Amaro Macedo (10 May 1914 – 27 June 2014) was a Brazilian botanist who was the best-known collector of the Brazilian

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

plant species of the 20th century. He lived in

Ituiutaba Ituiutaba (Brazilian Portuguese: /itujuˈtabɐ/) is a municipality in the western part of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Elevated to city status in 1901, its population in 2020 was 105,255 and a total area in the municipality of 2,694 km2. Th ...

, in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, Brazil. He started his collection in 1943 when he was a teacher of natural sciences in the Instituto Marden, Ituiutaba. He collected most of his plant material in the Cerrado vegetation of the states of Minas Gerais,

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goiânia. ...

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

and

Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...

. He collected also in the regions of the villages of Natividade, Porto Nacional and Filadelfia, at the time part of the state of Goiás, although now part of the state of

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

. Plant specimens from his collection are in several herbaria in Brazil and outside. Between 1943 and 2007 he collected 6,008 plant specimens, several of them are considered new species and some were named for him by fellow botanists.

Biography

Macedo, the son of Otavio Macedo, a farmer from the

Triângulo Mineiro The Triângulo Mineiro (, ''Mineiro (disambiguation), Mineiro Triangle'') is the region that comprises the west part of the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. It occupies an area of 93,500 km2 (slightly larger than Portugal or Hungary) and is bord ...

in the

State of Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

(MG), and Maria da Gloria Chaves Macedo, was married to Celia Duarte Macedo. The couple had four daughters: Regina, Marilia, Beatriz and Maria do Carmo. He was born

Campina Verde Campina Verde is a municipality in the north of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. the population was 19,752 in a total area of 3,663 km². It became a municipality in 1938. Location Campina Verde is located at an elevation of 530 meter ...

, Brazil and attended primary school in Ituiutaba and secondary school in

Campanha Campanha is a town ''(município)'' in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 its population was estimated at 16,762 inhabitants. The town is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Campanha The Roman Catholic Diocese of Campanha ...

, Minas Gerais. Afterwards he was a student at the Escola Superior de Viçosa, now known as the

Universidade Federal de Viçosa The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

(

Federal University of Viçosa The Federal University of Viçosa (UFV; pt, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, spelled with a c-cedilla) is a Federal University with the main campus located in the city of Viçosa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The university began as the Highe ...

) - UFV, Minas Gerais, as a technician in agriculture. In 1935 he moved to Ituiutaba, MG, to teach primary school classes at the new Instituto Marden. Soon he was teaching mathematics, sciences and technical design in the secondary classes of the same Institute. He was a teacher of statistics at the Commerce School and was responsible for the administration of the Instituto Marden when his brother-in-law was on leave. At the time he was also responsible for the classes of mathematics and sciences at the Colegio Santa Tereza, a Roman Catholic school run by nuns in Ituiutaba. As a teacher of Natural Sciences he had to teach the scientific names of common plant species; since his pupils were for the most part sons of farmers from the region and they were particularly interested to know the Latin names of the plants that were growing on their farms. He had to study to learn this subject and decided also to have field classes with his students. He wrote to well-known botanists in Brazil asking for help in how to collect and prepare plant specimens. He collected most of his plant material in the cerrado vegetation of the States of Minas Gerais, Goiás, Maranhão and Pará. He collected also in the regions of the villages of Natividade,

Porto Nacional Porto Nacional is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Tocantins. The population was 53,316 (2020) in an area of , including both rural and urban areas. Location It is located approximately in the center of the state at a distance of 60 k ...

and Filadelfia, at the time part of the State of Goiás, although now part of the state of Tocantins. His first plant specimen was collected on May 3, 1943, in Ituiutaba – ''Roupala tomentosa'' Pohl. He travelled all over the cerrado region and wrote diaries of his trips in which he describes the plants, the environment, the villages, the customs of the people, the food, the transport, the rivers and so on. When he retired from teaching, he started a new life as a farmer, but continued collecting plant material. One day collecting material in the farm he was struck by a branch of ''

Bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Jo ...

bongardi'' Steud. which left him totally blind of his left eye.

