Download BOUNTIFUL BRAZIL

LAND OF DIVERSITY
BOUNTIFUL
BRAZIL
Rainforest packed with an
enormous diversity of plants cloaks
the edges of the Iguaçu Falls on
the border of Brazil and Argentina
Kew’s Brazil-themed Orchids festival is now in full bloom in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. Christina Harrison invites you
inside to enjoy this exuberant and colourful carnival of plants and discover this vast country’s unique and diverse flora
Bright and colourful
orchids and bromeliads
fill the Princess of Wales
Conservatory during
the Orchids festival
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W
ith the weather still cold and the days still
short, it’s only natural to be yearning for warmer,
more exotic climes. But there’s no need to pack
your bags just yet, as you can immerse yourself
in a Brazilian carnival of colour right now at Kew. So throw
off your winter coat and come and join the party at the
Orchids festival.
Enter the Princess of Wales Conservatory and you’ll
encounter the vibrant flora of Brazil, in all its amazing
diversity. The towering pillars are draped with exotic orchids,
while carnival dancers created from tropical flowers samba
across the central pool. It’s a dazzling spectacle, offering a
taste of the many wonders of this incredible and vast nation.
Brazil is the most biodiverse country on Earth, with
six major types of ecosystem in distinct regions (known
as biomes), including tropical rainforest, grasslands, dry
woodlands and extensive wetlands. It is home to more than
46,000 species of plants and fungi, of which just over 19,500
grow nowhere else. There are more than 2,500 species of
orchids, a vast diversity of palms, towering hardwood trees,
and valuable crops including the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia
excelsa). Brazil itself is named after the leguminous tree
known locally as pau brasil (Caesalpinia echinata), which is
an important source of timber, and new Brazilian plant species
continue to be discovered almost every day. So what better
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way to celebrate the joyful and colourful nature of this country
than by putting on a botanical carnival?
Brazilian orchids are at the heart of the displays, including
the starry blooms of Odontoglossum, Miltonia and Oncidium in
the lush tropical zone. Alongside these you’ll find a stunning
range of weird and wonderful bromeliads, other tropical
plants such as glossy Anthurium and lush-leaved Philodendron,
and even an area of mangroves – each adding layers of
luxuriant form and foliage, and representing the important
types of flora and habitats of Brazil.
Continue your journey through the glasshouse and you’ll
enter different climates that are home to different types of
plants. In the arid climate zone you’ll see important and rare
cacti from Brazil, while exquisite species of orchids from the
Atlantic Forest are displayed in the two orchid zones. So take
your time and enjoy a sensory introduction to the striking flora
and natural beauty of this vibrant South American country.
Most people picture the lush beauty of the Amazon
rainforest when they think of Brazil, but the flora of this
country is much more diverse and delightful than this one
type of forest. Alongside the Amazon biome, and occupying
much of the centre of Brazil, is the Cerrado – a biodiversity
hotspot that is considered one of the richest savannahs in the
world, with an estimated 12,000 plant species. Next to this,
in the north east of the country, lies the Caatinga – a tropical
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Photos: Inge Johnsson/Alamy (p26–27),
Amazon-Images/Alamy, William MIlliken, Jeff Eden
Brazil’s ecosystems range from
primary tropical rainforest (left)
to dry scrubland known as
Cerrado (below), each with its
own unique plant species
semi-arid scrub forest whose name means ‘white forest’ in the
indigenous Tupi-Guarani language. This is home to a complex
community of cacti, legumes and bromeliads, adapted to live
in the hot dry conditions. The Caatinga is one of the least
protected regions of Brazil, with only two per cent designated
as reserves. The Atlantic Forest, which runs in a band down the
eastern side of the country, is Brazil’s other great rainforest.
Known for its array of endemic species, this biome has suffered
hundreds of years of habitat loss and deforestation, leaving a
highly fragmented landscape with only about eight per cent of
its original forest cover intact. Many research and conservation
projects are under way in this region.
