Lecythidaceae) possibly has the largest leaves of Ericales; all species have leaves more tham 1m long (NYGB), but only two have bigger leaves: G. angustipetala Cornejo & S.A. Mori (Ecuador) and G. purpuripetala S.A. Mori & J. D. García-Gonz. (Colombia, 150-200 ✕ 42-75). Passiflora macrophylla Spruce ex Mast. from Colombia and Ecuador have the largest leaves in entire Passifloraceae, ranging up to 1m long (Hilgenhof, Sibbaldia, 2012). Elvasia gigantifolia Fraga & M.M. Saavedra endemic to Brazil has the largest leaves in genus (Fraga & Saavedra, Novon, 2006). Bajo Calima (region of W Colombia) species with putatively the largest leaves known in the entire world for their families include Schlegelia dressleri A. Gentry (Schlegeliaceae), Psittacanthus gigas Kuijt (Loranthaceae, leaves 50-100 cm long), Moquilea gentryi Prance (Chrysobalanaceae), Guarea cartaguenya Cuatrec (Meliaceae), Iryanthera megistophylla A. C. Smith (Myristicaceae), Ilex sp. nov. (leaves 15-25 x ca. 10 cm, Aquifoliaceae), and possibly Protium amplum Cuatr. (Burseraceae) and Macrolobium archeri Cowan (Fabaceae, also in Ecuador) - Gentry (Caldasia, 1986); some of them species reaches also in Panamá and Ecuador. Chusquea spectabilis L.G.Clark (Poaceae) from Venezuela to Ecuador has leaf blades which can reach 3–4 m in length, the largest leaves known in the grass family (Judziewicz and Clark, Aliso, 2007).
Hirtella magnifolia Prance (Chrysobalanaceae, Brazil, Peru and Colombia) has the largest leaves of any species in this genus, up to 40 cm in fertiles branches (Prance, G.T., Acta Amazonica, 1978).
PHYLLOCLADES
All South American phylloclade Phyllanthus are endemic to Brazil; for informations of this plants, see Santiago et al. (Bot. Journal of L. Society, 2008).
ERICOID LEAVES
Among all open biomes in South America has plants with ericoids leaves (leaves inrolled and folded, such that a groove is present on the abaxial leaf surface), such as some Melastomataceae, Ochnaceae (ericoid-muscoid leaves at Sauvagesia elegantissima complex), Malpighiaceae and Asteraceae form savannas of Brazil.
VARIEGATED LEAVES
For the diversity of variegated leaves, see Zhang et al. (Flora, 2020), which provides a classification and an overview of the diversity of plants with this leaf coloring pattern, very ilustred. A total of 1,710 angiosperm species belonging to 356 genera and 78 families are reported here as having variegated leaves naturally. In species, Orchidaceae (252), Bromeliaceae (245), Begoniaceae (221), Araceae (127), and Asparagaceae (80) are the top five families with most species bearing variegated leaves, representing 5/9 of the total number of species investigated. Among genera, Begonia (Begoniaceae) is the genus with most species (221) bearing variegated leaves, followed by Paphiopedilum (Orchidaceae, 67), Neoregelia (Bromeliaceae, 62, endemic to Brazil), Trifolium (Fabaceae, 41), Asarum (Aristolochiaceae, 38), Aechmea (Bromeliaceae, 36), Goeppertia (Marantaceae, 28), Persicaria (Polygonaceae, 27), Ledebouria (Asparagaceae, 25), Gasteria (Asphodelaceae, 23), and Mussaenda (Rubiaceae, 23). These eleven genera account for approximately 35% of the total variegated leaf species. For a specific work for Orchidaceae (800 spp.in 101 genus), see Schuiteman (Rheedea, 2021).
CALYCOPHYLLOUS
Pterophyllous calycophylls in New Wold Rubiaceae occur only in Cosmocalyx (one sp.; Mexico) and Kerianthera J.H.Kirkbr (two spp., endemic to Brazil) at Cinchonoideae, Cruckshanksia Hook. & Arn. (7 spp., from Argentina and Chile) at Rubioideae, Bathysa C. Presl, Calycophyllum DC., Capirona Spruce, Chimarrhis Jacquin, Pogonopus Klotzsch, Schizocalyx Weddell, Simira Aublet, Warscewiczia Klotzsch and Wittmackanthus Kuntze in Condamineeae at Ixoroideae and Pteridocalyx Wernham in Sipaneeae, also in Ixoroideae (Delprete, Phytotaxa, 2019); all - excepts Cosmocalyx, Cruckshanksia and Pteridocalyx - occur in Brazil.
PETAL COLORS
Elvasia kollmannii Fraga & M.M. Saavedra (Ochnaceae) endemic to Brazil has flowers with white petals, a unique character in this genus (Fraga & Saavedra, Novon, 2006); Ouratea cassinefolia (DC.) Engl., endemic to Pará and Maranhão states, and O. cauliflora Fraga & Saavedra from Espírito Santo state are the unique among the genus with white flowers (Fraga & Saavedra, Phytotaxa, 2014). Diplusodon virgata Pohl. (Lythraceae), from Brazil and Bolivia, is the unique (among 93 spp.) species among this genus wtih white flowers (Cavalcanti, Fontqueria, 2007).
Few (or none) flowers are naturally black, and there is no formal listing in the literature. There are, however, many references to cultivated forms. Some very dark colored flowers are Lisianthius nigrescens Schltdl. & Cham. (Gentianaceae, Mexico to Guatemala, SEE), Maxillaria schunkeana Campacci & Kautsky (Orchidaceae, endemic to SE Brazil, Google Images); some photos (SEE) suggest Ruehssia heringeri (E.Fourn) F.Esp.Santo & Rapini (Apocynaceae, widely in tropical America) with black flowers, although this is not seen in other photos (SEE).
