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Cryptostegia grandiflora and C. madagascariensis (Apocynaceae) are the only two species of this Madagascan plant genus. Both have been transported around the world as ornamentals due to their attractive flowers and based on a perceived potential as sources of rubber – hence, the common name rubber vine – because of their copious latex, which also contains toxic cardiac glycosides. As a result of their vigorous growth and ability to climb over and smother vegetation, both species have become invasive, posing an actual or potential threat to native ecosystems in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, as well as to human and animal health. Classical biological control (CBC), or the introduction of co-evolved natural enemies to control an invasive alien species in its exotic range, has successfully been used to tackle C. grandiflora in northern Queensland, Australia. This strategy is currently being evaluated for its suitability to manage C. madagascariensis in north-eastern Brazil using the same Madagascan rust fungus, Maravalia cryptostegiae, released as a CBC agent in Australia. For CBC to be successful, it is critical to understand the taxonomy of the invader as well as the origin(s) of its weedy biotype(s) in order to select the best-matched co-evolved natural enemies. Based on an exhaustive search in published and unpublished sources, we summarise the taxonomy and uses of these rubber vines, follow their historical movements and track their earliest records and current weed status in more than 80 countries and territories around the world.

Abstract Plants have demonstrated tremendous resilience through past mass extinction events. However, anthropogenic pressures are rapidly threatening plant survival. To develop our understanding of the impact of environmental change on plant ecology and evolution and help solve the current biodiversity crisis, BMC Ecology and Evolution has launched a new article Collection titled “Plants under Pressure”.

Apresentamos aqui o levantamento das Apocynaceae de Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brasil. São reconhecidos 18 gêneros e 26 espécies nativas, incluindo 11 ocorrências novas para o município: Asclepias curassavica, Aspidosperma polyneuron, Blepharodon ampliflorum, Ditassa grandiflora, D. lenheirensis, Himatanthus bracteatus, Ibatia ganglinosa, Macropharynx peltata, Oxypetalum arachnoideum, Petalostelma dardanoi e Skytanthus hancorniifolius. Além disso, a identificação de Forsteronia thyrsoidea é atualizada para F. nitida.

Brazilian protected areas are essential for the conservation of plants of the Atlantic Forest domain, one of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the richness of plants protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism, and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the list. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN, or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD), and five as priorities for conservation."Parque Nacional do Caparaó" houses 8% of the land plant species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, including 6% of its angiosperms, 31% of its lycophytes and ferns, and 14% of its avascular plants. Twelve percent of the threatened species listed for the state of Espírito Santo and 7% listed for the state of Minas Gerais are also protected by PNC. Surprisingly, 79% of the collections analyzed here were carried out in Minas Gerais, which represents just 21% of the total extension of the park. The compiled data uncover a huge botanical collection gap in this federally protected area.

Background and aims – Vegetation on ironstone outcrops is highly threatened, particularly due to the impact of mining. In this study, two new species of Ditassa (Metastelmatinae, Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from the cangas of the Iron Quadrangle (Minas Gerais, Brazil) are described and illustrated, and their conservation status is discussed.Material and methods – Species recognition is based on a morphological and molecular study of recent and historical collections, including a survey of the main herbaria of Brazil, Europe and the United States. Conservation status assessments are based on the evaluation of areas of occupancy and the impact of iron mining in the region.Key results – The two new species are morphologically similar to species in the “Hemipogon from the Espinhaço” clade, which includes Morilloa. Nevertheless, they exhibit flowers with a double corona and are described in Ditassa here, following preliminary phylogenetic analyses with 73 plastid-coding regions. These species are known from only two highly disturbed locations each and are Critically Endangered. A key to identify the 14 species of Metastelmatinae currently recorded in cangas of the Iron Quadrangle is provided.Conclusion – The Critically Endangered Ditassa cangae and D. ferricola are examples of poorly known, nearly extinct species under strong anthropogenic pressure caused by intense mining activities and the lack of adequate legislation for the protection of canga landscapes.

