Perhaps no country in the world presents such an infinite variety of
vegetation as the Brazil, or so spacious a field for the labours of the
botanist. It abounds in a diversity of excellent timber, dye-woods, and
medicinal plants. Nature, here so spontaneous, has not, amongst its
innumerable indigenous species, any plants and trees of the European
world. The colonists have naturalized a great number, but they do not
prosper so well as in their native soil. Those of Africa and Asia
sustain no injury when planted in the same latitude. The olive-tree
grows little, soon droops, and does not fructify in the torrid zone.
The chestnut-tree is only known in the southern provinces, where
peaches grow in perfection; also the apple, plum, and cherry trees. The
pomegranite and quince also prosper in the torrid zone. The vine and
fig grow generally, but more especially out of the tropic. Oranges,
of which there are various kinds, grow universally. Grain does not
grow in all the provinces, with the exception of rice and Indian corn.
Water-melons are every where excellent; the melon is good only in a few
places. The cabbage and lettuce are cultivated, together with other
indigenous hortulans unknown in Europe. The pea, bean, and turnip are
little cultivated; with these were also naturalized rosemary, rue,
wormwood, lavender, parsley, coriander, aniseed, mint, the pink, and
jasmine. The rose-tree has a great enemy in the ant: its flower is not
handsome.
Amongst other trees of excellent wood for building, carpenter and
joiner’s work, are the _ajetahypeta_, _buranhe_, cedar, _conduru_,
_coraçao de negro_, (negro’s heart,) _gonçalo alves_, _jacaranda_,
_jacarandatan_, _jacarando-mulato_, _jequitiba_, _jetahy_, _loiro_,
_massaranduba_, _mocetahyba_, _mocuhyba_, which is high, having a small
tuft, similar to a parasol, and affords a small walnut, somewhat like
an olive, with a thin and smooth rind, inclosing an oval kernel, from
which is extracted an oil that is applied to various seus, _brahuna_,
or _maria preto_, _olandim_, _bow wood_, _oil wood_, _violet wood_,
_peguim_, _putumuju_, _oyty_, _oytycica_, _itapicuru_, _sapucaya_,
_sebastiao d’arruda_, male and female, _sucupira_, _sucupirassu_,
_vinhatica_, _sassafras_, and many more.
ALECRIM BRAZILICO (_Brazilian Rosemary_) is a shrub, only similar to
that of its name in the colour of its flower, bark, and wood; the leaf
resembles that of mint, but is small, with the smell of savory. There
is another sort of rosemary, which differs only from the latter in its
flower, which is white and formed like that of savory. Both grow best
in a dry and sandy soil. ALGODEIRA, or _Cotton-Tree_, is a shrub which
begins to ramify immediately on appearing, its leaves resembling the
vine leaf. It has five large yellow petals, encircling each other; a
great number of capillaments united in one column, in the centre of
which a pistil arises to a greater height, of whose germ a capsule is
formed more than two inches in length, triangular, and enclosing in
three lodgements a great number of seed, resembling that of the pear,
contiguous and in two orders, and unfolding in a white and long cotton
wool, supplying the most extensive branch of commerce in the Brazil.
The AMBUZEIRO, or _Ambuzo Tree_, is of small size, and grows in sterile
lands, not requiring any culture. It begins to have branches on issuing
from the ground, and they are exceedingly intertwined with each other;
the leaves are small, elliptical, and varnished on both sides; the
flower is in small bunches, like the olive-tree; the fruit is similar
in appearance to the sloe, between a green and white colour, having a
thick skin, disagreeable to the taste, with a large round stone, never
separating from the pulp, which resolves itself into a thick fluid,
generally pleasant when ripe. It is much esteemed in the certams,
particularly by the quadrupeds. The people of the country make of
its fluid and curdled milk, well mixed together, and sweetened with
sugar or honey, a beverage, which they call _ambuzada_, and say that
it might do for a royal repast. This tree produces at the root one
large potatoe, and sometimes more, and also small ones of a spongy and
transparent substance, which turn into cold water on being compressed,
and is a great resource to caravans and travellers passing plains
devoid of water.