FLOWER GENERAL ISSUES
The only neotropical dimerous Lauraceae is Yasunia van der Werff (Lauraceae), from Ecuador and Peru (van der Werff & Nishida, Novon, 2010); Lacandonia E. Martínez & Ramos (Triuridaceae), with one in S Mexico and another in NE Brazil, are the unique plants with stamens in the center of the flower, surrounded by apocarpous carpels (Neotropical Triuridaceae); Bidens campanulata Bringel & T. B. Cavalc., endemic to center Brazil, is the single species of this genus in South America with campanulate flowers (Bringel et al., Systematic Botany, 2019); already Tacca J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Taccaceae), with 12 spp., 11 in the Old World and one in N South America, has a well-developed anther, in the Dicotyledon model, only that occursat Monocots in Tacca and Acorus L. (K.Kubitzki, vol III, 1998, p. 110). Tacarcuna amanoifolia Huft. from Colombia and Peru has 14–19 stamens, among the highest number in Phyllanthaceae (Hoffman et al., Kew Bulletin, 2006). Davilla bilobata Aymard from Bahia state in Brazil is the unique species in this genus with lobulate petals (Aymard, Novon, 2009). Ephedranthus dimerus J. C. Lopes, Chatrou & Mello-Silva (Annonaceae) from Brazil is the only species of the genus with dimerous flowers (Lopes et al., Brittonia, 2014). Spiralate anther in a very rare features, cited by few groups, e.g., some member of extra-South America Liliaceae and Pittosporaceae, over genus Merremia Denst. ex Endl. and (possibly) Distimake Raf. (Convolvulaceae), Centaurium J.Hill, Chironia L. (Gentianaceae), Spiranthera A.St.-Hil. (Rutaceae), Spirotheca Ulbr. and Spirabutilon Krapov. (Malvaceae), and Attalea speciosa Mart. ex Spreng. among Arecaceae (Krapov., Bonplandia, 2009); the last six genera occur in South America, and the isolate species. Spirabutilon is endemic to Brazil. The fimbriate-glandular wing petals of Petaladenium urceoliferum Ducke (Fabaceae), known only from Amazonas state in N Brazil, are unique among this family (Prenner et al., American Journal of Botany, 2015). Two Rubiaceae from Brazil and adjacent coutries brooken the 'normality' of flowers in this family: Dialypetalanthus Kuhlm., with distinct petals (unlike all others Rubiaceae) and many time more stamens - 15 to 25 - that corolla lobes, and Riodocea Delprete, with 13-15-merous corollas, being the highest merosity in family (Delprete, P.G. & Jardim, J.G., Rodriguésia, 2012). Griffinia Ker Gawl, endemic to Brazil, have true hypanthium in flower, unique with this feature among Amaryllidaceae, but absent in somes species (Meerow and Tombolato, Acta Horticulturae, 2002); more than that, its sister genera from the tribe Griffinieae, Worsleya Traub. and Cearanthes Ravenna, all endemics to Brazil, are, along with Lycoris Herb. (E & SE Asia, tribe Lycorideae), the only members of Amarylloideae to develop blue flowers (Wikipedia | Griffineae). The flowers of Drosera amazonica Rivadavia, A.Fleischm. & Vicent., endemic to N Amazonas state, Brazil, are sweetly perfumed, a character this species shares with at least four more New World species of Drosera: D. arenicola Steyerm., D. felix Steyerm. & L.B. Sm, D. kaieteurensis Brumm.Ding., and D. solaris A. Fleischm., Wistuba & S. McPherson, all of which are highland species from the Guayana Shield north of the Amazon (Rivadavia et al., Ecotropica, 2009). Several members of Amaryllidaceae-Alloideae from Chile, Bolivia and Argentina (Gilliesia Lindl. and Miersia Lindl.) has zygomorphic flowers, superficially some Orchidaceae, uncommon or absent in remaining family in continent (Rudall et al., Am. J. Bot., 2002). Urceolate corollas among Capsicum L. (Solanaceae) occur only in two spp. from Andes and in the brazilian endemic C. friburgense Bianchetii & Barboza (Barboza & Bianchetti, Systematic Botany, 2005). Lithachne P.Beauv. (Poaceae) from tropical America has tooth-shaped female florets that are unique in the grass family (Judziewicz and Clark, Aliso, 2007). Colorful elements if flowers of Eriocaulaceae are reported only by some populations of Syngonanthus umbellatus (Lam.) Ruhland in northern Pará state, Brazil, who have strog remarkable blue anthers (Andrino et al., Ecology, 2022).
DIOECY
The most complete work above dioecy is Renner & Ricklefs (American Journal of Botany, 1995), where 7–10% of the world’s flora has dioecious. In relative terms, dioecy is concentrated inPandanales, Alismatales, some lineages Malpighiales, Malvales and Magnoliales. Families with the highest concentrations of dioecious genera in both absolute and relative terms are the Menispermaceae (100% of the genera are dioecious), Myristicaceae (78%), Moraceae (62%), Urticaceae (52%), Anacardiaceae (50%), Monimiaceae (47%), Euphorbiaceae (39%), and Cucurbitaceae (32%). Of the 959 dioecious genera, 217 occur in the neotropics, 402 in the paleotropics, 86 are pantropical, and 149 are found exclusively in the temperate zone.
By Almeda & Dorr (PCAS, 2006), 37 spp. of Melastomataceae are dioecious, all in Miconia Ruiz & Pav., mainly from northern Andes, 25 from Ecuador to Bolivia, 3 of them up to Colombia, 3 endemics to Venezuela, 5 from Mexico and Central America and 3 in Caribbean, one up South America, another up Central America - none in Brazil. Dioecy in Bromeliaceae has been reported for three groups: some populations of taxa in the genus Catopsis Griseb., Aechmea maria-reginae H. Wendland and the monospecific genus Androlepis Houllet, both from Mesoamerica, in Bromelioideae; Hechtia Klotzsch in Hechtioideae; some Dyckia Schult. f. in Pitcairnioideae, and Cottendorffia Schult.f. endemic to Brazil, in Navioideae (Morillo et al., Rev. Biol. Trop., 2008).
