The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. The fruit and its nutshell – containing the edible Brazil nut – are relatively large and weigh as much as 2 kg (4.4 lb) in total. As food, Brazil nuts are notable for diverse content of micronutrients, especially a high amount of selenium. The wood of the Brazil nut tree is prized for its quality in carpentry, flooring, and heavy construction.
Hevea brasiliensis, the Pará rubber tree, sharinga tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now pantropical in distribution due to introductions. It is the most economically important member of the genus Hevea because the milky latex extracted from the tree is the primary source of natural rubber.
Pourouma cecropiifolia is a species of Pourouma, native to tropical South America, in the western Amazon Basin in northern Bolivia, western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and southern Venezuela.
Couroupita guianensis, known by a variety of common names including cannonball tree, is a deciduous tree in the flowering plant family Lecythidaceae. It is native to lowland tropical rainforests of Central and South America, from Costa Rica, south to Brazil and northern Bolivia and it is cultivated in many other tropical areas throughout the world because of its fragrant flowers and large fruits, which are brownish grey. There are potential medicinal uses for many parts of Couroupita guianensis, and the tree has cultural and religious significance in South and Southeast Asia. In Sri Lanka and India, the cannonball tree has been widely misidentified as the Sal tree, after its introduction to the island by the British in 1881, and has been included as a common item in Buddhist temples as a result.
Attalea maripa, commonly called maripa palm is a palm native to tropical South America and Trinidad and Tobago. It grows up 35 m (115 ft) tall and can have leaves or fronds 10–12 m (33–39 ft) long. This plant has a yellow edible fruit which is oblong ovoid and cream. An edible oil can be extracted from the pulp of the fruit and from the kernel of the seed.
The palm tree Phytelephas aequatorialis, commonly known as Ecuadorian ivory palm, is the main source of Ecuadorean vegetable ivory or tagua, a botanical alternative to ivory. It is found in the tropical rainforests of the western Andean slopes of Ecuador. It has a woody trunk which can grow to 20 m in height and very long pinnate leaves.
Chrysobalanaceae is a family of flowering plants, consisting of trees and shrubs in 27 genera and about 700 species of pantropical distribution with a centre of diversity in the Amazon. Some of the species contain silica in their bodies for rigidity and so the mesophyll often has sclerenchymatous idioblasts. The widespread species Chrysobalanus icaco produces a plum-like fruit and the plant is commonly known as the coco plum.
Sir Ghillean Tolmie Prance is a prominent British botanist and ecologist who has published extensively on the taxonomy of families such as Chrysobalanaceae and Lecythidaceae, but drew particular attention in documenting the pollination ecology of Victoria amazonica. Prance is a former director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Astrocaryum vulgare is a very spiny palm native to the Guianas and the Amazon. It is a species which has greatly benefited from deforestation, as it cannot grow in undisturbed rainforest. It is common in the Pará state of Brazil, to the east of the Amazon. This plant has edible fruit.
Astrocaryum murumuru is a palm native to Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Brazil, which bears edible fruits. Murumuru butter, extracted from the seeds of the plant, may be used as a moisturizer. One remarkable feature of this palm is that it is covered with spines up to twelve inches in length.
Grias haughtii is a species of woody plant in the Monkeypot family Lecythidaceae. It is found only in Colombia in non-flooded lowland forests. Its most remarkable feature is its leaves, which can be up to 5.5 feet in length by 16.5 inches in width. It also produces exceptionally large seeds, up to 2.7 inches (69 mm) in length by one inch (25 mm) in diameter.
Aniba rosaeodora, also known as pau-rosa, is a species of Magnoliid tree in the family Lauraceae. Often confused as rosewood, the plant doesn't grow on any tree of the genus Dalbergia. It grows in parts of the tropical rainforest of South America. It is an endangered species that is exploited due to its essential oil.
Moquilea fasciculata is a species of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It is endemic to Panama.
Kostermanthus is a genus of plants in the family Chrysobalanaceae described by British botanist Ghillean Prance in 1979. Species in this genus are large trees native to Malesia.
Angelesia splendens is a tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. The specific epithet splendens is from the Latin meaning 'shining', referring to surfaces of the dried leaves.
Manilkara elata, also called the cow tree, is a species of plant in the family Sapotaceae. It is Endemic to the Amazon region in Brazil, where it is endangered by habitat loss.
Maranthes corymbosa is a tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae. The specific epithet corymbosa is from the Greek meaning "cluster", referring to the clustered inflorescences.
Microdesmia rigida, the oiticica, is a species of plant in the family Chrysobalanaceae. It is endemic to Brazil. The oiticica grows deep in floods of rivers and streams, forming long, narrow avenues to the edge of ravines or floodplains staining the dark-green color of its large and dense foliage.
Litsea garciae, also known as engkala, engkalak, kangkala, pangalaban and Borneo avocado, is a flowering plant belonging to the family Lauraceae and genus Litsea. It is native to Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi.
