From Tamboril to Brauna: Talks with Tree Lovers

The silver leaves of this species of embaúba stand out in any forest. For a few years now, this feature arouses great interest of Pedro Nehring, landscape designer at Inhotim, who started to add it to the Shade and Fresh Water Garden from 2020 on. The Botanical Garden team at Inhotim undertakes an effort to collect seeds and produce seedlings of this native endemic tree to the Atlantic Forest, an effort that starts by monitoring matrix trees spread throughout the Institute to collect its fruits.

The next step takes place inside the Botanical Laboratory at Inhotim, where the seeds are extracted and go through an acid treatment. Such procedure is a simulation of what happens in nature: when the fruits of embaúba are eaten by birds, bats, and primates, the gastric acid of these animals “awake” the dormant seeds. After germinating, the seeds proceed to the nursery greenhouse, where they are kept until their actual transfer to the gardens. Such was the procedure experienced by the embaúba shown in the picture – a tree of merely one year old and 1.5 meter high.

This giant can exceed 45 meters in well-preserved forests. A tree of this size is capable of pumping from the ground and transpiring around 1000 liters of water in a single day. Tree roots are sophisticated and extremely intelligent suckers. Their trunks act as tubes that reduce the pumping water to the leaves. When perspiring, trees make the air more humid, transforming the surrounding climate and increasing environmental comfort.

For this reason, a tree can be considered as an air-conditioning system of nature, and a forest is capable of producing aerial streams. A major tree like this might still be home to several animals, like the rufous-fronted thornbird, who found a place to settle his home in this jequitibá.

In the Jardim Sombra e Água Fresca, the cedar is a relic of a perhaps a little distant forest past. In the recent past, the forest gave way to pasture and pasture gave way to garden. Inhotim's history is based on the transformation of the landscape, which over the years has fostered a trajectory of multiple objectives and uses. Today, the cedar and Inhotim meet, where one offers enchantment and magnificence and the other offers a safe place to live.

“Behind the school lay the jabuticabeiras.
We do study, indeed. But after,
hey folks: let’s steal jabuticaba.
Jabuticaba you have to eat by the tree.(...)”
Carlos Drummond de Andrade (Fruta-furto [Fruit-pilfering])

The childhood tricks narrated by this poet from Minas Gerais are also part of the memory of many Brazilians. The Brazilian grapetree is one of the most popular native trees in domestic backyards all over Brazil, in many different seasons and regions. Native to the Atlantic Forest, its consumption is a heritage of the indigenous people.

Moreover, the jabuticaba occupies a special place in the tables of Minas Gerais. Other than its natural consumption, the fruit is the basis for jams, sauces, liqueurs, juices, and other preparations. One hour and a half away from Inhotim is the land of jabuticaba – the city of Sabará. Sabará produces jabuticabas since the colonial period, and is famous for the ancient practice of renting trees for visitors. By paying a certain amount to the owner, you can eat as much as you want and even take some home if you wish.

The mango tree was introduced in the city of Belém back in 1780 by the Italian architect and naturalist Antonio Landi. Faced with the social situation of the time, a “landscape policy” was developed in the city’s urban space. For this reason, it became known as “the city of mango trees,” and even the local soccer arena was nicknamed “Mangueirão” [Big Mango Tree]. The mango tree is also famous in domestic backyards for its ornamental qualities, in addition to making shade and producing tasteful fruits.

Sword-mango, coconut-mango, pink-mango, manguito, Tommy Atkins mango… These are just a few among more than 1,500 mango varieties. The mango is one of the most important commercial cultures in the world in terms of production, marketing, and consumption. Brazil is among the main mango-producing countries in the world, and most of its production is destined to local consumption. Mangos can be consumed in natura or used to make ice-creams and other sweet preparations.

The urucum or annatto is a famous plant for providing seeds broadly used by indigenous communities. Such use is described by Pero Vaz de Caminha in the letter he wrote in April 1500: “Some of them bore green hedgehogs taken from trees, wanting to resemble in color to chestnut trees, although much smaller. And those are filled with small red grains that, when crushed with the fingers, produced a red paint, with which they color themselves. And the more they got wet, the more red they became.”

The pigment contained in the fruits is much appreciated for its red color. The body painting used in dances, rites, and parties is a recurring practice among several ethnic groups. The annatto paint is also very important to protect the skin against the sun and insects.

The popular name coité comes from Tupi and stands for “vessel” or “pot.” That’s because the calabash tree bears a fruit with very stiff rind that is used as a container. The unripened fruits can be consumed cooked or in soups; the ripen fruits, on their turn, have only their rinds used to produce handicrafts and kitchen utensils.

Action plans to preserve the brazilwood might also consider different climate change scenarios. A 2019 study indicated a gradual reduction of the climatically appropriate area in and outside protected regions. Not only the brazilwood will suffer from climate changes, and that is why our society needs to rethink the means of production and consumption so that we can conserve the most biodiversity possible, as well as the feasibility of humankind itself.

Another way to protect species is through 𝘦𝘹 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶 collections. These conserve the germplasm of species, which in the case of trees, can be the living individual, a piece of tissue or a seed. At Inhotim's Botany Laboratory, two cold rooms store seeds from native trees, including ipê seeds. Despite being a very rustic pioneer species, it is threatened with extinction due to intense exploration. So, to ensure its protection, it is essential to keep it in collections like this one.