LARGEST FLOWERS
Although there is no ready list, SDa considers that the largest flowers of South America (and New World) are possibly two species of Pachira Aubl. (Malvaceae), with width up to 66(-71) cm if held horizontally, and the most massive possibly belongs Cereus jamacaru DC. (Cactaceae), endemic to Brazil, with flowers up to 30 cm long by up to 20 cm (8 in) wide (Wikipedia | List of Superlative Trees); the third species-to-species largest width flower in the New World is possibly Victoria boliviana Magdalena & L.T.Sm (Nymphaeaceae), endemic to flood plains of the Llanos de Moxos, Mamoré watershed, E Bolivia, with a diameter of up to 36cm. Aristolochia gigantea Mart. & Zucc. (Aristolochiaceae) has possibly the largest flower of this family, with up to 36 cm diameter (Hipolito et al., Botany, 2012); it's occur only in mountains of Bahia and Minas Gerais states in SE Brazil (Hipólito et al. RBCN, 2015). Psittacanthus longiflorus Kuijt (Loranthaceae), known only from Amazonas in Peru has unusually long flowers (to 17 cm), the longest known for this genus (Kuijt, Novon, 2014). Mandevilla longiflora (Desf.) Pichon from Bolivia to Uruguay and S Brazil has the longest corolla tubes in Apocynaceae, reaching up to 17 cm (Simões et al., Annals of Missouri Botanical Garden, 2006). Two Pereskia Mill. (Cactaceae) from Brazil and adjacent Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay stand out in genus by its flowers: P. stenantha F. Ritter has unique in the genus due to their urceolate corolla; P. nemorosa Rojas Acosta of has the largest flowers in the genus (Butterworth & Wallace, Systematic Botany, 2005). Capsicum hunzikerianum Barboza & Bianchetti (Solanaceae), endemic to Atlantic Forest in Brazil, has the largest flowers of genus, reache up to 1.6 cm long (Barboza & Bianchetti, Systematic Botany, 2005). Passiflora antioquiensis H.Karts (Passifloraceae), endemic to Colombia, is possibly the largest flower of this family (observation of SDa, see images). Coryanthes bruchmuelleri Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae) from N Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia, is the the heaviest orchid flower, at more than 100 g each (American Orchid Society). Anthurium bovinii Camelo & Nadruz from SW Amazonas state in northern Brazil has the shortest spadix from genus (Camelo & Nadruz, Systematic Botany, 2022).
SMALLEST FLOWERS
Pseudobombax minimum Carv.-Sobr. & L.P. Queiroz (Malvaceae) from center Brazil may be promptly recognized by its extremely reduced flowers (to 6 cm long) and fruits (to 5.5 cm long), the smallest recorded for this genus (Carvalho-Sobrinho & Queiroz, Novon, 2010). Antidaphne Poeppig & Endlicher. from tropical America has the smallest flowers in Santalaceae (Gonzalez et al., Australian Journal of Botany, 2021).
INFLORESCENCES
Puya raimondii Harms (Bromeliaceae) from mountains of Peru and Bolivia is the most massive inflorescence of the Earth, with 8-12m tall, and have a diameter of up to 2.4 metres; extra-large specimens can grow as tall as 15m; the inflorescence can bear approximately 8,000 small white flowers (Guinness World Records). Harperocallis paniculata (L.M. Campb.) L.M. Campb. & Dorr from Brazilian side of the Mount Neblina is also the only member of the family Tofieldiaceae with compound inflorescences (Campbell, Harvard Pappers in Botany, 2010); Coleostachys genipifolia A. Juss. from French Guiana and adjacent N Brazil has the unique spikes among Malpighiaceae (Malpighiaceae - Coleostachys). Croton amentiformis Riina (Euphorbiaceae) from Ecuador and N Peru is unique in its great genus with pendulous and quite dense inflorescences (R. Riina et al., Webbia, 2015); simple umbrellas in Apiaceae belong only to Neogoezia Hemsl (endemic to Mexico) and to the also South American genera Oreomyrrhis Endl. and Lilaeopsis Greene (Chung et al., NCBI, 2005), the latter native to Brazil. Rudgea quisquiliae Bruniera & Torres-Leite and R. axilliflora Bruniera & Torres-Leite (Rubiaceae) from Espírito Santo state in SE Brazil has axillary inflorescences, unique among the genus (Torres-Leite et al, Phytotaxa, 2016). Monocostus K. Schum. (Costaceae) endemic to rainforests of E Peru is the only axillary uniflorous species in his family (Neotropical Costaceae). Inflorescences of Moraceae are among the most complex in Angiosperms (POWO | Moraceae).
FLAGELLIFLORY
Flagelliflory is a very rare phenomenon in nature and has been documented in ca. 20 tree species, most belonging to the Annonaceae and Moraceae families and restricted to the tropical forests of Asia (Polyalthia flagellaris, Polyalthia hypogea, Goniothalamus majestatis, all Annonaceae, peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak, and Borneo), Africa (Caloncoba flagelliflora, Achariaceae; Isolona cauliflora, Annonaceae), Mexico (Stenanona flagelliflora, Desmopsis terriflora, Martínez-Velarde, PhytoKeys, 2023) and South America (Erythrochiton fallax, Rutaceae, Colombia to Peru; Duguetia sessilis, D. flagellaris, D. cadaverica, Annonaceae, over South America, all in Brazil, the latter shared with French Guiana; Anaxagorea floribunda, Annonaceae, Colombia/Peru; Honschuchia sp., endemics to E Brazil), by Schatz & Wendt (Lundellia, 2004).
