NO. I BROMELIACEAE OF BRAZIL — SMITH II 



1945), nurserymen were listing species for sale before the turn of the 

 century. Now cultivation has developed here to the extent of sup- 

 porting the Bromeliad Society, organized in 1950. 



In Brazil, Glaziou was bringing live bromeliads to the imperial 

 gardens in Rio, now the gardens of the Museu Nacional, as early as 

 1868. Today there are also notable collections at the Jardim Bo- 

 tanico in Rio and at the Instituto de Botanica in Sao Paulo. Beyond 

 all comparison or possibility of estimate, however, is the private inter- 

 est in bromeliads. Given a people with a deep appreciation of the 

 colorful, and plants with vivid inflorescences that last for weeks or 

 leaves with highly ornamental markings, the resulting interest is a 

 foregone conclusion. Masses of cut flowers are on sale in the markets 

 and by the roadsides and cultivation is effected simply by removing 

 the plant from one tree and attaching it to another more conveniently 

 situated. 



BROMELIAD MALARIA 



Under certain exceptional circumstances bromeliads are detrimental 

 to public health because of the malaria-carrying mosquitoes that breed 

 in their tanks. As explained in my article in the Smithsonian Report 

 for 1952, there have been only three instances of serious malaria 

 infestation attributed to bromeliad breeding mosquitoes although the 

 disease is worldwide in tropical and warm temperate regions. The 

 first case was in the coastal rain forest of Sao Paulo, the second on 

 the British island of Trinidad, and the third and worst in Santa 

 Catarina, again in the coastal rain forest. 



The present paper attempts to estimate the possibility of the occur- 

 rence of further malaria of this origin by giving a comprehensive 

 view of the distribution of the Bromeliaceae in Brazil. From the 

 map (p. 7) it is immediately evident that the bromeliads are con- 

 centrated in the east along the narrow coastal slope just as is the 

 human population. Analysis by genera and species shows that the 

 Bromeliads which store their water in open tanks are still further 

 concentrated in the east, while those storing water in the leaf-tissues 

 predominate in the interior. Thus there is little probability of serious 

 bromeliad malaria on the Planalto or in the Amazon basin. On the 

 other hand, species of bromeliads that are proved hosts of malaria 

 mosquitoes are recorded for practically the entire length of the Bra- 

 zilian coast. Gravisia aquilega, the most important host in Trinidad, 

 is found as far south as Baia, while Vriesm gigantea and Hohenbergia 

 augusta, the worst offenders in Santa Catarina, extend north to 

 Espirito Santo. 