ANDIROBA is a plant, very similar to that of a cucumber, affording a
round fruit, without smell, the size of a large apple, with eleven or
twelve seeds, round and flat, disposed in three cavities or cells, from
which is extracted a clear medicinal oil, being also good for lights.
ANGELIM is a tree of medium height, having many branches, the leaf
small, the flower, with five petals in an ear, between a violet and
rose-colour, having a pistil and nine capillaments; the fruit is a
two-valved capsule of an ash-colour, affording an oval almond, covered
with a thick membrane, and which is used in pharmacy.
ARACA MIRIM is a tree of considerable growth, with a small leaf; the
bark is as smooth on the epidermis as the inner side.
ARGUEIRO, or _Argua-Tree_, is the size of the olive-tree, its trunk and
branches overspread with short prickles; the leaves, which it annually
sheds, are of the shape of a heart; the flowers are in bunches, of one
or two spans in length, at the extremity of the branches, disposed
three and three; it has five petals of which one only unfolds itself,
this is of a beautiful rose-colour, with little less than two inches
of length, and more than one in width. Upon the lower part of the
pistil, which is amongst ten capillaments, there is a pod, containing
an indeterminate number of _feijoes_, or beans, entirely of a red
colour, or with black spots; they are very hard, and bracelets are made
of them. It is one of the most beautiful trees in the country when in
flower, in which state it remains for some time.
The ARTECUM, or _Araticu_, of which there are various kinds, is similar
to the _ambuzo_ in size, in the entwining of its branches, and in
having an ash-coloured rind. The leaves, which it casts off annually,
are almost round, and of a beautiful green, and varnished on both
sides. Its flower is like a fig, of a yellow colour, which opens in
three equal portions, as if they were parted with a knife, are thick,
of a reddish hue, and in the form of a shell; below each portion there
is a smaller shell, not so thick, and externally white, inclosing a
button in the shape of a pine, which becomes a fruit of the size and
form of the largest pear; the pulp is white or yellow, soft and full of
pips; few are good, but they are generally eaten.
The BARRIGUDA, (_Big-bellied_,) so called in consequence of its
trunk being thicker at the middle than at the ground, and otherwise
denominated _Arvore da lan_, (Wool-Tree,) has the rind covered with
round thorns, the leaves are almost elliptical, and from three to four
inches in length. The flower begins with the figure of a little round
fig, smooth, without an eye, having a short and thick pedicle; this fig
has the length and form of an acorn, being always of a green colour, it
opens at the extremity in three parts, from whence issues a bud similar
to that of cotton, round, and two inches long, which unfolds in five
petals three inches in length. It has five capillaments surrounded
with a pistil, which is delicate and terminates in a little red ball,
the whole six attached to a receptacle at the bottom of a cup, where
a fruit is formed with some resemblance to a cucumber, which, when it
opens, is full of fine white wool, which the wind blows away if not
immediately taken; it cannot be spun, but it is used for stuffing beds.
There are three sorts of BRAZIL WOOD;--_Brazil Mirim_, which is the
best; _Brazil Assu_, or _Rozado_, so called from its trunk being
higher, more upright, of less girth, and the dye which is extracted
from it of less consistency and more rosy, hence arises its second
name. The _Brazileto_ differs little from the Assu in size, in the
form of its trunk and tuft, and affords little dye. The Brazil Mirim
has a larger trunk, the rind greener and finer, the thorns smaller and
thicker, the leaf smaller, and the wood more of a purple hue. The bark
of the whole is smooth and the thorns begin at the shoot and extend
to the point of the branches. The flower of the Mirim is white and
very small; the wood, immediately on being cut, if put to the tongue,
is sensibly bitter, which, on becoming dry, it loses, turning to an
agreeable sweetness. These trees grow on rocks as well as in plains.