CAULIFLORY
Cauliflory is an unusual phenomenon among flowering plants that evolved multiple times during the history of angiosperms, mainly tropical, such as Annonaceae (e.g. Annona, Duguetia, Guettarda, Hornschuchia), Myristicaceae (Virola), Phyllanthaceae (Richeria), Putranjivaceae (Drypetes), Achariaceae (Carpotroche, Kuhlmanniodendron), Lecythidaceae (e.g. Couroupita, Grias), Melastomatacae (e.g. Henriettea), Violaceae (e.g. Paypayrola), Fabaceae (e.g. Barnebydendron, Limadendron, Zygia), Solanaceae (e.g. Acnistus, Dyssochroma, Latua), Malvaceae (e.g. Herrania, Pavonia, Quararibea, Theobroma), Moraceae (e.g. Clarisia, Ficus), and Myrtaceae (e.g. Myrciaria, Myrrinium, Plinia) in South America, among others; remarkable records among these are those of Bignoniaceae, where they only occur in Crescentieae and Adenocalymma Mart. ex Meisn. among New World species, with A. cauliflorum L.H. Fonseca & L.G. Lohmann from the Atlantic Forest as the only fully cauliflorous of the genus, of the five species (all in Brazilian) with this characteristic (Fonseca & Lohmann, Systematic Botany, 2017). In Ouratea Aubl. (Ochnaceae), cauliflory occur only in O. cauliflora Fraga & M.M. Saavedra, from Espirito Santo state (Fraga & Saavedra, Phytotaxa, 2014).
NECTAR
Colored nectar occur documented in 70 spp. of angiosperms; in New World jurisdiction occur in 16 spp. and 4 morphospecies: Schiedea Cham. & Schltdl. (Caryophyllaceae), in 4 spp. from Hawaii with black nectar; Schwartzia brasiliensis (Choisy) Bedell ex Gir.-Cañas. (Marcgraviaceae), endemic to Brazil, with blue nectar; Calliandra houstoniana var. calothyrsus (Meisn.) Barneby (Fabaceae) from Mexico to Panamá, with yellow nectar; Puya alpestris (Poepp.) Gay (Bromeliaceae), endemic to central Chile, with blue nectar; and in the Solanaceae Capsicum baccatum L. from Peru to S Brazil and Argentina, C. pubescens Ruiz & Pav. from Ecuador to Bolivia, C. eximium Hunz. from Bolivia to Argentina (these three with yellow nectar), and in 9 spp. and 4 morphospecies of Jaltomata Schltdl. from Peru, one of them up to Bolivia (Dennis M. Hansen, Biol. Rev. Camb. Philos. Soc., 2007), all with red-to-orange nectars. Puya alpestris and Schwartzia brasiliensis are the only known species with blue or blue-red nectar worldwide.
Nectar spurs are slender, tube-like, perianth outgrowths, commonly associated with the production and/or containment of nectar, which are only found in 84 (approximately 0.62% of -) angiosperm genera (Mack, Thesis, 2019). Spurred species in Campanulaceae worldwide occur from Mexico to Costa Rica (in two genera, Koopman & Ayers, American Journal of Botany, 2005); all spurred genera within Ranunculaceae (Aconitum, Delphinium, Aquileia) and Balsaminaceae (Impatiens), in New World, plus Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae) and Platanthera (Orchidaceae), occur from Canada to Mexico or Costa Rica. The spurred genera Dactylorhiza Neck. ex Nevski, Galearis Raf. Rich. (Orchidaceae) and Diervilla Tourn. ex Mill. (Caprifoliaceae), in New World, occur only in Canada and U.S.A. Dendrophylax Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae) occur Mexico to Central America, Florida to Caribbean. In South America occur all spurred genera at Violaceae (Anchietea A.St-Hil., Corynostylis Mart., Noisettia Kunth, Viola L.), Vochysiaceae (all five genera in New World except Mahechadendron), Tropaeolaceae (Tropaeolum), Euphorbiaceae (Euphorbia), Gentianaceae (Halenia, see Hagen, Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 2007) and Lentibulariaceae (Genlisea, Pinguicula, Utricularia), all single-spurred-lineages in Brazil (see in Freitas & Sazima, Ann. Bot., 2003 among Viola; Moré et al, Plos One, 2021 for Habenaria) except Euphorbia members, Halenia and Pinguicula; also in continent, members of Nuttalanthus (Plantaginaceae), Maxillaria and Habenaria (Orchidaceae) are nectar spur, the two latter in Brazil. Finnaly, nothing about Bauhinia (Fabaceae) was found. In these numbers, spurred genera in New World includes 28 confirmed genera (excludes Bauhinia) within 13 families, all Eudicots except Orchidaceae.
EPIPHYLLY
In epiphylly, based on Dickson (The Botanic Review, 1978), as far as South America is concerned, Turnera L. (Passifloraceae) has epipetiolar inflorescences; Dichapetalaceae have inflorescences in various positions; Phyllonoma Willd. ex Schultes (Phyllonomaceae, Venezuela to Peru) and Bougainvillea Comm. ex. Juss (Nyctaginaceae, south-central continent) have inflorescences on the upper surface of the leaves; Erythrochiton hypophyllanthus Planch. (Rutaceae), endemic to Colombia, on the lower surface (unique among all angiosperms, Kallunki, Brittonia, 1992); Spathiphyllum Schott., Spathicarapa Hook. and Spathantheum Schott. (Araceae) have inflorescences added to its central leaf. Thesium L. (Santalaceae), Peperomia (Piperaceae) and Nototriche (Malvaceae) has inflorescences at the junction of the petiole and the leaf blade; in additon, by G. Mathieu et al. (Botanical Journal of Linnean Society, 2008), 12 spp. of Peperomia (Piperaceae) in South America (Colombia to Bolivia) has inflorescences at the junction of the petiole and the leaf blade. The two most remarkable, Phyllonoma and Erythrochiton hypophyllanthus, does not occur in Brazil.