Along the coast itself is the largest continuous stretch
of mangrove forest in the world, and in the very south of the
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country lies the Pampa biome, whose wide plains of swaying
grasses have long been exploited for beef production. One
final terrestrial biome, a vast wetland region of seasonally
flooded grasslands, is found to the south west of the Amazon,
and is known as the Pantanal. This special area is so important
that it has been classified by UNESCO as a Natural World
Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. Each of these biomes is
full of highly adapted plants, and it’s the sum of these parts
that makes Brazil so stunningly rich in biodiversity.
Kew has long had a close partnership with a wide range
of Brazilian institutes, universities, NGOs, government
departments, associations of indigenous peoples, and
of course the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, working on a
vast array of research and conservation projects. These range
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Kew’s partnerships in Brazil
Each of Brazil’s biomes has a complex ecology where
many species have evolved to depend on each other
Kew works in collaboration with Brazilian partners on many important projects, including:
Restoring the Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest covers just over eight per
cent of its original range, but still has a high
density of unique plants and fungi. Kew has
been working with two universities in Bahia
to develop an online information resource to
support the restoration of this fragmented
forest. It includes an inventory of plant
species and details of their ecology.
Photos: William Milliken, RBG Kew
Kew scientists work with Brazilian
partners in the field to study,
map and conserve the native flora
from plant collecting and seed banking to creating shared
online resources to help increase knowledge about the native
flora (see panel opposite). There is still much to learn: each
of Brazil’s biomes has a complex ecology where many species
have evolved to depend on each other, and species become
vulnerable when these relationships are disturbed.
Sir Ghillean Prance, a former director of Kew and
authority on rainforest ecology, realised after years of research
that the Brazil nut harvest in the Amazon was reliant on the
health of surrounding plants. The Brazil nut tree depends on
euglossine bees to pollinate its flowers, and the female bees will
only mate with males that have successfully gathered a cocktail
of scents from various orchid species that grow nearby. If the
orchids are removed during logging or other human activities,
the bees disappear too and the Brazil nut harvest fails. This is
one of the main reasons why plantations of Brazil nut trees
have never been very fruitful outside the Amazon.
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More recently, much research has been done on the
pea and myrtle families (Leguminosae and Myrtaceae),
which include some of the most important tree species in
the Atlantic Forest. In 2015 alone, Kew scientists described
22 new species in the myrtle family. Meanwhile, studies of
the cacti of the Caatinga have shown them to be among the
most threatened cacti species in the world. One of the most
ambitious projects for Kew is Reflora, which is co-ordinated
by Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological
Development and aims to give open access to information
on Brazilian plant diversity by digitising (databasing and
photographing) specimens of Brazilian plants in collections
outside the country. The enormous amount of data held in
these collections is being assembled into one vast ‘virtual
herbarium’, hosted by Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden.
Kew has digitised most of its Brazilian specimens, and by
March 200,000 images will be freely available online.
Supported by the Reflora programme, more than
100 Brazilian researchers and students have been to Kew
on study visits and have since authored over 170 scientific
papers, many in close collaboration with Kew staff. More
than 100 species new to science have also been described as
a result. Online tools such as the Reflora Virtual Herbarium
are hugely important in helping to understand, protect
and restore Brazil’s flora for the benefit of everyone.
Because the wild and wonderful nature of Brazil is under
constant threat from habitat loss and climate change, as well »
Conservation in the Amazon
Kew scientists have explored the flora
of the Amazon’s ‘arc of deforestation’
in northern Mato Grosso to help support
management plans for private and stateprotected reserves. They have also
supported habitat restoration and longterm conservation programmes working
with rural communities.
Banking and studying the seeds
of native plants
For decades Kew has been working with
Brazil to protect native species through
seed banking. This also includes training
Brazilian students in seed banking and
conducting joint research. One project is
undertaking detailed studies of the seeds
of 20 Amazon tree species to help increase
germination rates for restoration projects.
Researching the wild relatives of crops
The wild relatives of legume crops are one
potential solution to future sustainable
food production for a growing population
in a time of climate change. This is a
major aspect of current research in
Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank.
