Cacti in distress 567
of the World Online database (POWO, 2023) for exotic spe- cies. We used Flora e Funga do Brasil (2023) as the source of information on the status of species (native, endemic, exot- ic) and their distribution in phytogeographical domains. We defined knowledge of the municipality of origin of
each specimen as representing provenance data and we used the term ‘duplicate’ to refer to different specimens of the same taxon and provenance data (locality and/or col- lector) or to specimens of the same taxon but without known provenance data. In a second database we listed all native Brazilian species and subspecies of Cactaceae, fol- lowing Flora e Funga do Brasil (2023), with information on the species name, endemism in Brazil and occurrence in phytogeographical domains, to map the cultivated diversity in the collection. For the threatened species analysis we considered two
systems: the Brazilian Red List (Brasil, 2022) and the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2023). We evaluated ex situ con- servation value by analysing the provenance data of the specimens and taxa in the collection, and comparing these data with those on the two Red Lists.
Results
We inventoried a total of 5,227 specimens of 413 taxa (Supplementary Table 1). Cactaceae was the most numerous, with 249 species (native and exotic) and 3,303 specimens, re- presenting 63% of the cultivated plants (Table 1). Among these, 1,113 specimens and 93 species are exotic. Other culti- vated plants belong to 18 additional families (Supplementary Table 2). Of 739 records in cultivation at the time of the in- ventory (some records are represented by more than one specimen), we identified 650 (88%) to species or subspecies, 74 (10%) only to genus and 15 (2%) only to family. Many species had numerous duplicates in cultivation,
both specimens with known provenance data and speci- mens that lack provenance data and have been in the collec- tion for a long time. Notably, the species with the most holdings are mostly represented by specimens of unknown provenance. For example, Pilosocereus arrabidae (Lem.) Byles & Rowley had the highest number of duplicates (173). Sixteen other species had .40 specimens in the col- lection (Table 2), requiring significant space and mainten- ance. Of these 16 species, seven did not have voucher specimens in the institutional herbarium. Of the 276 Brazilian Cactaceae species (Flora e Funga
do Brasil, 2023), 156 (57%) are in cultivation in the Cactarium, with 133 (48%) having known provenance data. Considering species and subspecies, 170 taxa are in cultivation (141 with provenance data). All Brazilian phy- togeographical domains are represented in the collection: Cerrado with 68 species (68% of the species of Cactaceae that occur in this domain), Atlantic Forest with 70 species (63%), Caatinga with 68 species (61%) and Pantanal with
Discussion
Since its establishment in 1913, the Cactaceae collection at the Rio de Janeiro BotanicGarden has gatheredmany speci- mens for which provenance data have been lost. Although not useful for conservation, these specimens are now well adapted to the local climatic conditions of the Garden and contribute to the Garden’s other missions, such as envi- ronmental education and awareness, research and pub- lic contemplation. Although we considered the municipality of origin as
known provenance data, we acknowledge that additional information is important, including not only taxonomic data but also the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the collection site, the collection date, geographical coordinates and the herbariumvoucher specimen associated with the col- lection. These data establish a connection between the taxon and its natural habitat, potentially providing insights that could be useful for species reintroduction (Gratzfeld, 2016). Species of Cactaceae are generally underrepresented in
herbarium collections because of the difficulty of preparing specimens and the risk posed by their spines and glochids (Walters et al., 2011). Ninety-five species in cultivation in the Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden are absent from the Garden’s herbarium (herbarium code RB). It is, however, crucial to deposit material in the herbarium, even if doing so requires sacrificing plants, as herbarium voucher spec- imens provide essential information on the species and their traits, phenology, environment and occurrence, supporting evidence-based conservation decisions (Greve et al., 2016).
Oryx, 2024, 58(5), 565–575 © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324000012
16 species (55%). These four domains have the highest re- presentation, and the Amazon and the Pampa domains are the least represented, with five (36%) and nine species (16%), respectively. Of the native species and subspecies not in the collection, 109 are endemic to Brazil, distributed across the phytogeographical domains: 10 in the Amazon, 43 in the Caatinga, 30 in the Cerrado, 40 in the Atlantic Forest, 49 in the Pampa and 13 in the Pantanal. Of the 78 species of Cactaceae categorized as threatened
on the Brazilian Red List (12 Critically Endangered, 46 Endangered and 20 Vulnerable; Brasil, 2022), 43 (55%) are in cultivation in the Cactarium (eight Critically Endangered, 25 Endangered and 10 Vulnerable), of which 36 species (46%of thetotal)haveprovenancedata(Plate 2, Table 3). Of the 113 species of Cactaceae in Brazil categorized as threatened on the IUCN Red List (28 Critically Endangered, 52 Endangered and 33 Vulnerable; IUCN, 2023), 57 (50%) are in cultivation in the Cactarium (14 Critically Endangered, 26 Endangered and 17 Vulnerable), of which 48 species (43% of the total)haveprovenancedata. On thetwo RedLists combined, 74 species in cultivation in the Cactarium are categorized as threatened.
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