Edlley Pessoa, Adriane Maciel de Araújo, Felipe Fajardo Villela Antolin Barberena, João A. N. Batista, Adarilda P. Benelli, João Pedro Silvério Pena Bento, Eduardo Leite Borba, Antônio Edmilson Camelo Júnior, Patrick de Castro Cantuária, Lucas Cavalcanti, Márlon Carlos da Silva Cintra, Mathias Engels, Lucas H. J. Feitoza, Leonardo P. Félix, Alessandro Wagner Coelho Ferreira, Cecília F. Fiorini, Leonardo R. S. Guimarães, Viviane Pagnussat Klein, Ana Kelly Koch, Samantha Koehler, Amauri Herbert Krahl, Dayse Raiane Passos Krahl, Bárbara Simões Santos Leal, Arthur Macedo, Isabel Cristina Machado, Anna Victória Silvério Righetto Mauad, Juliana Lischka Sampaio Mayer, THIAGO E. C. MENEGUZZO, Luiz Menini Neto, Ana Paula Moraes, Paulo Milet‐Pinheiro, Felipe Nollet Medeiros de Assis, Eliana M. Oliveira, Miguel Sena de Oliveira, Emerson Ricardo Pansarin, Fábio Pinheiro, Carla Adriane Royer, Igor S. Santos, Viviane Silva‐Pereira, Eric de Camargo Smidt, Tiago Luiz Vieira, Luciano Ramos Zandoná, Danilo Alvarenga Zavatin, Cássio van den Berg
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.