Securing the sustainable use of fuel wood
The Fuelwood Project tested different
harvesting techniques on several tree
species (mostly legumes) favoured as fuel
by local people. After years of experiments,
scientists found that most trees
regenerated best if they were cut during the
dry season, over a relatively long cutting
cycle. These findings can help to ensure
a much more sustainable supply of fuel,
minimising impact on the Caatinga.
Gathering information on all Brazilian
plants and fungi
Working with Rio de Janeiro Botanical
Garden, Kew is contributing information and
expertise to build an online list of all plants
and fungi in Brazil. This has so far involved
more than 500 taxonomists around the
world. Other projects are focusing on the
study of endangered cacti and forest plant
families to work towards their conservation.
Collecting traditional plant knowledge
to help indigenous communities
Research into the traditional medicinal plant
knowledge of the Yanomami people recently
resulted in the publication of a plant use
manual, published by the Yanomami in their
own language. The programme will be
extended to other communities to ensure
this valuable information remains available
to future generations.
Studying tropical forest ecology
Kew scientists are working with Brazilian
partners to better understand the ecology
of the country’s tropical forests. Studies
into the flowering and fruiting times of
certain species under the effects of climate
change allow predictions to be made, and
help to identify which groups of plants can
be used as indicators of change for the
whole ecosystem.
Assessing the threats to plant species
Kew is helping to assess the threats to
Brazil’s plant species for inclusion on the
IUCN’s Red List (see also p34). Once threats
are known and assessed, conservation
action plans for species can be devised.
Kew scientists also contribute to many other
projects, from creating field guides and
vegetation mapping to supporting reserve
management plans and helping to train
botanists and botanical artists from Brazil
(see also p57). You can read Kew’s Science
Strategy at kew.org/science-conservation.
—
Kew would like to thank all the generous supporters of its vital science and conservation work, including the UK
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, the Newton Fund PDE Programme managed by the British Council, and
numerous Brazilian co-funders co-ordinated by Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development.
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LAND OF DIVERSITY
LIVING
ON
THIN
AIR
Photo: RBG Kew
Discover Brazil’s
high-rise plants
as pests and diseases, the need for research and conservation
is ever increasing. Much of Brazil’s future prosperity and
cultural richness may rely on the decisions and actions taken
now to preserve its natural heritage. The health of Brazil’s
biodiversity affects us all – plants and fungi are precious
resources that may provide answers to many of the challenges
currently facing humanity.
Much new positive conservation work is being announced
by many different organisations, but the urgency remains clear.
The State of the World’s Plants, a new report from Kew that will
be published in May, will highlight Brazil as one of the most
important botanical regions for research. As you walk through
the spectacular displays in the Princess of Wales Conservatory
and enjoy the richness and colourful beauty of this country’s
flora, you’ll understand why Kew is so passionate about
conserving these plants, and why they’re well worth celebrating.
—
Christina Harrison is editor of Kew magazine
Tropical orchids and bromeliads
cover the pillars in the humid
Conservatory, mimicking the
way their wild relatives grow
in the rainforest
—
Kew’s Orchids festival runs until 6 March – see p71 for details
of the festival and related events, including courses, tours and talks.
—
You can find out much more about Kew’s science at kew.org.
To support this vital work, go to kew.org/support.
K E W. O R G
Many of the orchids and
bromeliads on display at Kew
are classed as epiphytes.
They don’t root into the soil
– instead they often perch on
branches high up in the tree
canopy, where they can access
more light and moisture.
Individual bromeliads, or
several growing in close
proximity, can create their
own mini-habitats, which may
become home to insects,
invertebrates and even
amphibians. Tree frogs
sometimes colonise the
water that collects in the
centre of many bromeliads.
There are around 3,000
species in the family
Bromeliaceae, almost all
of which come from the
New World. Kew’s collection
includes endangered species
such as Vriesea hieroglyphica
from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest,
which is now thought to be
extinct in the wild. Most
bromeliads love warmth
and humidity, and many are
epiphytes. Look out for species
and cultivars of air plants
(Tillandsia), tufted air plants
(Guzmania), urn plants
(Aechmea) and vibrant
Vriesea in Kew’s displays.
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