The Lecythidaceae (Brazil nut family) of Ecuador

The Lecythidaceae plant family is best known for the Brazil nut (the largest nut in a can of mixed nuts) and the cannon ball tree, the first species represented in this video.

In the New World tropics, the Brazil nut family includes 210 known species of small to large trees of tropical old growth forests—many species of this family are lost when forests are cleared for agricultural fields, pastures, and to support other human activities.

In Ecuador, species of Lecythidaceae are found from the lowland forests to the cloud forests and valleys of the Andes. This video includes 32 of the 46 species known for Ecuador. 10 of those 32 species herein documented with field images have been discovered by us during recent years.

Although botanists have been exploring tropical forests since at least 1648, there is still much to be learned about the plants of the New World tropics, one of the most species diverse parts of the world. A goal of this video is to encourage you to help us discover species of the Brazil nut family in Ecuador by sending images and specimens of Lecythidaceae to Xavier Cornejo (xcornejoguay@gmail.com).

For more in depth scientific information about New World species of the Brazil nut family visit the Lecythidaceae Pages [http://sweetgum.nybg.org/lp/index.php].

The soundtrack is "El Concierto de Aranjuez, part II", by Paco de Lucia.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Botany
• Lecythidaceae
• Ecuador
• Biodiversity
• Conservation.

[TheAkela1974]

Excelente video!!! Felicitaciones!!