Apocynaceae (the dogbane and milkweed family) is one of the ten largest flowering plant families, with approximately 5,350 species and diverse morphology and ecology, ranging from large trees and lianas that are emblematic of tropical rainforests, to herbs in temperate grasslands, to succulents in dry, open landscapes, and to vines in a wide variety of habitats. Despite a specialized and conservative basic floral architecture, Apocynaceae are hyperdiverse in flower size, corolla shape, and especially derived floral morphological features. These are mainly associated with the development of corolline and/or staminal coronas and a spectrum of integration of floral structures culminating with the formation of a gynostegium and pollinaria—specialized pollen dispersal units. To date, no detailed analysis has been conducted to estimate the origin and diversification of this lineage in space and time. Here, we use the most comprehensive time-calibrated phylogeny of Apocynaceae, which includes approximately 20% of the species covering all major lineages, and information on species number and distributions obtained from the most up-to-date monograph of the family to investigate the biogeographical history of the lineage and its diversification dynamics. South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia (potentially including Oceania), were recovered as the most likely ancestral area of extant Apocynaceae diversity; this tropical climatic belt in the equatorial region retained the oldest extant lineages and these three tropical regions likely represent museums of the family. Africa was confirmed as the cradle of pollinia-bearing lineages and the main source of Apocynaceae intercontinental dispersals. We detected 12 shifts toward accelerated species diversification, of which 11 were in the APSA clade (apocynoids, Periplocoideae, Secamonoideae, and Asclepiadoideae), eight of these in the pollinia-bearing lineages and six within Asclepiadoideae. Wind-dispersed comose seeds, climbing growth form, and pollinia appeared sequentially within the APSA clade and probably work synergistically in the occupation of drier and cooler habitats. Overall, we hypothesize that temporal patterns in diversification of Apocynaceae was mainly shaped by a sequence of morphological innovations that conferred higher capacity to disperse and establish in seasonal, unstable, and open habitats, which have expanded since the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition.

Abstract A new species of Apocynaceae, Ruehssia quirinopolensis, endemic to Serra da Confusão do Rio Preto and Serra da Igrejinha, Quirinópolis, state of Goiás, Brazil, is described and illustrated. It resembles R. rupestris, differing by the white corolla, adaxially villose and with a longer tube, and by its corona lobes with the upper portion lanceolate. Besides a distribution map for the new species, we provide a key to identify the nine species of Ruehssia that occur in Goiás. Ruehssia quirinopolensis is assessed here as Critically Endangered (CR).

Hemipogon s. str. (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae) currently consists of three species sharing an erect herbaceous habit, narrow leaves and corona-less flowers with urceolate, internally bearded corolla, that are mainly distributed in savannahs of the Cerrado biodiversity hotspot, South America. Here, we describe and illustrate a new species of Hemipogon, H. trilobatus Bitencourt & Rapini sp. nov., from an open savannah in Chapada dos Veadeiros, Central Brazil. Hemipogon trilobatus sp. nov. differs from the other species of the genus mainly by the presence of a reduced staminal corona with 3-lobed lobes, but also by opposite leaves and triangular anthers. Distribution and habitat data, as well as a key and a comparative table to distinguish the four species currently accepted in Hemipogon s. str., are provided. Based on criteria B2ab(i,ii,iii,iv) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species is provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered.

