Amazon

Cordia goeldiana

Freijo, Jenny Wood

The Freijo is from the Amazon and a species commercialized for its wood. So-called “timber” species, like Cordia goeldiana, are in theory genetically equipped to survive the industry created around them. In Pernambuco and Paraíba, states in Brazil, this wood is traditionally associated with making arrows. Its record is attributed to the botanist Huber, in Belém in the first decade of the 20th century.

Attalea maripa

Maripa palm

The straw from this plant is an architectural feature for the Kawaiwete people, who use it to make roofs. It is native and present throughout the Amazon region, and its fruit has great potential as a biofuel. However, the creation of pasture and monoculture threaten its population.

Carica papaya

Papaya

Papaya is one of the most common trees in domestic Brazilian orchards, although it’s not technically a tree. Its trunk is not made of wood. In the world, only India produces more papaya than Brazil. In addition to the flavor and nutritional value of its fruit, its seeds have the potential to treat cancerous cells, including prostate, breast, colon and lung cancer. Scientifically known as Carica papaya, this plant is believed by some to have originated in the Upper Amazon Basin, where its maximum genetic diversity occurs. During the colonial period, the exchange of species between colonies was common, so papaya was sent to Africa, Southeast Asia and Polynesia, resulting in several regional varieties.

Ceiba pentandra

Kapok tree

In the small seeds of the Ceiba pentandra resides the power of one of the largest living beings in the forest. This tree can reach 70 meters in height, its crown emerges above the forest canopy. The Kapok tree is interpreted by native Amazonian cultures as a portal used by deities in their passages through the forest. For the Mayan civilization, its base was the underworld of the gods. It is sacred to many peoples of the Amazon, named the "tree of life" or mother-of-trees, it provides shelter to various animals, collects clean water in the soil around its deep roots, and unites the earthly realm with the realm of the gods through its immense trunk.

Schizolobium amazonicum

Schizolobium amazonicum

This tree has a major role in reforesting the Amazon, and as such, mitigating the effects of deforestation and climate change. The Amazon Forest has been undergoing high rates of anthropization, meaning, significant eroding transformations caused by humans. Ancient indigenous peoples are believed to have inhabited remote regions of the Amazon for more than 13 thousand years, carefully crafting what we now erroneously perceive as ‘untouched’. The Schizolobium amazonicum symbolizes how humans are as capable of building forests as they are of destroying them.