SOUTH AMERICAN EPIPHYLIC GENERA, AND THEIR EPIPHYLLY-TYPE
VIVIPARY
Vivipary in Melastomataceae is reported in 4 genera, Memecylon L. from Old World, Amphiblemma ciliatum (Gabon, SEE), and six species of three genera in New World: Bertolonia acuminata Gardner, B. carmoi Baumgratz and B. mosenii Cogn., all endemics to Brazil; Macrocentrum minus Gleason and M. vestitum Sandwith, collected in Guyana; and Triolena amazonica (Pilg.)Wurdack from northern South America inc. Brazil, collected in Peru. In all cases, the seeds germinate inside the upright dehiscent capsule, where the seedlings can be seen, and occasionally, some seedlings can be seen outside the fruit, on the exterior surface of the hypanthium or on the branches (Bacci et al., Int. J. Plant Sci., 2021).
APOMIXIS
For a excellent text abouth apomixis worldwide, with focus in Neotropics, see Fabiana Firetti (Intechopen, 2017); this feature is hardly widely distributed among plants in region. For apomixy in Andes, see Ptáček et al. (Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2023).
POLLINATION
At pollination, Rhynchotheca Ruiz & Pav. (Francoaceae) from Ecuador and N Peru may be the only anemophilous species of Geraniales (POWO | NTK). The two modified petals of Krameria Loefl. (Krameriaceae) from all tropical America, related to pollination by Centris bees, also unique in the flowering plants (Neotropical Krameriaceae - General Notes). The presence of both monads and tetrads in the same genus is very rare; for instance, this feature occur, e.g., in extra-South American Typha L. (Typhaceae), Epilobium L. (Onagraceae) and Podophyllum L. (Berberidaceae), and in Xanthossoma (Araceae), where all species have pollen in tetrads except three spp. from Venezuela to Peru (X. paradoxum (Bogner & Mayo) Bogner, X. mariae Bogner & E. G. Gonç. and X. latestigmatum Bogner & E. G. Gonç.), who have pollen in monads. Callitriche L. (Plantaginaceae), with 21 spp. in South America, some in Brazil, is the only genus of angiosperms in which both aerial pollination and hypohydrophily (Philbrick & Les, Aquatic Botany, 2000).
ODD FRUITS
Fleshy fruits are very rare in some groups; for example, in Malvoideae occur only in Anotea (DC.) Kunth., endemic to Mexico, and in Malvaviscus Fabr., genus of tropical America with one sp. in Brazil (Fryxell, Brittonia, 1997); in bamboos this feature occur only in Old World genera and in three in New World: Alvimia C.E. Calderón ex Soderstr. & Londoño (3 spp., endemic to Brazil), Olmeca Soderstr. (5 spp., Mexico and Central America) e Guadua Kunth. (two spp., G. sarcocarpa Londoño & P.M. Peterson e G. weberbaueri Pilg., from Acre state in W Brazil, N Bolívia and E Peru; see also Olivier e Poncy, Candollea, 2009) - Sanchez & Sosa (NCBI, 2015). Of the 2,223 Myrtaceae of New World, only Metrosideros stipularis (Hook. & Arn.) Hook.f. from S Chile and Argentina has capsular fruits - and is also the only non-Myrteae (is a Metrosidereae) in the hemisphere (Lucas et al., Taxon, 2007; Pillon et al., Systematic Botany, 2015). Dactylocardamum Al-Shehbaz, endemic to mountains of Peru, is the unique in Brassicaceae in fruits axillary sandwiched imbricated leaves (Al-Shehbaz, Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 1989).
FRUITS DISPERSAL
Anemochoric fruits with 5 'wings' from Malvaceae-Bombacoideae occur in Aguiaria excelsa Ducke (N Brazil), cited as unique in all angiosperms (Cardoso et al., Neodiversity, 2015). Drosera amazonica Rivadavia, A.Fleischm. & Vicent. (Droseraceae), endemic to N Amazonas state, Brazil is the unique species of this genus with water-dispersed (Rivadavia et al., Ecotropica, 2009). Strophocactus wittii (K. Schum.) Britton & Rose, from Amazon rainforest in high waterline of black water rivers, has a water-dispersed seed, a feature unique in Cactaceae (Barthlott et al., Plant Systematic and Evolution, 1997). Although predominantly anemochoric, Poaceae have evolved other ways to disperse their diaspores, such as zoochory and also ballistochory (forcible dispersal), which is considered rare within this family, only known for the sister genera Raddia Bertol. (8, Brazil, one up to Venezuela), Sucrea Soderstr. (2, E Brazil) and Piresia (Reitzia) Swalllen. (9, northern South America), all South American berbaceous bamboos (Ferreira et al., Brazilian Journal of Botany, 2023).
AMPHIGEOCARPY
Based on Tan Dun-Yan, Zhang Yang and Wang Ai-Bo (Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2010), Kaul (Current Science, 2000), Cheplick (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 1987) and Barker (Annals of the Missouri Botanical Graden, 2005), with some recent adaptations, amphigeocarpy occurs in 34 families (with the addition of Loganiaceae) and about 110 genera. In the New World these features are rare compared to regions in Africa and Asia. 94 spp. in 7 genera of 5 families has amphigeocarpics on South America, highly centered in Brazil and Bolivia; 79 amphigeocarpic spp. in all of these genera and families occur in Brazil.
Two genera of Poaceae - Amphicarpum Kunth and Eremitis Döll - produce spikelets underground from positively geotropic shots, as well as above ground, from open panicles (K.Kubitzki, vol. XIII, 2015).
