Every Plant Has a Body

The jequitibá's name originates from the Tupi language yekïti’bá, which means tree with a hard trunk, referencing its heavy, durable wood. Considered the largest tree in the Atlantic Forest (reaching almost 100 feet tall and 13 feet in diameter), it is commonly found in eastern Brazil.

Its lifespan may exceed 500 years, making it excellent at preserving the biome. At Inhotim, this tree is one of the botanical highlights located on the Orange axis, close to the outdoor artwork Desert Park(2010), by Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster.

Just like humans, plants have bodies, too. These may be organized under a logic of their own, but they also consist of intelligent systems whose parts work in coordination to make life happen.

In this story, Inhotim invites you on a journey to explore the diversity of plants through the bodies of three Atlantic Forest species: a tree, a bromeliad, and an orchid. All plants presented here are part of our botanical collection.

Threatened with extinction, the braúna is an Atlantic Forest tree. This species is an excellent option for landscape regeneration and urban afforestation. It stands tall amid the landscape, reaching heights up to 82 feet, and its wide canopy helps provide shade.

The braúna's body shows its very essence: a canopy of leaves on the branches, a trunk that communicates with the earth through the roots. Roots to replenish, a trunk to truss, and leaves to live and breathe.

Between February and April, the braúna begins its reproduction stage, revealing more of its body and drawing attention from afar: its yellow blossoms attract bees and other small insects. These flowers are then pollinated and turn into fruits.

In plants, the fruit acts as a protective covering for the seeds that develop inside. Each seed contains a miniature plant of sorts, which has the potential to become an adult plant once it finds favorable light, water, and temperature to grow.

Largo das Orquídeas is one of Inhotim's themed gardens. When it was created in 2016, more than 17,000 orchids of this species were planted in the palm trees. Since then, they have grown naturally on site, forming new clumps.

Clumps are groups of interconnected plants that have grown from shoots of the same plant. In this garden, it's even difficult at times to tell where one orchid ends and another one begins.

Over the final pages of his book O Pensamento Vegetal (The Plant Mind), Evando Nascimento calls on us to immerse ourselves in the plants' way of life. "The plasticity of plant life, its remarkable capacity for regeneration, and its sense of collectivity should guide us to follow these general principles."