The wood is heavy and excellent for building; put into water it will
remain sound, it is said, eternally; put into the fire it breaks in
pieces, but does not produce any smoke. It is said, that the most
proper periods for cutting this timber for its dye is at the time of
the new moon in winter, and when in the fourth quarter in summer. A
portion of vitriol and lime, or ashes thrown into the decoction of the
Brazil wood forms a black dye.
CACAUZEIRA, or _Cocoa-Tree_, which generally does not exceed the
size of a small tree, almost always has many trunks, and extends its
branches horizontally and incliningly; the leaves resemble those of
the largest chestnut; its fruit, which grows only upon the trunks and
thickest branches, is a large oblong capsule, in the shape of a mellon,
with a very hard rind, which encloses forty to fifty almonds in a
white, viscous, and sweet substance. Of these almonds chocolate is made.
CAFEEIRO, or _Coffee-Tree_, transplanted from Arabia, and prospering
admirably in the strong and fresh soils of this country, is a branchy
shrub, with the leaves opposite, which are smooth, pointed at both
extremities, and larger than those of the laurel; the flower is white,
entire, and tubulous on the lower part, and cleft into five lancet
points on the upper, with the same number of capillaments attached to
the angle of the divisions, and a pistil to the receptacle. The fruit
is a berry, somewhat resembling a cherry, attached to a thick and short
pedicle. It is exceedingly fruitful, and grows to the greatest size
when planted under the shade of large trees; but the fruit of those
trees exposed to the sun is of the best quality.
CAJATY is a shrub with a very thick rind, black, and furrowed with
the first bark, the leaf differs little from the laurel, and affords
a yellow fruit the size of the sloe, having an agreeable taste and
perfume, with seed like the orange, and attached to the extremity of
the branch by a long and delicate pedicle.
CAJAZEIRA, or _Cajaza-Tree_, is high, with a round tuft and small leaf,
its fruit is like the acorn, yellow, insipid, and with a large stone.
The CAJUEIRA, or _Cajue-nut Tree_, which grows in sandy soils, is a
small tree with a crooked trunk, a round tuft, with the branches
raised horizontally and inclined; the first rind affords a sort of
black dye; the wood a yellow one; the leaves are almost round; the
flower in bunches; its singular fruit is of the size and figure of a
long round pepper, with a fine smooth skin, tinged with red or yellow,
and sometimes with both, with a white spongy substance, half sweet,
without stone or seed; the taste is not agreeable, although many
persons are partial to this fruit; it has at the extremity a nut of an
ash-colour, containing a white and oily substance, and not unlike the
chestnut when roasted. Excellent sweetmeats are made of the fruit, and
also a lemonade and even wine of its juice.
CALUMBY, or _Calumbo-Tree_, is small, with little tuft, having
exceedingly small leaves, which close when the sun sets and open in the
morning. There are male and female, both armed with thorns like the
bramble; the male has a very small flower, resembling a paint-brush,
and its wood is green, hard, compact, and very heavy, being only
serviceable for joiners’ work, as scarcely one is found, even amongst
the most slender, without being hollow. The female has a flower
resembling the chestnut-tree, and its timber, although solid, is not so
heavy, and is waved with green and white. The fruit of both are flat
berries.
CANDEA (_Lamp_) is a crooked shrub, with a large stock, the leaf is
generally white on the under side; the wood, when dried, affords a good
light without smoke, and saving much oil to the poor of the certams,
who put a fire-brand of it into the wall, where it lasts for a long
time, giving a flame like a flambeau; hence comes its denomination.
When put into the ground it keeps many years.
CANELEIRA, _Canela_ or _Cinnamon Tree_, was transplanted from Asia, and
was cultivated with some care at the commencement of the colonization,
but was afterwards destroyed, by royal order, that it might not
interfere with the oriental trade; this error was soon discovered. At
present the increase of those which spring from roots is preferred;
the quality of the soil in which it should be planted depends upon the
vegetable. The best Asiatic cinnamon-trees grow in dry soils.