Four spp. are the single amphigeocarpic in its genera at continent: Centrosema rotundifolium Mart. ex Benth. from Brazil and Bolivia (Fabaceae; details in Nikolic et al., Deutscher Tropentag, 2005); Zephyranthes americana (Hoffmans.) Ravenna (Amaryllidaceae) from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay; Cardamine chenopodifolia Pers. from Brazil Bolivia and Cono Sur (Brassicaceae, unique Malvid amphigeocarpic in New World; for details, see Cheplick, Bulletin of Torrey Botanical Club, 1983); and Spigelia genuflexa Popovkin & Struwe, endemic to coast of Bahia state in Brazil (Loganiaceae, unique case of amphigeocarpy in this family worldwide; see details in Popovkin, Phytotaxa, 2011).
Trifolium L. (Fabaceae) has two amphigeocarpic species in South America: T. argentinense Speg. and T. polymorphum Poir., the latter in over tropical Americal New World and unique amphigeocarpic species north of Peru; more details in Conterato (Thesis, 2009).
Eremitis Döll (Poaceae) is a genus that is undergoing rapid growth and has 16 spp., mainly with subterranean branches and many amphicarpic species, but it is unclear whether they all have this characteristic; it's endemic to coastal forests of Atlantica Forest in E Brazil, mainly in Bahia state, possibly one of only 4 New World fully amphigeocarpic genera (along with Okenia of Nyctaginaceae, and Amphicarpum of Poaceae from E U.S.A., and Arachis in South America) and the only endemic to a country.
Arachis L. (Fabaceae) it is the largest amphigeocarpic lineage that exists: all its 80 spp. are geocarpics, it representing about 4/5 of all amphigeocarpic species of South America, and includes all 14 amphigeocarpics from South America absents in Brazil; has 63 spp. in Brazil (44 endemics), N Argentina, Bolivia (second center of diversity), Uruguay and Paraguay.
LARGST FRUITS
Saccoglottis ovicarpa Cuatr. from Chocó region of W Colombia may be the largest-fruited Humiriaceae, as well two spp. of Compsoneura and also two spp. of Iryanthera of the same region, in their respective genera, both Myristicaceae (Gentry, Caldasia, 1986, pg. 12). The berries of some South American Cissus (Vitaceae), as C. stipulata Vell. and C. trigona Willd. ex Schult. & Schult. f., both from Brazil and adjacent Bolivia, which have the biggest fruits of all Neotropical species (Vitaceae | POWO).
Zanthoxylum magnifructum Reynel (Colombia) has the largest fruits of any species in the genus in the New World (Reynel, Novon, 2020). Didymopanax confusus (Marchal) Fiaschi & G.M.Plunkett (Araliaceae, former Schefflera megacarpa A. Gentry, Colombia, Peru, N Brazil) apparently has the largest fruits of any New World Araliaceae (Gentry, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1981). Chionanthus megistocarpus (Oleaceae, Colombia) has largest fruits for this genus in the Neotropics (4.5–5 cm long; Fernández-Alonso, Phytotaxa, 2016). Ternstroemia washikiatii Cornejo & C.Ulloa (Pentaphyllacaceae, Ecuador) the large leaves (21–33 × 8.5–11 cm), and the large fruits (4.5–5.5 × 6.5–7.7 cm) of this genus (Cornejo & Ulloa, Harvard Papers in Botany, 2016). Monteverdia multicostata Cornejo & Biral (Celastraceae, Ecuador) has the largest fruits in the genus (to 3.5 cm long, Cornejo & Biral, Phytotaxa, 2021). Solanum sibundoyense (Bohs) Bohs (Solanaceae, Colombia) produces some of the largest fruits known in Cyphomandra clade (10cm ✕ 7cm, Bohs, Systematic Botany, 1988). Eugenia reperta Sobral & Mazine (Myrtaceae, Minas Gerais state, Brazil) has the largest fruit of this genus, up to 10 cm long (Sobral et al., Phytotaxa, 2022).
Attalea cuatrecasasiana (Dugand) A.J.Hend., Galeano & R.Bernal (Arecaceae) has fruits up to 14 cm long by 10 cm in diameter, they are the third largest seeds in the palm family after the double coconut (Lodoicea maldivica, Seychelles) and the coconut (Cocos nucifera, Paleotropics), and the largest in New World (Palmpedia), besides some sources take Brazilian A. speciosa Mart. as the largest fruit in this genus (12 ✕ 10, as Noblick, BOOK, 2019, and Botanical Auctions).
LARGEST SEEDS
Of the 10 largest angiosperm seeds (Wikipedia), 5 are from palms absent in South America, two are from non-palms from East Asia (in Poaceae and Lauraceae), and 3 from South America: the 3rd and 8th in Mora (Fabaceae), respectively M. oleifera (Triana ex Hemsl.) Ducke from Central America to Ecuador, 18 cm ✕ 15 cm ✕ 8 cm, and M. excelsa Benth. from Venezuela and Guianas); and the 9th, Pelleciera rhizophorae Planch. & Triana, Tetrameristaceae, a mangrove from the Pacific (Costa Rica to Ecuador) and Atlantic (Nicaragua to Colombia) coasts of tropical America.
A careful and informal analysis of the table in Miranda et al. (Forests, 2018, table and PDF) shows that seed 26 of Mora paraensis (Ducke) Ducke is 8.3 cm long ✕ 4.5 cm wide ✕ 3.8 cm thick - which would place the seeds of this species, which is endemic to the north of Brazil, among the 15 largest in the world, the largest seed in Brazil - and would reinforce Mora's sovereignty in terms of 'giant seeds'.
Blue fruits are commons in Rubiaceae (e.g. Coccocypselum P.Browne, Palicourea Aubl., Bertiera Aubl. and Psychotria L.) and other families, as Cipocereus F.Ritter (Cactaceae, endemic to Minas Gerais state in Brazil, SEE) and in Miconia Ruiz & Pav. (as in M. dentata (D. Don) Michelang. (SEE) and M. saulensis (Wurdack) Michelang. (SEE) taked in French Guiana).