Tributes

He has a mention from the

British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

for his work with the Brazilian

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

. In 1958 he received a medal, Medalha de Mérito Dom João VI, from the Brazilian government for his services to the

Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden The Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden or Jardim Botânico is located at the Jardim Botânico district in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The Botanical Garden shows the diversity of Brazilian and foreign flora. There are around 6,500 species (so ...

Exchanges with well-known botanists

He learned from and kept an exchange of correspondence with Brazilian botanists, such as Joaquim Franco de Toledo,

Oswaldo Handro file:Oswaldo Handro.jpg, Oswaldo Handro. Oswaldo Handro (1908–1986) was a Brazilian botanist who specialized in pteridophytes and spermatophytes. The genus ''Handroanthus'' was Genus#Generic name, named for him. References

1908 bi ...

Frederico Carlos Hoehne Frederico Carlos Hoehne (1 February 1882, Juiz de Fora – 16 March 1959) was a Brazilian botanist. In 1907 he was appointed ''jardineiro-chefe'' (head gardener) at the National Museum in Rio de Janeiro, soon afterwards working on botanical assign ...

Graziela Maciel Barroso Graziela Maciel Barroso (1912-2003) was a Brazilian botanist noted for being a leading expert on the flora of Brazil, as well as a specialist of Compositae. She was Chairman and Professor of the Department of Plant Biology at the University of ...

, Carlos de Toledo Rizzini, Alexandre Curt Brade, Guido Frederico João Pabst, Gil Martins Felippe, and Lúcia Rossi e João Aguiar Nogueira Batista. He also was in frequent touch with botanists outside Brazil, such as Carlos M.D.E. Legrand, from Uruguay, Lorenzo R. Parodi and Arturo E. Burkart, from Argentina, Harold N. Moldenke,

Richard Sumner Cowan Richard Sumner Cowan (January 23, 1921 – November 17, 1997) was an American botanist. Early life Richard Sumner Cowan was born on January 23, 1921, in Crawfordsville, Indiana. His family moved to Florida and he was educated in the Tampa, Flor ...

, Robert E. Woodson Jr., Conrad V. Morton, Jason R. Swallen, and Lyman B. Smith, from the United States, Noel Y. Sandwith, from England, Joseph V. Monachino, an Italian working in the United States, and Erik Asplund, from Sweden.

Plant specimens

Plant specimens from his collection are all over herbaria of Brazil and outside. In 1963 he donated a herbarium of 1,723 plant specimens to the Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo. Between 1943 and 2007 he collected 6,008 plant specimens, several of them are considered new species and some were named after him by fellow botanists.

New species collected by Macedo

Acanthaceae Acanthaceae is a family (the acanthus family) of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing almost 250 genera and about 2500 species. Most are tropical herbs, shrubs, or twining vines; some are epiphytes. Only a few species are distributed in te ...

*''Amphiscopia grandis'' Rizzini *''Chaetothylax erenthemanthus'' Rizzini *''Chaetothylax tocantinus'' var longispicus Rizzini *''Hygrophila humistrata'' Rizzini *''Lophothecium paniculatum'' Rizzini *''

Ruellia capitata ''Strobilanthes penstemonoides'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae. It occurs in China, Bhutan, India, and Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Ne ...

'' Rizzini *''

Ruellia rufipila ''Ruellia rufipila'' (syn. ''Eurychanes rufipila'' Rizzini) is a plant native of Cerrado vegetation of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South Ameri ...

'' Rizzini

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus ''Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryllis fa ...

*''Amaryllis minasgerais'' H.P. Traub

Asclepiadaceae The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, they were treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family. They form a group of perennial herbs, twin ...

*''Ditassa maranhensis'' Fontella & C. Valente

Bignoniaceae Bignoniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales commonly known as the bignonias or trumpetvines.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: ...

*''Distictella dasytricha'' Sandwith

Bromeliaceae The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot Monocotyledons (), commonly referred to as monocots, (Lilianae ''sensu'' Chase & Reveal) are grass and grass-like flowering plants (angiosperms), the seeds of which typically contain o ...

