The climatic conditions of the Brazilian plateau are widely different from those of the coast in many respects. There is less uniformity in temperature, and the elevated chapadas are generally hotter during the day and cooler at night than are localities of the same latitude on the coast. The Brazilian Guiana plateau, lying immediately north of the equator, is in great part a hot, stony desert. Geographically it belongs to the Amazon basin, as its western and southern slopes are drained by tributaries of that great river. Climatically, however, it is a region apart. It lies in the north-east trade winds belt, but the mountain chain on its northern frontier robs these winds of their moisture and leaves the greater part of the Brazilian plateau rainless. Its eastern and western extremities, however, receive more rain, the former being well forested, while the latter is covered with grassy campos. South of the Amazon valley and filling a great part of the eastern projection of the continent, is another arid, semi-barren plateau, lying within the south-east trade winds belt, and extending from Piauhy southward to southern Bahia. It covers the state of Piauhy and the western or inland parts of the states of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, Pernambuco and Bahia. The year is divided into a dry and wet season, the first from June to December, when rain rarely falls, the streams dry up and the campos are burned bare, and the second from January to May when the rains are sometimes heavy and the campos are covered with luxuriant verdure. The rains are neither regular nor certain, however, and sometimes fail for a succession of years, causing destructive sêccas (droughts). The interior districts of Ceará, Pernambuco and Bahia have suffered severely from these sêccas. The sun temperature is high on these barren tablelands, but the nights are cool and refreshing. The prevailing winds are the south-east trades, which have lost some of their moisture in rising from the coastal plain. In summer, becoming warmed by the heated surface of the plateau, they sweep across it without a cloud or drop of rain. In winter the plateau is less heated, and cold currents of air from the west and south-west cause precipitation over a part if not all of this region. South and south-west of this arid plateau lie the inhabited tablelands of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Geraes, where the climate is greatly modified by a luxuriant vegetation and southerly winds, as well as by the elevation. Minas Geraes is forested along its water courses and along its southern border only; its sun temperature, therefore, is high and the rainfall in its northern districts is comparatively light. São Paulo is partly covered by open campos, and these also serve to augment the maximum temperature. In both of these states, however, the nights are cool, and the mean annual temperature ranges from 68° to 77°, the northern districts of Minas Geraes being much warmer than the southern. In São Paulo and southern Minas Geraes there are sometimes frosts. In the Parahyba valley, which extends across the state of Rio de Janeiro, the mean temperature is somewhat higher than it is in São Paulo and Minas Geraes, and the nights are warmer, but the higher valleys of the Serra do Mar enjoy a delightfully temperate climate. The rainfall throughout this region is abundant, except in northern Minas Geraes, where the climatic conditions are influenced to some extent by the arid eastern plateau. South of São Paulo the tablelands of Paraná, Santa Catharina and Rio Grande do Sul enjoy a temperate climate, with an abundant rainfall. There are occasional frosts, but snow is never seen. Of Goyaz and Matto Grosso very little can be said. The lower river valleys of the Tocantins-Araguaya, Xingú, Tapajós and Paraguay are essentially tropical, their climate being hot and humid like that of the Amazon. The higher valleys of the Paraná and its tributaries, and of the rivers which flow northward, are sub-tropical in character, having high sun temperatures and cool nights. Above these, the chapadas lie open to the sun and wind and have a cool, bracing atmosphere even where high sun temperatures prevail. The mean annual temperature at Goyaz (city), according to a limited number of observations, is about 77°. There is no absolutely dry season in this part of the great Brazilian plateau, though the year is customarily divided into a dry and wet season, the latter running from September to April in Goyaz, and from November to April in Matto Grosso. The prevailing winds are from the north-west in this region, and westerly winds in the rainy season are usually accompanied by rain.