11. ALTITUD RECORDS ‣ populations of Polylepis tarapacana Phil. (Rosaceae, Bolivia and Cono Sur) near Nevado Sajama, Bolivia, grow at about 5,600 m in altitude, making the highest record of trees in the world, displacing records of Abies squamata Masters (Pinaceae) in SW China (How High Altitude Polylepis Trees Taste the Guinness World Records Wrong, 2016); Myrosmodes Rchb.f. (Orchidaceae) is the only genus of its family to grow in the swamps of the high Andes and was registered at about 5,100 m a.s.l., highest habitat known to support orchids in Earth (Trujillo et al., Lankesteriana, 2016). Barbaceniopsis boliviensis (Baker) L.B. Smith is the highest known site of Velloziaceae, growing at 2,900 m in Bolivian Andes (Ibsch et al., Systematic Botany, 2001). Ceroxylon parvifrons (Engel) H.Wendl grows at the highest elevations in the world for a member of Arecaceae: 3,500 m in Ecuador (F. Borchsenius & M. Moraes R., Botánica Económica de los Andes Centrales, 2006). The southermost tepuis Avispa and Mount Neblina, in Venezuela (both) and Brazil (latter), represent the full range distribution of Heliamphora Benth. (Sarraceniaceae): from 860 of H. neblinae Maguire in Avista up to 2,993m of H. hispida Nerz. & Wistube in Mt. Neblina, Brazil (Wikipedia | Distribution of Heliamphora). Chusquea aristata Munro (Poaceae) from Colombia to Peru has the distinction of growing at altitudes up to 4,300 m in Ecuador, the highest known elevation for any bamboo (Judziewicz and Clark, Aliso, 2007).
The low altitude of the Brazilian territory does not allow to show any significant record of species at great heights.
12. UNUNSUAL HABITATS ‣ as for cave plants, a remarkable work via Konno et al (Plos One, 2018) deals with their diversity in caves in southern China; the Yangzi Cave is the type locality for 8 plants! Pilea cavernicola A.K. Monro, C.J. Chen & Y.G. Wei (Urticaceae) grows in almost complete darkness, receiving less than 3% of full sunlight (Alex K. Monro et al., PhytoKeys, 2012). There is absolutely nothing about such plants in South America, and the closest that can be cited about them is the shady Phyllanthus eremitus Funez & Hassemer (Phyllanthaceae) in Flora de Santa Catarina.
Microlicia macedoi L.B. Sm. & Wurdack and Pterolepis haplostemona Almeda & A.B. Martins (both from Goiás state) are the only Melastomataceae in Brazil to grow in serpentine soils, by Almeda and Martins (Phytotaxa, 2015), and second is also the only one in the annual in family restricted for serpentine soils in the New World; unfortunately, there is no consistent reference to the serpentine flora of Brazil as a whole. Parasad (Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2015) brings a brief discussion about this, with highlights to Brazil, and the text by Reeves et al. (Plant and Soil, 2007) brings a survey on the ultramafic flora of Goiás.
There is nothing about the gypsophilic flora of Brazil; a map in Adrian Escudero et al (PubMed, 2014, p. 4) attests that gypsophyllous soils occur in South America (Peru, Chile and Argentina), but no reference to the flora of these places has been found - and perhaps there is none no gypsophilic species in Brazil. For gypsoflora of Mexico, see Johnston (Journal of the Arnold Arboretum, 1941).
Filgueirasia Guala species, Actinonocladum verticillatum McClure & Soderstrom and Aulonemia effusa (Hack.)McClure, all from Brazil - some also in adjacent Bolivia - are a few bamboos adapted to fire (Alves, M.; Trovó, M.; Forzza, R.C. & Viana, P., Rodruguésia, 2015).
Many Mormodes Lindl. (Orchidaceae) are saprolignophyllous herbs - usually growing on dead, decomposing wood (Blanco et al., Phytotaxa, 2016), but very little information is available about this type of environment beyond this genus.
In Espirito Santo et al. (Willdenowia, 2018) there is an interesting discussion about Ruehssia H. Karst. (Apocynaceae, former Marsdenia R.Br.) of limestone outcrops in central Brazil (Bahia, Minas Gerais and Goiás). At Ericaceae, Satyria cerander (Dunal) A.C.Sm., from N Brazil and French Guiana, is the only neotropical species of Ericaceae that may be considered Amazonian (Luteyn, The Botanical Review, 2002).
For some notes about plants in karst areas in Brazil, see Bystriakova, N. et al. (Scientific Reports, 2019).
13. GENETICS, SYMBIOTICS and CHEMISTRY ‣ Carex L. (Cyperaceae) has the largest range of chromosomal numbers among flowering plants: ranging from n = 6 in C. siderostica Hance from Japan, China and Korea, to n = 66 in C. roraimensis Steyerm. from Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela (Rotreklovà et al., Preslia, 2011, p. 2).
GENETICS
Joining data from Castiglione & Cremonini (New Trends in Plant Cytogenetics and Cytoembryology, 2012) and Marcussen et al. (Systematic Biology, 2012), only 7 spp. has the low chromosome number 2n = 4: Zingeria biebersteiniana (Poaceae, Krym to Kazakhstan and Syria), Colpodium versicolor (Steven) Schmalh. (Poaceae, E. Turkey to NW. Iran), Ornithogalum gussonei Ten. (Poaceae, Italy, Greece to SW. Turkey), Rhynchospora tenuis Willd. ex Link (Cyperaceae, Mexico to Argentina, Brazil and Caribbean), Haplopappus gracilis (Nutt.) A.Gray (Asteraceae, Mexico and USA), Brachyscome dichromosomatica C.R. Carter (Asteraceae, Australia) and Viola modesta Fenzl. (Violaceae, W. & Central Asia), of which only Rhynchospora tenuis occurs in South America.