*''Bromelia interior'' L.B. Smith

Compositae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

*''Gochnatia barrosii'' Cabrera *''Tricogonia atenuata'' G.M.Barroso

Connaraceae Connaraceae is a pan-tropical plant family of 19 genera and more than 180 species of largely evergreen trees, woody shrubs and climbers. The family was first described by Robert Brown in 1816 and the name has been conserved. Distribution Connar ...

*''Rourea psammophila'' E. Forero

Gramineae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

*''Luziola divergens'' J.R. Swallen *''Olyra taquara'' Swallen *''Panicum pirineosense'' Swallen *''Paspalum crispulum'' Swallen *''Paspalum fessum'' Swallen *''Paspalum formosum'' Swallen *''Paspalum latipes'' Swallen *''Paspalum pallens'' Swallen *''Sporobolus hians'' van Schaack

Labiatae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

*''Hyptis argentea'' Epling & Mathias *''Salvia expansa'' Epling

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...

*''Herreria latifolia'' Woodson

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

*''Rhynchanthera philadelphensis'' Brade

Velloziaceae Velloziaceae is a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The APG II system, of 2003 (unchanged from the APG system, 1998), also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Pandanales. Relationships and evolution By contrast to oth ...

*''Vellozia hypoxoides'' L.B. Smith

New species dedicated to Amaro Macedo

*''Sericographis macedoana'' Rizzini — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 8; 357, 1948 Aspidiaceae *''Polybotrya macedoi'' Brade — Bradea l: 24, 1969

*''Bromelia macedoi'' L.B.Sm. — Buli. Bromeliad Soe. 8: 12, 1958 *''Dyckia macedoi'' L.B.Sm. — Arch. Bot. São Paulo n. ser. 2: 195, 1952

*''Mikania macedoi'' G.M.Barroso — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 16: 247, 1959 *''Vernonia macedoi'' G.M.Barroso — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 13: 9, 1954 *''Wedelia macedoi'' H.Rob. — Phytologia 55:396, 1984

Convolvulaceae Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, shrubs and herbs. The tubers of several spec ...

*''Ipomoea macedoi'' Hoehne — Arq. Bot. Estado São Paulo n s. 2: 110, 1950

Dryopteridaceae The Dryopteridaceae are a Family (biology), family of leptosporangiate ferns in the Order (biology), order Polypodiales. They are known Common name, colloquially as the wood ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG&n ...

*''Polybotrya macedoi'' Brade — Bradea 1: 24, 1969

*''Paspatum macedoi'' Swallen — Phytologia 14: 377, 1967

Lauraceae Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...

*'' Aiouea macedoana'' Vattimo-Gil — Anais 15 Congr. Soc. Bot. Brasil 168, 1967

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

–

Caesalpinioideae Caesalpinioideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, placed in the large family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. Its name is formed from the generic name ''Caesalpinia''. It is known also as the peacock flower subfamily. The Caesalpinioideae ...

*''Cassia macedoi'' H.S.Irwin &. Barneby — Mem. New York Bot. Gard, 30; 136,1978 *''Chamaecrista macedoi'' (H.S.Irwin & Barneby) H.S.Irwin & Barneby — Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 35: 654,1982

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

–

Mimosoideae The Mimosoideae are a traditional subfamily of trees, herbs, lianas, and shrubs in the pea family (Fabaceae) that mostly grow in tropical and subtropical climates. They are typically characterized by having radially symmetric flowers, with petals ...

*''Mimosa macedoana'' Burkart — Darwiniana 13: 389,1964

Leguminosae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

–

Papilionoideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family. This subfamily is widely ...

*''Arachis macedoi'' Krapov. & W.C.Greg. — Bonplandia (Corrientes) 8: 55, 1994 *''Harpalyce macedoi'' R.S.Cowan — Brittonia 10: 31,1958

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

*''Banisteriopsis macedoana'' L.B.Sm. — J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 45: 198, 1955 *''Stigmaphyllon macedoanum'' C. E. Anderson — Contr. Univ. Michigan Herb. 17: 10, 1990

