Brazil Nut Tree
Towering above all the other trees in the Amazon Rainforest, the Brazil nut tree can reach over 160 feet. Known for its production of the Brazil nut, these delectable delights are produced inside fruit the size of a baseball and can weigh up to five pounds. The exterior layer of the fruit is so hard only the agoutis, a large rodent with sharp teeth, can break it open. The tree relies on the agoutis, bees and other rainforest plants for survival.
Habitation: Located in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.
Poinsettia
The poinsettia is mostly seen around Christmas time. This plant actually grows in the rainforest in the form of a bush or tree. The colourful part of the plant is not petals, but are the leaves. The flowers are the small, yellow stalks in the middle of the leaves. The poinsettia comes in red, white, pink and bicolour.
Habitation: Native to the tropical forests in Mexico and Central America.
Cacao
When we see the word “cacao” we associate it with chocolate, but it’s a little more complicated than that. The cacao tree is an evergreen, which grows a pod containing 20 to 60 reddish-brown cocoa beans. When harvested, it takes anywhere from 7 to 14 pods to produce one pound of dry cocoa beans, which is turned into chocolate. In Central America, cocoa trees were cultivated by the Mayas and later by the Toltecs and Aztecs. The word ‘chocolate’ is derived from the word ‘xocolatl’ which originates from the Nahuatl language, an Aztecan dialect and means ‘bitter water’.
Habitation: Grows below altitudes of 1,000 feet in an area that receives about 4 inches of rain per month, originated in the lowland rainforests of Amazon River basins and can now be found in southern Mexico.