Genlisea tuberosa Rivadavia, Gonella & A.Fleischm. (Lentibulariaceae), endemic to E Brazil, has the smallest angiosperm genome known, at around 61 Mbp. (Guiness Book). Anthurium lucidum Kunth, endemic to E Brazil, with a chromosome number of ca. 124 is the highest known chromossome number in Anthurium (Aroid). Bignonia magnifica W.Bull (Bignoniaceae, Panama to N Venezuela and Ecuador) is the longest Lamiid plastome described to date (Fonseca et al., PeerJ, 2022).
CHEMISTRY
Haemodoraceae are the only vascular plants to produce phenalenones, by Simpson (Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1990), specifically aryl-phenalenones, in 10 spp. of 8 genera; for New World species, only Xiphidium caeruleum Aubl. (well distributed in tropical America) was mentioned with such compounds.
Phytomelanins, a black compound whch cover seeds, are only found in Asparagales and in Asteraceae fruits of Heterocoma DC. and Wunderlichia Riedel ex Benth, both genera endemics to Brazil, and some Asteroideae in tribes Heliantheae and Eupatorieae (Bonifácio et al., B.J.L. Society, 2019).
One of the sweetest plants known is Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni (Asteraceae), native from E Paraguya and adjacent areas in Brazil, 300 times sweeter than the commonly used sugarcane (Kazmi et al., Current Biotechnology, 2019).
An immense diversity of plants in South America are highly toxic, and any detailing is beyond the scope of this text. However, two remarkable monotypic genera can be cited: Sarcotoxicum salicifolium (Griseb) X. Cornejo & H. H. Iltis (Capparaceae), from Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia, whose fruits are edible at maturity if properly cooked, but extremely poisonous when immature, or even dried (Cornejo, Harvard Pappers in Botany, 2009); and Metternichia princpes Miers (Solanaceae), endemic to E Brazil, highly toxic for goats (Pedro M.O. Pedroso et al, Pesq. Vet. Bras., 2015).
SYMBIOSYS
Among tracheophytes, the eudicot Gunnera L. is the only known angiosperm that harbors a cyanobacterial symbiont, namely Nostoc (Villarreal & Renzaglia, American Journal of Botany, 2006).
Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are a diverse functional group of mutualistic root symbionts that enhance host plant nutrient acquisition, protect against root disease, and mitigate the effects of abiotic stresses, historically considered to be restricted to the temperate regions of the world where many forests are dominated by ECM plants. However, evidence has steadily accumulated over the last 50 years that ECM plants and fungi are present in most tropical ecosystems. In the Neotropics, several unrelated plant genera have independently evolved the ability to form ECM symbioses with fungi: Pakaraimaea Maguire & Ashton (Dipterocarpaceae), Pseudomonotes tropenbosii A.C.Londoño, E.Alvarez & Forero (Dipterocarpaceae), Quercus L. (Fagaceae), Coccoloba P.Browne ex. L. (Polygonaceae), Aldina Endl., Dicymbe Spruce ex. Benth (Fabaceae), Gnetum L. (Gnetaceae), and at least three genera in the Nyctaginaeae: Pisonia L., Neea Ruiz & Pav., and Guapira Aubl. (Smith et al., Plos One, 2013).
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Euphorbia subg. Chamaescyce (Euphorbiaceae) is the only taxonomic group at the lower level than the genus with photosynthesis C³, C², C4 and CAM, with C² in this group occurring only in E. acuta Engelm. (USA) and E. johnstoni Mayfield (Mexico); for both, see Sage et al. (Journal of Experimental Botany, 2011). Currently, 19 families of higher plants are known to contain species expressing the C4 photosynthetic pathway; in each family, the C4 pathway arose independently, producing approximately 50 distinct evolutionary lineages. Sixteen of these families are eudicots, being Amaranthaceae is the eudicot clade with the largest number of C4 species, c. 1,400 (Sage et al., American Journal of Botany, 2007).
OIL AND RESINS
Clusia L. (Clusiaceae), Clusiella Planch & Triana (Calophyllaceae) and Dalechampia Plum. ex L. (Euphorbiaceae) - all in Malpighiales - are the only known genera to offer resin as a reward for some groups of bees that use it in nest construction (Alvim, Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2001).
Calceolaria L. (Calceolariaceae) from tropical America is among the largest oil-producing genera - nonvolatile, a very unusual floral reward that attracts particular solitary oil-collecting bees (Cosakov et al., American Journal of Botany, 2009).
UPDATES
31⋅01⋅2024 - updates among large fruits (at Rutaceae, Araliaceae), large leaves (Chrysobalanaceae) and odd leaves (at Araliaceae).
31⋅01⋅2024 - updates in mimic plants and in topic 'Herbs' (among Bignoniaceae).
31⋅01⋅2024 - inclusion of a notes about 'black flowers' at Petal color topic, and inclusion of reference among epiphyly.
29⋅12⋅2023 - notes about ballistochory in Poaceae (SEE).
25⋅12⋅2023 - updates in trees among Passiflora and Ipomoea, both for Almanaque Z/Flora World, and addition of a note about arborescent Aristolochia.
25⋅12⋅2023 - updates in herb nature or Crumenaria decumbens (Angios Bergianska), and about the huge size of Holoregmia viscida (SEE).
26⋅11⋅2023 - corrections on the largest members of Apiaceae in South America and several notes over Passiflora.
19⋅10⋅2023 - huge updates in carnivorous plants, mainly among Fleck & Jobson (Plants, 2023).
07⋅09⋅2023 - renamefor Platythelys pedicellata (Cogn.) Szlach. to Microchilus pedicellatus (Cogn.) E.C.Smidt & M.W.Chase (Orchidaceae).
06⋅08⋅2023 - updates in Thismia, and holomycotrophic numbers.
04⋅04⋅2023 - updates on symbiotic Gunnera, and several notes about parasitism.