Jardim Botanico Rio de Janeiro

[Brian]

I was in Rio two weeks ago for a very brief trip and was able to visit the botonical garden for a few hours. I would like to share a few photos with you guys and please correct me if I make mistakes. Here goes,

Roystonea oleracea

[Brian]

Bactris Concinna

[Brian]

Mauritia Flexuosa

[Brian]

Areca triandra

[Brian]

Astrocaryum Murumuru

[Brian]

Bactris Setosa

[Brian]

And finally...for the moment,

Calyptrocalyx Forbesii  (who comes up with these names!)

[Dave-Vero]

I hope my little Wal-Mart Areca trianda grows up to be as pretty.

A while back, a TV commercial for some drug or another was running--happy couple with an avenue of very tall palms.  I figured it must have been at the Rio Botanical Garden (another, for eyeglasses, used Brasilia as a future setting).

[Gileno Machado]

Nice pictures Brian, thanks for posting.

My first visit to JBRJ was a long time ago with my parents, and I remember being impressed with the Amazonic reserve area and the Victoria regia ponds...

I liked very much your pictures of the Bactris too.

Of course the Roystonea avenue, 750 m long, called Aléia Barbosa Rodrigues, planted in 1842 is the most impressive sight there. Most of these 138 palms, some of them more than 30 m tall, are descendent of the famous "Palma Mater" planted by the Prince D. João in 1808 when the Botanic Gardens was innaugurated. The mother palm died in 1972 struck by a lightning and the trunk is now exposed at the Botanic museum with its 39 m of clear wood.

[Brian]

You live in a beautiful country Gileno. I had a blast in both Sao Paulo and Rio, and the peope were great.

I cant wait to go back.

Thanks for the brief history.

[Jeff Searle]

Brian,

   Very nice, I need to visit there some day.  BTW...how big is the garden?

[Gileno Machado]

Jeff, the place is huge...

More information in english: Jardim Botânico

[Gileno Machado]

You can try this Virtual Tour too, but the photos are not so great and the text is in portuguese.

Carl von Martius (The father of Palms classification) statue in JB Rio:

[Kris]

Dear Brian,

lovely pictures with terrefic resolution.(very Clear Indeed).

And Thanks Gileno Machado do you know why ?

for posting the picture of jesus in rio & the picture of father of palm nomenclature_Carl Von.

He should be called as gurus of our clang_(palm Manicas).

Gileno you made my day.  

[bgl]

Brian,

I've never been to Rio, so it was great to see your photos! I've heard a lot about the Rio Botanic Garden. Incredible palms and lots of history. I wonder how it compares to Singapore Botanic Garden? Anyone who's been to both?

Bo-Göran

[merrill]

Hi, bgl:

I've been to both; both were wonderful.  I'm not enough of a world traveler to have had time to see all, so won't make a relative judgement.  

Gileno:  Thanks for the history of the R. oleracea, which are the most spectacular palm scene in my experience, and individually surpasses anything at Singapore IMHO.  Thanks for the bust of Von Martius, too.

[TooShort]

I have to agree with everyone Great Photos.

[Brian]

Thanks for the replys guys. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos.

Jeff, I only got though about half of the place due to only having about 4 hours to spend there. (excellent Heliconia section)

Bo, I have never been to Singapore but what I liked about the Rio garden was the age of some of the plants. Some of the D. Lutescens and Bactris clumps must have been over a 100 years old. I wish I had taken photos of some of the bigger clumps but I didnt. Here you can see some in the background,

[Brian]

A few random photos,

[Brian]

The view of Rio from up top Sugar Loaf,

[Brian]

One for Krisachar,

[Brian]

The other Rio wildlife,

Saludos,

Brian

[Kris]

Dear Brian  

A big thank-you to you and i love U buddy.

i dont have words in praise of you_keep up the good work.

love,

Kris(to all my friends).

[DoomsDave]

Brian!

Gileno!

Wanna samba . . . .

On my swooning sofa!

So, Brian, tell us a bit about you, unless you already have, in which case I'll docilely dive into my, well, dive . . .

dave

[Brian]

Hi Dave,

I was born and raised in SoCal but have lived in Mexico for the last 15 years. I live and work in Mexico City but have a vacation house on the pacific coast with about half an acre of land where I grow my palms. I have been addicted to palms for about 3 years and grow all my palms from seed due to the lack of variety here in Mexico. I started following this website last november.

[amazondk]

Brian,

Great pictures of a wonderful place.  Back quite a few years ago when I lived in Rio I spent many hours wandering around the garden.  I believe if I remember right that the garden was developed largely for plant introductions by the Portuguese.  They brought a lot of plants to Brazil from Asia at the time.  I have been to Singapore's garden as well.  Both are great places.  What is really different is the surrounding environment.  Singapore is very clean organized place, and Rio is the opposite.  But, I will take Samba, the beaches (with it's female attractions), and futbol, any day.

dk