Fauna.—The indigenous fauna of Brazil is noteworthy not only for the variety and number of its genera and species, but also for its deficiency in the larger mammals. Of this, one of the best authorities on the subject (H.W. Bates in The Naturalist on the River Amazons) says: “Brazil, moreover, is throughout poor in terrestrial mammals, and the species are of small size.” It is noteworthy, also, for the large number of species having arboreal habits, the density and extent of the Amazon forests favouring their development rather than the development of those of terrestrial habits. Of Quadrumana there are about fifty species in Brazil, all arboreal, thirty-eight of which inhabit the Amazon region. They belong mostly to the Cebidae family, and are provided with prehensile tails. The Carnivora are represented by six species of the Felidae, the best known of which is the onça, or jaguar (F. onça, L.), and the cougar, or puma (F. concolor); three species of the Canidae, the South American wolf (C. jubatus), and two small jackals (C. brasiliensis and C. vetulus); and a few species of the Mustelina including two of the otter, two Galictis and one Mephitis. Of the plantigrades, Brazil has no bears, but has the related species of raccoon (Nasua socialis and N. solitaria), popularly called coatis. The opossum (Didelphis) is represented by three or four species, two of which are so small that they are generally called wood rats. The rodents are numerous and include several peculiar species. Only one species of hare is found in Brazil, the Lepus brasiliensis, and but one also of the squirrel (Scyurus). Of the amphibious rodents, the prêá (Cavia aperea), mocó (C. rupestris), paca (Coelogenys paca), cutia (Dasyprocta aguti) and capybara (Hydrochoerus capybara) are noteworthy for their size and extensive range. Their flesh is used as an article of food, that of the paca being highly esteemed. Of the Muridae there are several genera and a large number of species, some of them evidently importations from the Old World. Brazil has three groups of animals similar to the common rat—the Capromydae, Loncheridae and Psammoryctidae—the best known of which is the “tuco-tuco” (Clenomys brasiliensis), a small burrowing animal of Rio Grande do Sul which excavates long subterranean galleries and lives on roots and bulbs. One of the characteristic orders of the Brazilian fauna is that of the Edentata, which comprises the sloth, armadillo and ant-eater. These animals are found only in the tropical regions of South America. The range of the sloth is from the Guianas south into Minas Geraes, the armadillo as far south as the Argentine pampas and the ant-eater from the Amazon south to Paraguay, though it is found in the Amazon region principally. The sloth (Bradypus) is an arboreal animal which feeds almost exclusively on the foliage of the Cecropias. It includes two recognized genera and half a dozen species, the best known of which is B. didactylus. The common name in Brazil is preguiça, which is equivalent to its English name. Of armadillos, commonly called tatú in Brazil, the largest species is the Dasypus gigas, but the best known is the tatú-été (D. octocinctus), which is highly esteemed for its flesh. The ant-eaters (Myrmecophaga) are divided into three or four species, one of which (M. jubata) is exclusively terrestrial, and the others arboreal. The popular name for the animal is tamanduá. The M. jubata, or tamanduá bandeira, is sometimes found as far south as Paraguay. Of the ruminants, Brazil has only four or five species of Cervidae, which are likewise common to other countries of South America. The largest of these is the marsh deer (C. paludosus), which in size resembles its European congeners. The others are the C. campestris, C. nemorivagus, C. rufus and a small species or variety called C. nanus by the Danish naturalist Dr P.W. Lund. The pachyderms are represented by three species of the peccary (Dicotyles) and two of the anta, or tapir (Tapirus). The former are found over a wide range of country, extending into Bolivia and Argentina, and are noted for their impetuous pugnacity. The tapir also has an extensive range between the coast and the foothills of the Andes, and from northern Argentina to south-eastern Colombia. It is the largest of the Brazilian mammals, and inhabits densely forested tracts near river courses. The two species are T. americanus, which is the larger and best known, and the anta chure, found in Minas Geraes, which is said to be identical with the T. Roulini of Colombia. Perhaps the most interesting mammal of Brazil is the manati, or sea-cow (Manatus americanus), which inhabits the lower Amazon and sometimes reaches a length of 15 to 20 ft. It is taken with the harpoon and its oil is one of the commercial products of the Amazon valley.