In a world where changes in land cover and climate happen faster than ever due to the expansion of human activities, narrowly distributed species are predicted to be the first to go extinct. Studies projecting species extinction in tropical regions consider either habitat loss or climate change as drivers of biodiversity loss but rarely evaluate them together. Here, the contribution of these two factors to the extinction risk of narrowly distributed species (with ranges smaller than 10,000 km2) of seed plants endemic to a fifth-order watershed in Brazil (microendemics) is assessed. We estimated the Regional Climate Change Index (RCCI) of these watersheds (areas with microendemics) and projected three scenarios of land use up to the year 2100 based on the average annual rates of habitat loss in these watersheds from 2000 to 2014. These scenarios correspond to immediate conservation action (scenario 1), long-term conservation action (scenario 2), and no conservation action (scenario 3). In each scenario, areas with microendemics were classified into four classes: (1) areas with low risk, (2) areas threatened by habitat loss, (3) areas threatened by climate change, and (4) areas threatened by climate change and habitat loss. We found 2,354 microendemic species of seed plants in 776 areas that altogether cover 17.5% of Brazil. Almost 70% (1,597) of these species are projected to be under high extinction risk by the end of the century due to habitat loss, climate change, or both, assuming that these areas will not lose habitat in the future due to land use. However, if habitat loss in these areas continues at the prevailing annual rates, the number of threatened species is projected to increase to more than 85% (2,054). The importance of climate change and habitat loss as drivers of species extinction varies across phytogeographic domains, and this variation requires the adoption of retrospective and prospective conservation strategies that are context specific. We suggest that tropical countries, such as Brazil, should integrate biodiversity conservation and climate change policies (both mitigation and adaptation) to achieve win-win social and environmental gains while halting species extinction.

ABSTRACT Three new species of Marsdenia (Apocynaceae) are described from Brazil: M. paganuccii, known from two disjunct populations, one in the Caatinga of Bahia and other in the Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo; M. paraibana, restricted to the Restinga of Cabedelo National Forest in the Atlantic Forest of Paraíba; and M. trisegmentata, known from two populations in Caatinga, one in Bahia and other in Ceará. Illustrations, a geographic distribution map and comparisons with morphologically similar species are also presented for each species.

The taxonomic treatment of Begoniaceae for the state of Bahia, Brazil, led to the recognition of three new species of Begonia with narrow distributions, which are described and illustrated here: B. delicata Gregório & J.A.S. Costa, sp. nov. is a herb restricted to the region of the Recôncavo; B. elianeae Gregório & J.A.S. Costa, sp. nov. is a shrub endemic to the Atlantic forest of the southern part of the state; and B. paganuccii Gregório & J.A.S. Costa, sp. nov. is a subshrub known only from the type material, collected in the Piedmont of Paraguaçu. Notes on morphology, comparisons with morphologically similar species, etymology, geographic distribution, habitat and phenological data for each species are also presented. Furthermore, keys are provided as an aid to separating the new species from congeneric species that occur in their surroundings. Due to the sparse knowledge of the new species, there is as yet insufficient data to accurately assess their conservation status.

Two new species of Handroanthus Mattos (Bignoniaceae), endemic to Semideciduous Seasonal Forest of Bahia, are here described as H. diamantinensis and H. parviflorus. Illustrations, distribution maps, as well as a discussion about the morphological characteristics that distinguish the new species from related species are presented.Duas novas espécies de Handroanthus Mattos (Bignoniaceae), endêmicas da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual da Bahia, são aqui descritas sob o nome de H. diamantinensis e H. parviflorus. São apresentadas ilustrações, mapa de distribuição, bem como uma discussão sobre as diferenças morfológicas que distinguem tais espécies daquelas mais relacionadas.

The Apocynaceae comprise approximately 5,000 species and are widely distributed. The family belongs to the Gentianales and can be easily recognized by the presence of latex and a style-head derived from the fusion of two carpels at the apex of the styles. The largest subfamily in Apocynaceae is Asclepiadoideae. Treated as the Asclepiadaceae for almost two centuries, it comprises about 3,000 species and is defined by stamens with bisporangiate anthers and pollen transferred in specialized units called pollinaria. Since the 19th century, floristic studies and taxonomic monographs have significantly contributed to the taxonomy of Brazilian Asclepiadoideae. Nevertheless, advances in understanding the internal relationships in the subfamily were not done until this millennium, with the popularization of phylogenetic studies based on molecular data and powerful computer analyses. Advances in the systematics of Apocynaceae have provided new interpretations on the morphological evolution and biogeography of the family and have led to important changes in its classification. Nevertheless, several taxonomic rearrangements are still needed and it can be said that the taxonomy of Apocynaceae is "under construction". In this article, the major taxonomic changes in the family are reviewed, with special attention given to the systematics of Neotropical groups. A cladogram of the Apocynaceae is presented, which highlights the phylogenetic position of the Brazilian genera and their diversity in number of native species. The main studies and the diversity of Asclepiadoideae in Brazil are summarized and perspectives for future research on the subfamily are presented.

