The Amazon rainforest, also called Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations and 3,344 formally acknowledged indigenous territories.
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropical rainforests or temperate rainforests, but other types have been described.
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopian Zone or Ethiopian Region.
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 7,000,000 km2 (2,700,000 sq mi), or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, as well as the territory of French Guiana.
The Atlantic Forest is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the Misiones Province of Argentina, where the region is known as Selva Misionera.
Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10 degrees north and south of the equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28-degree latitudes. Tropical rainforests are a type of tropical moist broadleaf forest, that includes the more extensive seasonal tropical forests. True rainforests usually occur in tropical rainforest climates where there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm. Seasonal tropical forests with tropical monsoon or savanna climates are sometimes included in the broader definition.
Eugenia is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, especially in the eastern Brazil's northern Andes, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Forest. Other centers of diversity include New Caledonia and Madagascar. Many species in the Old World have received a new classification into the genus Syzygium.
The Brazilian Highlands or Brazilian Plateau is an extensive geographical region covering most of the eastern, southern and central portions of Brazil, in all some 4,500,000 km2 or approximately half of the country's land area. The vast majority of Brazil's population lives in the highlands or on the narrow coastal region immediately adjacent to it.
Zollernia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It includes 10 species native to South America, ranging from Venezuela and the Guianas to southern Brazil. Zollernia are trees or shrubs that flower annually. Species are most commonly found in dense moist forests, but also grow in seasonally-dry cerrado and caatinga.
The North Region of Brazil is the largest region of Brazil, corresponding to 45.27% of the national territory. It is the second-least-inhabited of the country, and contributes with a minor percentage in the national GDP and population. The area of the region is a little larger than India and a little smaller than the whole European Union. It comprises the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins.
The Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the Brazilian highlands – the Planalto. The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna. The Cerrado also includes savanna wetlands and gallery forests.
Clusia is the type genus of the plant family Clusiaceae. Comprising 300-400 species, it is native to the Neotropics. The genus is named by Carl Linnaeus in honor of the botanist Carolus Clusius.
Pseudolaelia is a small genus belonging to the orchid family (Orchidaceae), the entire genus endemic to Brazil. The abbreviation used in the horticultural trade is Pdla.
The wildlife of Brazil comprises all naturally occurring animals, plants, and fungi in the South American country. Home to 60% of the Amazon Rainforest, which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all species in the world, Brazil is considered to have the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet. It has the most known species of plants (60,000), freshwater fish (3,000), amphibians (1,188), snakes (430), insects (90,000) and mammals (775) It also ranks third on the list of countries with the most bird species (1,971) and the third with the most reptile species (848). The number of fungal species is unknown. Approximately two-thirds of all species worldwide are found in tropical areas, often coinciding with developing countries such as Brazil. Brazil is second only to Indonesia as the country with the most endemic species.
Athenaea is a genus of plants in the family Solanaceae. It includes 14 species native to South America, ranging through Brazil to Bolivia, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina. The greatest diversity of species is in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest.
Pleroma heteromallum, synonyms including Tibouchina grandifolia and Tibouchina heteromalla, known by the common name silverleafed princess flower in English, is a species of evergreen flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae. It is native to French Guiana, Bolivia and Brazil.
Lannea coromandelica, also known as the Indian ash tree, is a species of tree in the family Anacardiaceae that grows in South and Southeast Asia, ranging from Sri Lanka to Southern China. It is commonly known as Gurjon tree and is used in plywoods for its excellent termite resistance properties. It is most commonly grows in exposed dry woodland environments, where the tree is smaller and more crooked. In more humid environments it is a larger spreading tree that can become 20 meters tall. In Sri Lanka Lannea coromandelica often grows on rock outcrops or inselbergs.
Jurasaidae is a family of elateroid beetles known from around a half-dozen species in two genera found the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest including drier transitional areas bordering the Caatinga. All known species have neotenic larva-like females and normal males, similar to some other elateroids. They occur in the soil horizon immediately under leaf litter, with the larvae likely being fungivorous, consuming the fluids of fungal hyphae.
Anchietea is a genus of flowering plants in the violet family Violaceae, with six accepted species, found in tropical South America.
