THE VIRGIN FOREST 



The iron-wood tree, Pau de ferro, is a tree with a smooth pink 

 bark, which I saw in the Pernambuco forests, whose red wood is so 

 hard and heavy that the tree can be felled only in the early morning ; 

 as the sun grows warmer the iron of the axe becomes softer than the 

 wood, and will no longer cut it. Other Leguminosae are known as 

 Angehm, Brauna, Cumbarii, Jatoba, Arariba, Campeche, Inga and 

 Angico trees. The family of the Bignoniaceae includes the Ipes and 

 the Bow-wood tree, which has blue or yellow flowers. Other related 

 trees, the Imbuias, are utilized in Sao Paulo for the manufacture of 

 expensive furniture. 



The Sapucaja may be recognized at a distance by its whitish-grey 

 bark, which displays a regular pattern. It yields not only an excellent 

 wood, but also edible fruits, for this tree belongs to the Lecythidaceae, 

 whose nuts, known to the trade as Para-nuts, appear on our 

 Christmas dinner-tables as Brazil-nuts. The three-cornered, hard- 

 shelled nuts are the seeds of the fruit ; they are contained in a large, 

 almost spherical pot-like shell, as delicately packed together as 

 though an experienced packer had been at the utmost pains to 

 make the most of the available space. The Brazil-nut tree may grow 

 to a height of i6o feet, and its nuts are an important article of export 

 from the Amazon basin. 



The Massarandubas are likewise very tall trees; the various 

 species are distributed all over Brazil; some of them yield very 

 valuable timber, and also pharmaceutical preparations and fruits, 

 for they belong to the Sapotaceae ; of this family the Sapoty is a 

 favourite fruit-tree. I must not forget to mention the many species 

 of laurel, whose wood is known as canella and louro, and the Brazilian 

 Cedar, which is not, as a matter of fact, a conifer, but a huge tree 

 with pinnated leaves; it would really be better to call it a Cedar- 

 ash or Cedrella. The red, aromatically-scented wood is used for 

 cigar-boxes, and is also employed to make termite-proof furniture. 

 The greater part of the wood imported from America as mahogany 

 is said to come from the Cedrella, while the genuine mahogany 

 comes from Central America and the West Indies. 



The list of the valuable Brazilian woods might be continued for 

 several pages, but what I have here said of them will suffice to give 

 some indication of the wealth of the virgin forest. The botanist 

 A. Hoehne of Sao Paulo numbers forty-seven families of trees in his 

 valuable A Flora do Brazil ; each of which contains a whole series 

 of species that furnish useful timber. 



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