fungi, in the restingas nearly nothing is known and to change
and continue this history there is the need to identify them,
cultivate them and keep them viably available for future use. It
is with this thought that we begin our journey towards the dis-
covery of these organisms by colecting plants adapted to this
ecosystem, either to see, to review or to know their associated
fungi, immersed in an infinite biodiversity that only the “Time
and the Restinga” (34) may reveal and continue their history.
OUR QUEST FOR THE
ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI
Endophytic fungi are organisms that live within plants
unnoticed. Apparently, they live in harmony with the host plant
and do not cause the symptoms of visible external disease or
damage. These fungi have developed such an intimate relation-
ship with plants that more studies are needed to better under-
stand it. We do not know if there is any preference for host, if
colonization is either temporary or permanent, if at some stage
of the plant life or at its senescence these fungi may become
pathogenic, or even if environmental factors, such as plant nu-
trition, lack or excess water, temperature, salinity may alter this
association.
Our choice to study the endophytic fungi was stimu-
lated when we became aware that “fluminense restingas” con-
stitute an immense source of biodiversity to be explored. In the
restinga the weather is hot, very hot and heats the soil, which
is nothing more than beach sand. White sand that reflects the
sun, increasing exponentially the luminosity. Also strong are
the winds that bring the sea air and increase the salinity of
the dry environment. we wonder about the fungi diversity that
could exist in this environment. In restinga, plant species that
thrive on the seaside are those that withstand the abrupt vari-
ations of the weather, sandy and salty soil, water deficit, strong
winds and excess of light that shape and limit their growth(35).
It is really a pressure of natural selection that groups a charac-
teristic and almost unknown vegetation considering the pres-
ence of endophytic fungi.
Thus, a place with so many distinct qualities, sheltering
innumerable well-adapted plant species, could also harbour
a great fungi diversity, many of them perhaps not yet known
by science. So, we took the responsibility for starting this en-
deavor and explore the diversity of endophytic fungi in rest-
inga. For the knowledge and identification of these fungi, we
needed to collect plants or parts of them and, in the laboratory,
carry out a process of disinfestation and isolation of the fungi
that would be living inside the fragments. However, it was not
an easy task. In addition to the authorizations for collecting
plant material from Brazilian flora, granted by the competent
authorities, it was necessary to know and identify each of the
plant species collected.During the search for the visual record of the plant spe-
cies and the exuberance of their inflorescences, we deemed
necessary to show and spread to the world the unique beauty
of some of these plants, before we could show the endophytic
fungi that we were looking for. Many of those plants are used
by the local population as food, medicine, ornamental, fuel,
for construction and for the production of hunting and fishing
utensils (36). This need originated the book “Time and Restinga”
(34) published at the end of 2015, which was accompanied by
the exhibition “Karuara” (thunderstorm wind that appears in
January) for the dissemination of plant species that occur in
this ecosystem.As we mentioned above, a small portion of our restinga
has taken on a new impetus for knowledge or recognition by
the population, although many areas still need to be explored
and disseminated, since the state of Rio de Janeiro encom-
passes 1,194.3 km^2 of the area where this vegetation occurs.
In the north of the state of Rio de Janeiro, we found restinga in
the municipalities of São Francisco de Itabapoana, São João
da Barra, Campos dos Goytacazes, Quissamã, Carapebus and
Macaé, each presenting a diversified phytophysiognomy, be-
ing pointed as an important forest transition area of Brazilian
southeast coast (37).The decision to start our explorations of the northern
Fluminense restingas was taken in the second half of the year- In order to facilitate our groupings and collections, We
distributed the plant species present in the restinga in four
basic formation types, starting from the seaside to the inland
forest: seaside graminoid, seaside bush, Clusia formation and
restinga forest(38). The first plant collecting occurred on July
29th, 2013 in the restinga of Iquipari, municipality of São João
da Barra. Which encompasses 46% of the area of the State
restinga, with approximately 552 km^2. Grussaí and Iquipari are
differentiated by the absence of dunes and the great extension
of the beach formation. On this occasion, leaf samples were
collected from 12 plant species, in search for their endophytic
fungi. It would not be possible to foresee the significance of
this incursion to the restinga, which we considered to be the
only one necessary. However, evaluating the results found, it
was questioned, as already described previously, what would
be the influence of this warm, saline, sandy and very bright
environment on the fungi that live inside the plants adapted to
these areas. Would there be any influence of the Paraíba do Sul
River on the diversity of these fungi in the transition areas be-