COLLA is a tree introduced from Africa, of medium size, with leaves
rather long, pointed, and shining on both sides; the flower is white
and in bunches. It fructifies in a pod.
CUTEZEIRA, or _Cuteza-Tree_, is small, with horizontal branches, and
the leaves rather long, smooth, wide, rounded at the point, and pointed
at the base; it affords a large oval fruit with a hard shell, of which,
when parted, is made _cuyas_, or cups.
GAMELLEIRA, or _Gamella-Tree_, is of considerable girth, having a round
and thick leaf; it extends roots from the branches to the ground; its
shade is sought after.
GEREMMA is a small thorny tree with very small leaves, which daily
close from the influence of the sun; the flower resembles that of the
chestnut; of its wood charcoal is made for forges.
GOYABEIRA, or _Goyaba-Tree_, is a shrub with a smooth rind, the leaf
almost round, the fruit, like a pear, is yellow and odoriferous, the
pulp is rubicund, with a great quantity of small and round seed in the
centre. A preserve much esteemed is made of it.
GUABIRABEIRA, or _Guabiraba-Tree_, is one of the largest fruit-trees
in the country; its leaf is a little less than that of the peach,
and almost of the same shape; the flower is white; the fruit has the
size and form of a pear, and is eaten in the same way as _sorvas_ or
service-berries.
HERVA DE COBRA (_Serpent-Herb_) is a small plant resembling a little
the fern in its foliage, the flower is small and yellow, with five
petals, and its fruit is a very little berry. The name arises from its
virtue in curing the bite of a snake by placing the leaves pounded upon
the wound and giving the patient the juice to drink.
The JABUTICABEIRA, or _Jabuticaba-Tree_, is small and slender, with
smooth bark; the leaves, which are varnished on both sides, but not of
the same green, vary in form upon the same branch. It flowers upon the
trunk only, beginning at the ground, and extending to the branches,
that are thick; the fruit is generally of the size and colour of a
cherry, and of a good flavour; a strong liquor is distilled from it.
The JAMBEIRA, or _Jamba-Tree_, whose size is proportioned to the
quality of the ground upon which it grows, has a pointed leaf, with
dark green on the upper side, and clear green on the under; the flower
has four small petals in the form of a shell, with numerous long and
upright capillaments, and a pointed pistil still longer; its fruit
resembles an apricot, has a fine flavour, and smells like a rose.
The JAQUEIRA, or _Jaca-Tree_, transplanted from Asia, and prospering
only in the tropics, is a large tree, with a round tuft, a thick
trunk, large leaves rounded at the extremity and pointed at the base,
varnished on both sides, the upper one of dark green. Its fruit, which
only grows upon the trunk and main branches, is very large, (some forty
pounds weight,) of an oblong form; the skin is green, rough-grained,
and thick; the white pulp is fibrous, and impregnated with viscous
milk; but it has another pulp, sown promiscuously with a sort of
almond, less fibrous, without milk, and sweet, and which is the part
eaten.
JATUBA, which has not this name in all the provinces, fructifies in
husks like the tamarind-tree.
JENIPAPEIRO, or _Jenipapo-Tree_, is of good height with the trunk
erect, the tuft round and of medium size; the leaf is similar to that
of the chestnut, very thick, and of a dark green; it is never without
fruit, which is the size of an apple, the skin tenuous, a little harsh,
and of an ash colour, the pulp is white, and the interior full of seed.
They remain from one year to the next upon the branches, which wholly
shed their foliage, and only change when the tree puts forth its new
leaves, and when already the new fruit, for the following year, is of
good growth. Its wood is preferred for the shafts of the _sege_, or
cabriolet.
JIQUITIBA is a tree of considerable girth and affords a nut.
