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15 plants worth knowing

Brazil

Brazil has the richest flora in the world: its territory holds most of the Amazon rainforest, as well as the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica), the Cerrado savanna, the semi-arid Caatinga, the wetlands of the Pantanal and the grassy Pampas in the south. More than 35,000 species of flowering plants have been described here, many of which occur nowhere else.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Brazilwood 1

    tree · National tree of Brazil – the country is named after it

    Brazilwood

    Paubrasilia echinata

    The tree that gave Brazil its name – its ember-red wood once yielded a dye and today makes the finest violin bows.
  2. Brazil nut 2

    tree

    Brazil nut

    Bertholletia excelsa

    An Amazonian giant that bears Brazil nuts – fruits the size of cannonballs fall from a height of 50 metres.
  3. Açaí palm 3

    palm

    Açaí palm

    Euterpe oleracea

    Purple açaí berries are an everyday meal for the people of Belém – long before they became a fashionable “superfood” around the world.
  4. Paraná pine 4

    tree · Symbol of the state of Paraná, on its flag and coat of arms

    Paraná pine

    Araucaria angustifolia

    A conifer with a candelabra-shaped crown – the symbol of southern Brazil, whose edible pinhão seeds are a treat at winter festivals.
  5. Rubber tree 5

    tree

    Rubber tree

    Hevea brasiliensis

    Its milky sap becomes rubber – around 1900 it built the fortunes of Manaus and shaped the fate of the whole Amazon.
  6. Arabica coffee 6

    crop

    Arabica coffee

    Coffea arabica

    For more than 150 years Brazil has been the world’s largest coffee producer – a coffee sprig even appears on the national coat of arms.
  7. Cassava 7

    crop

    Cassava

    Manihot esculenta

    Domesticated in the Amazon, cassava is the basis of Brazilian cooking – its roots give farinha flour, tapioca and the dough for pão de queijo.
  8. Cashew 8

    tree

    Cashew

    Anacardium occidentale

    A tree from Brazil’s north-eastern coast that gave the world cashew nuts and Brazilians the juicy caju “apple”.
  9. Golden trumpet tree 9

    tree

    Golden trumpet tree

    Handroanthus albus

    At the end of the dry season the leafless crowns of the ipê are covered in golden flowers – one of Brazil’s most eagerly awaited natural spectacles.
  10. Guarana 10

    climber

    Guarana

    Paullinia cupana

    An Amazonian climber with eye-like fruits – its seeds contain more caffeine than coffee and gave their name to Brazilians’ favourite soft drink.
  11. Sugarcane 11

    crop

    Sugarcane

    Saccharum officinarum

    Sugarcane built the economy of colonial Brazil and today gives sugar, cachaça and the ethanol that powers millions of Brazilian cars.
  12. Amazon water lily 12

    aquatic plant

    Amazon water lily

    Victoria amazonica

    The giant round leaves of the Amazon water lily float on the calm waters of the Amazon – one of the best-known symbols of the Brazilian rainforest.
  13. Jabuticaba 13

    tree

    Jabuticaba

    Plinia cauliflora

    Dark purple jabuticaba fruits grow straight from the trunk and branches – the most Brazilian of fruits, loved especially in Minas Gerais.
  14. Mandacaru 14

    cactus

    Mandacaru

    Cereus jamacaru

    The columnar mandacaru cactus is the symbol of the dry sertão – folk belief holds that its flowering heralds rain in the caatinga.
  15. Pequi 15

    tree

    Pequi

    Caryocar brasiliense

    Fragrant yellow pequi fruits are the taste of the Brazilian cerrado – without them there is no famous arroz com pequi from Goiás.