Large-scale systematic efforts, both floristic and taxonomic, are the result of the unification of information found in smaller-scale projects or even collections. Three examples, all from tropical America, are presented to illustrate how these data and ideas are pooled. The effort to monograph the genus Leiothrix (Eriocaulaceae) is the successful work of a single researcher over time. The project to monograph the tribe Miconieae (Melastomataceae) demonstrates how joint effort by a collaborating group can monograph a group too large for any single person to attempt. The ‘List of Species of the Flora of Brazil’ project, with over 40,000 species listed, shows how over 400 systematists successfully contributed their knowledge to create a large-scale floristic reference.