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

*''Peltaea macedoi'' Krapov. & Cristobal —Kurtziana 2:196, 1965

*''Macairea macedoi'' Brade — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 16: 31, 1959 *''Microlicía amaroi'' Brade — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 16:29, 1959 *''Microlicia macedoi'' L.B.Sm. & Wurdack — J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 45: 200, 1955 *''Tococa macedoi'' Brade — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 16: 32, 1959

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

*''Eugenia macedoi'' Mattos & D.Legrand — Loefgrenia 67: 24,1975 *''Hexachlamys macedoi'' D.Legrand — Loefgrenia 55: 1, 1972 *''Marlierea macedoi'' D.Legrand —Bot. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montevideo, 3: 27, 1962 *''Psidium macedoi'' Kausel — Lilloa 33: 108, 1971 (publ.1972)

Ochnaceae Ochnaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales.Vernon H. Heywood, Richard K. Brummitt, Ole Seberg, and Alastair Culham. ''Flowering Plant Families of the World''. Firefly Books: Ontario, Canada. (2007). . In the APG III syst ...

*''Luxemburgia macedoi'' Dwyer — J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 45: 198, 1955

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees Opiliaceae Opiliaceae is a family of flowering plants comprising 11 genera and 33 known species. It consists of tropical woody plants. Several genera contain parasitic species. The biggest genus, in number of species and in stature of the individual plant ...

*''Agonandra macedoi'' Toledo — Arch. Bot. São Paulo n.s. 3:13, 1952

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

*''Cyrtopodium macedoi'' J.A.N.Bat. & Bianch. — Novon 16: 17, 2006

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: ''Piper'' ( ...

*''Peperomia macedoana'' Yunck. — Bol. Inst. Bot. (São Paulo) 3:189, 1966 *''Piper macedoi'' Yunck. — Boi. Inst. Bot. (São Paulo) 3: 51, 1966

Polypodiaceae Polypodiaceae is a family of ferns. In the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification of 2016 (PPG I), the family includes around 65 genera and an estimated 1,650 species and is placed in the order Polypodiales, suborder Polypodiineae. A broader ...

*''Pecluma macedoi'' (Brade) M.KessIer &. A.R.Sm. — Candollea 60: 281, 2005 *''Polypodium macedoi'' Brade — Arch. Jard. Bot. Rio de Janeiro 11: 30, 1951

Rubiaceae The Rubiaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with interpetiolar stipules ...

*''Galianthe macedoi'' E.L.Cabral — Bonplandia (Corrientes) 10:121, 2000

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

*''Teclea macedoi'' Exell & Mendonça — Garcia de Orta. Ser. Bot. 1: 93, 1973 *''Vepris macedoi'' (Exell &. Mendonça) W.Mziray —Symb. Bot. Upsal. 30: 73, 1992

*''Vellozia macedonis'' Woodson— Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37: 398, 1950

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

*''Lippia macedoi'' Moldenke — Phytologia 6: 327, 1958 *''Stachytarpheta macedoi'' Moldenke — Phytologia 3: 276, 1950

Viscaceae Viscaceae is a taxonomic family name of flowering plants. In this circumscription, the family includes the several genera of mistletoes. This family name is currently being studied and under review as in past decades, several systems of plant taxon ...

*''Phoradendron macedonis'' Rizzini — Rodriguesia 18-19: 163, 1956

References

Brazilian Orchids
''Orchids News'' #31. Last visited 2009-07-19. *Clifford, H. T. & Bostock, P. D. ''Etymological Dictionary of Grasses''.

Springer Berlin Heidelberg Springer Science+Business Media, commonly known as Springer, is a German multinational publishing company of books, e-books and peer-reviewed journals in science, humanities, technical and medical (STM) publishing. Originally founded in 1842 in ...

, 2007. * Felippe, Gil e Macedo, Maria do Carmo. ''Amaro Macedo – o solitário do cerrado'', 1.ª edição, Cotia - SP, Brazil. Ateliê Editorial, 2009, *''Jornal do Pontal'' 2009-05-22 . Last visited 2009-07-19. *Jusbrasil
Entrega de Títulos Emociona Convidados
Last visited 2009-07-17. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedo, Amaro 20th-century Brazilian botanists Brazilian centenarians Men centenarians 1914 births 2014 deaths