The JOAZEIRO, or _Joaza-Tree_, which grows in sandy soils, is of the
size of a middling olive-tree; its tuft is round and thick; the leaves,
which it scarcely sheds, are round and carefully protected; its wood is
white, and its ashes are a good substitute for soap. The flower is in
small and round bunches; the fruit is of the size of a cherry, oblong,
yellow, disagreeable to the touch, and with a stone (full of smaller
ones) which is difficult to divest of the pulp when the fruit is not
half dried. It is aliment for some quadrupeds, and for the _jacu_ and
other birds, although few are well flavoured.
MANGABEIRA, or _Mangaba-Tree_, is of medium size, with small pointed
leaves, and a flower like the _jasmine_; the fruit is round and of
various sizes upon the same branch, with a yellow and greenish rind;
the pulp white, extremely soft, with various seeds covered with down;
the wood, the leaves, the flowers, and the fruit, when parted, distil a
clammy and white milk.
The MANGUE is a small tree, with a smooth rind, thick and varnished
leaves. It prospers only upon the sea-coast or the margins of salt
rivers.
The MANGUEIRA, or _Mangua-Tree_, transplanted from Asia, and prospering
only in the torrid zone, is a bulky tree, with a leafy tuft, having
a long leaf a little narrow and pointed. The fruit is the size of an
apple and a little flat, the skin similar to a greengage, green or
yellow, and tinged sometimes with red; when divested of the skin, which
has a turpentine taste, the pulp is juicy and delicious, although
unpleasantly full of fibres attached to the stone.
MOZES is a tree of medium height, slender, with little tuft, remarkable
for its foliage, which does not differ from the fern; its flower is
white, and its ashes are good for the lixivium of soap.
MUCORY is a large tree of excellent timber; its fruit is of the size of
a sloe, yellow, and odoriferous, of very fine flavour, and has a large
stone.
MURICY is a shrub, with large thick and harsh leaves, rounded at the
end and pointed at the base; the flowers are in bunches, beginning with
yellow and turning to a carnation colour; the fruit is very small, with
little flavour. There is another called _muricy-bravo_, (or wild,)
differing in the flower, which is white, and in the leaves, which are
much less elliptical and varnished on both sides.
OYTY is a middling tree, of good timber, with fruit well flavoured,
and of the colour and form of a pear, with a large stone, which, when
ground or scraped, and used as a beverage or as a clyster, is an
efficacious remedy against diarrhæas.
The PALM-TREE OF DATES, which is so abundant in Asia and Africa, are
introduced only, and very partially, in the province of Rio de Janeiro.
Amongst the multiplied species of PALM-TREES that denominated _Tucum_
or _Tycum_ is particularly remarkable; its trunk is thorny, slender,
and of proportionable size; its leaves differ a little from the common
resemblance observed amongst all the other palm-trees; from its fibres
a flax is made that is a little harsh, but as lustrous as silk, without
any appearance of the coarsest description of flax, and which, from its
strength, is generally consumed in making fishing-tackle. It is well
adapted for making a certain sort of lace.
PINDAHIBA is a handsome tree, and of proportionable size according
to the quality of the soil in which it grows; its wood is light; its
leaves are lancet, one inch in width, and from three to four in length;
it fructifies in very small bunches, and its berries are sometimes used
as peppers.
PIQUIHA, is a medium-sized tree, affording fruit like the quince,
with a thick and hard rind, and full of a gray liquor, very sweet and
cooling, with some seed like those of an apple.
PITANGUEIRA, or _Pitanga-Tree_, which reaches the size of a plum-tree
when planted in good ground, but generally not exceeding the size of
a middling shrub in the woods; its leaf resembles that of the myrtle;
the flower is white and small, with a great number of capillaments; the
fruit is the size of an unripe cherry, of a scarlet or purple colour,
and rather sour. An agreeable spirit is distilled from it.
