Historical patterns in naming native Brazilian plant genera

Brazilian botanists have achieved a prime objective of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation – creation of a detailed species list of the country’s flora. This accomplishment was driven by Brazilian scientists and research organisations, through international collaboration and with the benefit of centuries of accumulated exploration, collecting and research. Publication dates, authorship and etymology of 3,294 native Brazilian vascular plant and bryophyte genera were used as surrogates for the process of recording the Brazilian flora between 1753 and 2023. Half of all native Brazilian genera were described by the mid-nineteenth century, with most genera described by non-Brazilian botanists. The pattern of generic naming by Brazilian botanists shows distinct periods of activity from 1753 to 1995. Between 1921 and 1949, 38 genera were described, primarily by Adolpho Ducke (1876-1959) and João Geraldo Kuhlmann (1882-1958). In contrast, between 1995 and 2023, dozens of Brazilian botanists contributed to the authorship of 125 genera. Based on etymology, 89.1% of all native Brazilian generic names fall into four categories: morphonyms (40.5%), eponyms (28.2%), autochthonyms (10.2%) and taxonyms (10.2%). Most (80.1%) of angiosperm generic names are morphonyms, eponyms and autochthonyms, whilst autochthonyms, which are based on vernacular or indigenous names, are infrequent in lycophytes and ferns (6.0%) and bryophytes (0.5%).