Venezuela, an economic report / Presented by students of the School of Foreign Service, as an aid to the foreign trade of the United States

by Georgetown University. School of Foreign Service

[14] Informe del Ministerio de Fomento, 1919, p. 27.

The Forest Zone of Venezuela comes within the forest area of South America. Richest in quantity, and, probably in variety of vegetable life, is the well-known land of Guayana, with its vast forests, hot climate and heavy rainfall. Within this area the plants range from the alpine shrubs and reindeer moss found on some of the higher plateaux and hills to the bamboos and orchids of the river banks. The high timber trees grow fairly close together, and their spreading tops fifty, eighty, or one hundred feet from the ground, with the abundant hanging manes and flowering creepers, keep all but a feeble light from the ground; hence it comes that the undergrowth is usually sparse or absent, and progress on foot is comparatively easy.

Of all the forest giants of Guayana, "Schomburgk" is considered the most magnificent; the average diameter of the trunk is about three feet, and it seldom branches at less than forty feet from the ground. Its wood, dark red and fine grained, is said to be excellent for shipbuilding purposes.

Caoba, whose wood is very like mahogany in color, and a certain big tree called "rosewood," which it resembles, are notable among the timber trees. The huge Ceibas have a soft, easily worked wood, excellent for the dugout canoes of the Indians. The equally large Mucurutu or cannon-ball tree furnishes a beautiful but hard grained timber.

Two fruit trees whose products are well known throughout Europe grow in the regions of Guayana, the Brazil nut and tonka bean trees.

The gums and resins of Guayana include the balatá, copaiba-balsam, and rubber-producing trees, the latter chiefly varieties of hevea, while cinchona or quinine, with innumerable creepers and trees possessed of medicinal or toxic properties are found on all sides. There are more than 2,450 known species of plants to be found in the Forest Zone and more are being added to the list daily; it is probable that in such an assembly there must be many of value as yet undiscovered and unused.

The forest plants and trees of Guayana also flourish in the Delta Region and in the forests bordering the Llanos of Maturin, but the vegetation of Northern Venezuela is generally different from that of the South. The great brown plain of the Llanos is beautified by small golden, white, and pink flowers, while sedges and irises make up much of the small vegetation. The banks of the rivers often support denser groves of ceibas, crotons, guamos, etc., and along the banks in front of the trees are masses of reeds and semi-aquatic grasses.

In the region of the Cordilleras many different types of vegetation can be found in the various zones. The very hot section has generally a heavy rainfall and supports thick forests, but along the sea coast there are barren stretches with only cactus, acacia, croton, and similar plants. In this region we have the plantations of cacao, sugar, bananas, plantains, maize and cassava, which are the staple foods of the inhabitants. The growth of cocoanuts is also encouraged. In addition, there are many products of the forests, chief of which are the dyewoods, and tanning barks, including logwood, dividive, mangrove, indigo, and many others. There is also a great deal of valuable timber in this region, the chief woods exported being mahogany and cedar.

In the cooler regions we find a mixture of hot country plants and those of the mountains. One may see in the same valley, within a short distance of one another, bananas, potatoes, sugar cane, wheat, yuca or cassava, peas, maize, cotton, cocoa and coffee, all flourishing, and a single orchard may contain guavas and apples, peaches and oranges, and a variety of other fruits; the garden adjoining will have a mixture of roses, carnations, violets and dahlias and many tropical flowers. Strawberries, mint, nasturtiums and other of our garden plants have been successfully grown in these mountain regions within 10 degrees of the equator.

The higher part of this region exhibits a great variety of plants peculiar to this zone. Along the mountain roads can be seen palms, screw-pines, and beautiful tree ferns, also cranberries, blackberries, ivy, quinine-trees, small bamboos, silver-ferns, and many other beautiful plants and shrubs. In short, here can be seen the greatest variety of color and floral scenery.