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Review

An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies

by
Edlley M. Pessoa
1,*,
Adriane M. Araújo
2,
Felipe F. V. A. Barberena
3,
João A. N. Batista
4,
Adarilda P. Benelli
5,
João S. P. Bento
6,
Eduardo L. Borba
4,
Antônio Edmilson Camelo-Júnior
7,
Patrick C. Cantuária
8,
Letícia W. Cavalcanti
9,
Márlon C. S. Cintra
10,
Mathias Engels
11,
Lucas H. J. Feitoza
5,
Leonardo P. Felix
12,
Alessandro W. C. Ferreira
13,
Cecilia F. Fiorini
4,
Leonardo R. S. Guimarães
14,
Viviane P. Klein
2,
Ana Kelly Koch
5,
Samantha Koehler
6,
Amauri H. Krahl
2,
Dayse R. P. Krahl
2,
Bárbara S. S. Leal
15,
Arthur Macedo
16,
Isabel C. S. Machado
17,
Anna Victoria S. R. Mauad
11,
Juliana L. S. Mayer
6,
Thiago E. C. Meneguzzo
18,
Luiz Menini Neto
19,
Ana Paula Moraes
20,
Paulo Milet-Pinheiro
21,
Felipe Nollet
17,
Eliana M. Oliveira
22,
Miguel S. Oliveira
15,
Emerson R. Pansarin
23,
Fábio Pinheiro
6,
Carla A. Royer
11,
Igor S. Santos
24,
Viviane Silva-Pereira
11,
Eric C. Smidt
11,
Tiago L. Vieira
25,
Luciano R. Zandoná
26,
Danilo Zavatin
27 and
Cássio van den Berg
7add Show full author list remove Hide full author list
1
Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09280-560, São Paulo, Brazil
2
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus 69067-375, Amazonas, Brazil
3
Núcleo de Pesquisas em Epífitas (Nupéfita), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Macaé 27930-560, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4
Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais, Brazil
5
Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
6
Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Barão Geraldo, Campinas 13083-970, São Paulo, Brazil
7
Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana 44036-900, Bahia, Brazil
8
Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Amapá, Macapá 68901-025, Amapá, Brazil
9
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Evolução e Diversidade, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André 09280-560, São Paulo, Brazil
10
Departamento de Química e Biologia, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão, Caxias 65020-000, Maranhão, Brazil
11
Programa de Pós-graduação em Botânica, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba 80060-150, Paraná, Brazil
12
Departamento de Fitotecnia, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Campus III, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Paraíba, Brazil
13
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Maranhão, São Luís 65085-580, Maranhão, Brazil
14
Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica, Santa Teresa 29650-000, Espírito Santo, Brazil
15
Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coordenação de Botânica, Belém 66040-170, Pará, Brazil
16
Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Universidade de Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
17
Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50740-550, Pernambuco, Brazil
18
Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22460-030, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
19
Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Minas Gerais, Brazil
20
Laboratório de Citogenômica e Evolução de Plantas, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual de São Paulo, Botucatu 18618-689, São Paulo, Brazil
21
Laboratório de Interações Ecológicas e Semioquímicos, Universidade de Pernambuco, Petrolina 56328-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
22
Laboratório Multiusuário de Microscopia Eletrônica, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador 40110-909, Bahia, Brazil
23
Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, São Paulo, Brazil
24
Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74690-900, Goiás, Brazil
25
Instituto Tecnologico Vale—Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Belém 66055-090, Pará, Brazil
26
Núcleo de Pesquisas Orquidário do Estado, Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo, São Paulo 04301-902, São Paulo, Brazil
27
Departamento de Botânica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, São Paulo, Brazil
 
add Show full affiliation list
 
remove Hide full affiliation list
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(22), 3520; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223520
Submission received: 2 October 2025 / Revised: 10 November 2025 / Accepted: 13 November 2025 / Published: 18 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Plant Biogeography, Systematics, and Taxonomy)
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Abstract

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

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Pessoa, E.M.; Araújo, A.M.; Barberena, F.F.V.A.; Batista, J.A.N.; Benelli, A.P.; Bento, J.S.P.; Borba, E.L.; Camelo-Júnior, A.E.; Cantuária, P.C.; Cavalcanti, L.W.; et al. An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies. Plants 2025, 14, 3520. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223520

AMA Style

Pessoa EM, Araújo AM, Barberena FFVA, Batista JAN, Benelli AP, Bento JSP, Borba EL, Camelo-Júnior AE, Cantuária PC, Cavalcanti LW, et al. An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies. Plants. 2025; 14(22):3520. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223520

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pessoa, Edlley M., Adriane M. Araújo, Felipe F. V. A. Barberena, João A. N. Batista, Adarilda P. Benelli, João S. P. Bento, Eduardo L. Borba, Antônio Edmilson Camelo-Júnior, Patrick C. Cantuária, Letícia W. Cavalcanti, and et al. 2025. "An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies" Plants 14, no. 22: 3520. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223520

APA Style

Pessoa, E. M., Araújo, A. M., Barberena, F. F. V. A., Batista, J. A. N., Benelli, A. P., Bento, J. S. P., Borba, E. L., Camelo-Júnior, A. E., Cantuária, P. C., Cavalcanti, L. W., Cintra, M. C. S., Engels, M., Feitoza, L. H. J., Felix, L. P., Ferreira, A. W. C., F. Fiorini, C., Guimarães, L. R. S., Klein, V. P., Koch, A. K., ... van den Berg, C. (2025). An Overview of Orchidaceae from Brazil: Advances and Shortfalls After 400 Years of Studies. Plants, 14(22), 3520. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14223520

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