Este trabalho consiste no levantamento florístico e estudo taxonômico da tribo Justicieae (Acanthaceae) no Semiárido do Estado da Bahia. Para a execução desse inventário, foram analisadas as coleções dos herbários baianos e dos principais herbários do Sudeste e Sul, e realizadas diversas coletas georeferenciadas e aleatórias abrangendo 25 municípios incluídos no Semiárido do Estado da Bahia. Foram reconhecidas 27 espécies e dez gêneros: Justicia L. (17 espécies), Harpochilus Nees (2), Anisacanthus (A. trilobus Lindau), Clistax Mart. (C. brasiliensis Nees), Dicliptera Juss. (D. mucronifolia Nees), Herpetacanthus Nees (H. magnobracteolatus Idriunas & Kameyama), Poikilacanthus Lindau (P. bahiensis (Nees) Wassh.), Pseuderanthemum Radlk. (P. modestum (Nees) Radlk.), Schaueria Nees (S. humuliflora Nees) e Thyrsacanthus Moric. (T. ramosissimus Moric.). É proposta a nova combinação Justicia chamaedryoides (Nees) Wassh. ex A.L.A. Côrtes & P.L.R. Moraes. Várias espécies não eram descritas desde a Flora Brasiliensis, publicada no século XIX, e algumas são ocorrências novas para o Estado da Bahia. Seis espécies de Justicia, incluindo quatro espécies recentemente descritas, além de Harpochilus neesianus e Anisacanthus trilobus, são endêmicas da Caatinga. Foram preparadas chaves de identificação e descrições dos táxons, além de ilustrações e comentários taxonômicos e sobre a distribuição geográfica das espécies, incluindo mapas de ocorrência no Estado.

Resumo Uma nova espécie de Oxypetalum, O. laciniatum Rapini & Farinaccio, é descrita e ilustrada. Ela foi coletada apenas uma vez, em mata higrófila, no sul do estado da Bahia, e pertence ao complexo O. cordifolium (Vent.) Schltr. Diferencia-se prontamente das demais espécies desse grupo pelas flores com lacínias da corola mais longas (ca. 2,85 cm compr.), polínios mais curtos (até 0,3 mm compr., cerca de um terço do comprimento do retináculo) e apêndice do ginostégio com ápice levemente bifurcado em ramos subparalelos.

Resumo Uma nova espécie de Apocynaceae, Rauvolfia anomala Rapini & I. Koch, é descrita e ilustrada. Ela foiencontrada em cerrado-anão, na Chapada dos Guimarães, estado do Mato Grosso, simpatricamente a R. weddelliana. Aparentemente, as duas espécies são proximamente relacionadas, mas podem ser facilmentedistinguidas pelas flores, cuja corola é esverdeada, com lobos mais longos que o tubo em R. anomala, enquanto em R. weddelliana ela é avermelhada, com lobos mais curtos que o tubo. A nova espécie apresentaum polimorfismo floral surpreendente e pode se tratar de um novo exemplo de dioicia no gênero. Esta é aprimeira espécie de Rauvolfia com distribuição restrita registrada para o Mato Grosso.

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

Resumo Poikilacanthus harleyi é sinonimizada em P. bahiensis e Dicliptera xipotensis é transferida para Justicia. A nova combinação J. xipotensis (Roem. & Schult.) A. Côrtes & Rapini é o nome correto para J. leucophloea; a lista de sinônimos homotípicos (nomenclaturais) dessa espécie é fornecida.