QUINAQUINA, the _Jesuit_ or _Peruvian Bark_, was discovered about three
centuries ago in Peru, and met with only a few years since near the
heads of the river Cuiaba; it is a high tree, nine inches in diameter;
the leaves are round at the base and pointed at the end, glossy and of
a beautiful green above, and striped with a brilliant dark green in the
half near the base. The flowers, which are in bunches at the extremity
of the branches, are shaped like a funnel, with the edge parted into
five lancet forms, and shorter than the tube, hairy, green in the
middle, bounded with white, and fringed at the borders. The pistil is
white, and surrounded with five capillaments, within the tube of the
flower. When the flower falls the cup swells at the middle, and takes
the shape of an olive, changing into a fruit, whose numerous seed,
which are long, thick, of a green colour, and flat at the edge, are
enclosed in two lodgements, divided by a double membrane. Thus a tree
so useful to mankind is propagated abundantly.
Amongst the RESIN-TREES are the _Angico_, which produce the gum-copal;
those that produce mastick, benzoin, and storax; amongst those that
distil balsam are the cabureigba, better known by the name of _Balsam
of the Holy Spirit_, the cupahybu, or capivi, and the cumaru.
Amongst the medicinal plants is noted sarsaparilla, ipecacuhana,
jalap, _butua_, purging cassia, quassia, _aristoloquia_, or hart-wort,
_cahinana_, Jesuit’s bark of the country, ginger, _capeba_, commonly
called herb of St. Luzia, from its great virtue on application to
diseases of the eyes. It is said that a surgeon of Rio de Janeiro, in
the year 1784, by only using the juice of this plant, in the course
of three months, restored the eye of a soldier to its former state,
which had been injured by the point of a bayonet. Marvellous cures
are related of this vegetable, which is said to regenerate the sight;
experiments have been made by perforating the eye of a cock with sharp
instruments, and on applying the juice or even the milk of this herb
it is asserted that the eye has been cured in a few hours, and the
sight restored. The _curucu_, whose juice, when drunk with water, is
an efficacious stiptic for a bleeding at the mouth. There is also
_betony_, ground-ivy, but very different from that of Europe, with a
leaf resembling the rosemary, and a small white flower in a species
of artichoke; the _herva ferro_ (iron herb); the herbs mercury,
_eurucucu_, and mallows; _orelha d’onça_, (ear of the ounce,) generally
two feet in height, the leaf like a heart, flat, and hairy on both
sides, of a pearl colour, and as flexible when dried as when green; the
plant called _hervachumbo_; and many others.
SAPUCAYA is a high tree of good timber, with a leaf similar to that of
the peach; the bark, softened, produces a tow for caulking vessels. Its
produces a very large spherical nut, full of long almonds. For their
extraction nature has formed an orifice at the extremity four inches
in diameter, covered with a lid of the same size, which has over it
an outer rind similar to that of the whole nut, and of which it is
necessary to strip it in order to find the entrance. The monkeys, by
instinct, shake off this species of cocoa-nut when ripe, and with a
stone, or hard piece of wood displace the lid and eat the almonds.
ST. CAETANO is a delicate plant, resembling that of a water-melon; its
fruit is a species of small cucumber and thorny; it opens in three
portions when ripe, exhibiting some small seed similar to those of the
pomegranite. It is the sustenance of birds, who, carrying its seed,
propagate it in all parts. This plant is applied to various domestic
purposes, and augments the properties of soap in its ordinary use; on
this account it was transplanted from the coast of Guinea, where it is
called _Nheziken_, and being planted near a chapel of St. Caetano, took
the name of that saint.
TABABUYA is a tree remarkable for the lightness of its wood, of which
scarcely any thing is made besides corks and floats for fishing-nets;
it resists all instruments except such as are used for cork-cutting.
TARUMAN is a shrub with lancet leaves of unequal size; the tea of these
leaves have a diluent effect upon stones in the bladder.
THEU is a delicate _sipo_ or plant of long and flexible shoots,
scarcely exceeding the thickness of a hen’s quil, but of extraordinary
growth, always winding round other larger plants and trees. I have seen
them so firmly entwined round orange-trees that the prosperity and
fructification of the tree was impeded by them; its leaf is exceedingly
small, resembling that of the broom; the root is nearly two yards in
length, having a strong smell, and operating as an emetic, and is an
approved remedy against the venom of snakes.
A great diversity of piratical trees or plants are observed in the
Brazil, fixed to the bark or body of others, and nourished alone by
their substance. In some parts there are divers species of climbers
which rise to the top of the highest trees, sometimes unaccompanied,
at other times twisted spirally with another of the same, or of a
different species. Occasionally these prodigiously long cords have
four, six, or more legs, or shoots.
TINGUY is a small tree with the branches and leaves alternate; the
latter are small and lancet. The bark and leaves well pounded, and put
into lakes, &c. cause the fish to die, from becoming soon intoxicated
with it.
The URUCU does not in general exceed the size of a large shrub; the
leaves are in the form of a heart, and the flowers in bunches with fine
petals a little purpled, a pistil, and a great number of capillaments;
the fruit is a capsule, a little flat and pointed, of the size of a
large chestnut, and of a green colour, composed of two valves or folds,
covered with fine soft thorns, and lined with a membrane that encircles
a large quantity of small seed, having over them a green substance
which, when diluted in water, affords a precious dye. The Indians are
not ignorant of this, and use it to paint their bodies.
VINHATICO is a high and straight tree of yellow wood, and fructifies in
pods with beans.
There are a variety of edible roots:--potatoes of various kinds;
mandioca, of which is made the usual bread of the country; its plant,
of which there are various sorts, is a shrub of one or more stems;
the root, after being scraped and reduced to flour, is pressed until
exhausted of its abundant juice, which is generally poisonous, and is
ultimately toasted in a large earthern or copper vessel over a furnace
till it becomes dry; this vegetable prospers well only in substantial
soils: it is planted in little mounds of earth, by putting into each
half the stock of the plant, which is a span in length. The _aypim_ is
a species of mandioca, whose root is boiled or roasted. The _mendubim_
is a plant of little growth, with leaves similar to the French bean,
producing beans at the root with a gray skin, which encloses from one
to three small seed. The _potatoe do ar_, a creeping plant, without a
flower preceding it, produces a fruit of irregular form, without stone
or seed, is covered with a thin and green skin, and has the taste of
the potatoe.
Besides the fruits mentioned there are many others, amongst which are
the pine, or _atta_, the size of a quince, with a white, soft, and
savoury pulp; the _conde_, which is of the size of the preceding,
with the pulp equally soft, but not so white; the _mammao_ is larger,
with a smooth and yellow skin, and the pulp of the same colour; the
_pitomba_; the _mocuge_; of the _banana_, whose length exceeds many
times its diameter, there are three sorts, the whole having a thick
skin, and clustered upon one stalk; the plant which produces them is of
considerable growth, without either branches or wood in the trunk; the
leaves are very long, slender, and smooth, with proportionable width,
and the back fibres very thick; the trunk is formed of the leaves
firmly woven together, being two or three yards in height, round,
erect, and inflexible, the leaves branching out from it at the top. The
pine-apple, resembling a pine, with various leaves in the eye, is of
delicious flavour and aromatic scent; the plant from whose centre it
issues is very similar to the aloe. The _muracuja_ is of the size of an
orange, oblong and regular, with a thick and hard skin, green on the
outside and white within; it is full of gross and rather sour liquid,
containing seeds similar to those of the melon.
The sugar-cane, mandioca, tobacco, and the matte-plant, are all
indigenous, and now cultivated to a great extent with considerable
advantage, furnishing many lucrative branches of commerce.
The indigo-plant and opuncia are met with almost in all parts; the
first, which only prospers in strong soils, is yet cultivated but in
few provinces. There are a diversity of peppers; that of Malabar, which
only thrives in substantial and fresh soils, has been cultivated only
within a few years.
The plant commonly called _malicia de mulker_ (woman’s malice) is a
creeping and thorny twig, with very small foliage, whose little leaves
obtain their opposite one’s, when they immediately adhere, so that the
twig is encircled, and remains in this state for a considerable time.