The avifauna of Brazil is rich in genera, species and individuals, especially in species with brilliantly-coloured plumage. It is estimated that more than half the birds of Brazil are insectivorous, and that more than one-eighth are climbers. The range in size is a wide one—from the tiny humming-bird to the ema, rhea, or American ostrich. Although the order which includes song-birds is numerous in species and individuals, it is noticeably poor in really good songsters. On the other hand it is exceptionally rich in species having strident voices and peculiar unmusical calls, like the pacô (Coracina scuttata) and the araponga (Chasmorhynchus nudicollis). Two species of vultures, twenty-three of falcons and eight of owls represent the birds of prey. The best known vulture is the common urubú (Cathartes foetens, Illig), which is the universal scavenger of the tropics. The climbers comprise a large number of species, some of which, like those of the parrot (Psittacidae) and woodpecker (Picus), are particularly noticeable in every wooded region of the country. One of the most striking species of the former is the brilliantly-coloured arara (Macrocercus, L.), which is common throughout northern Brazil. Another interesting species is the toucan (Ramphastos), whose enormous beak, awkward flight and raucous voice make it a conspicuous object in the great forests of northern Brazil. In strong contrast to the ungainly toucan is the tiny humming-bird, whose beautiful plumage, swiftness of flight and power of wing are sources of constant wonder and admiration. Of this smallest of birds there are fifty-nine well-known species, divided into two groups, the Phaethorninae, which prefer the forest shade and live on insects, and the Trochilinae, which frequent open sunny places where flowers are to be found. One of the Brazilian birds whose habits have attracted much interest is the João de Barro (Clay John) or oven bird (Furnarius rufus), which builds a house of reddish clay for its nest and attaches it to the branch of a tree, usually in a fork. The thrush is represented by a number of species, one of which, the sabiá (Mimus), has become the popular song-bird of Brazil through a poem written by Gonçalves Dias. The dove and pigeon have also a number of native species, one of which, the pomba jurity (Peristera frontalis), is a highly-appreciated table luxury. The gallinaceous birds are well represented, especially in game birds. The most numerous of these are the perdiz (partridge), the best known of which is the Tinamus maculosa which frequents the campos of the south, the inhambú (Crypturus), capoeira (Odontophorus), and several species of the penelope family popularly known as the jacutinga, jacú and jacú-assú. The common domesticated fowl is not indigenous. Among the wading and running birds, of which the ema is the largest representative, there are many species of both descriptions. In the Amazon lowlands are white herons (Ardea candidissima), egrets (A. egretta), bitterns (A. exilis), blue herons (A. herodias) scarlet ibises (Ibis rubra), roseate spoonbills (Platalea ajaja); on higher ground the beautiful peacock heron (A. helias) which is easily domesticated; and on the dry elevated campos the ceriema (Dicholophus cristatus) which is prized for its flesh, and the jacamin (Psophia crepitans) which is frequently domesticated. Prominent among the storks is the great black-headed white crane, called the jaburú (Mycteria americana), which is found along the Amazon and down the coast and grows to a height of 4½ ft. Of the swimmers, the number of species is smaller, but some of them are widely distributed and numerous in individuals. There are but few species of ducks, and they are apparently more numerous in southern Brazil than on the Amazon.
The reptilian fauna exhibits an exceptionally large number of interesting genera and species. A great part of the river systems of the country with their flooded areas are highly favourable to the development of reptilian life. Most prominent among these is the American alligator, of which there are, according to Netterer, two genera and eight species in Brazil. They are very numerous in the Amazon and its tributaries and in the Paraguay, and are found in all the rivers of the Atlantic coast. Three of the Brazilian species are voracious and dangerous. The largest of the Amazon species are the jacaré-assú (Caïman niger), jacaré (C. fissipes) and jacaré-tinga (C. sclerops). The Amazon is also the home of one of the largest fresh-water turtles known, the Emys amazonica, locally called the jurará-assú or tartaruga grande. These turtles are so numerous that their flesh and eggs have long been a principal food supply for the Indian population of that region. Another Amazon species, the E. tracaxa, is still more highly esteemed for its flesh, but it is smaller and deposits fewer eggs in the sandy river beaches. Lagartos (Iguanas) and lizards are common everywhere. The ophidians are also numerous, especially in the wooded lowlands valleys, and the poisonous species, though less numerous than others, include some of the most dangerous known—the rattlesnake surucucú (Lachesis rhombeatus), and jararáca (Bothrops). The Amazon region is frequented by the giboia (boa constrictor), and the central plateau by the sucuriú (Eunectes murinus), both distinguished for their enormous size. The batrachians include a very large number of genera and species, especially in the Amazon valley.
The fauna of the rivers and coast of Brazil is richer in species and individuals than that of the land. All the rivers are richly stocked, and valuable fishing grounds are to be found along the coast, especially that of southern Bahia and Espirito Santo where the garoupa (Serranus) is found in large numbers. Some of the small fish along the coast are highly esteemed for their flavour. Whales were once numerous between Capes St Roque and Frio, but are now rarely seen. Of the edible river fish, the best known is the pirarucú (Sudis gigas), a large fish of the Amazon which is salted and dried for market during the low-water season. Fish is a staple food of the Indian tribes of the Amazon region, and their fishing season is during the period of low water. The visit of Professor Louis Agassiz to the Amazon in 1865 resulted in a list of 1143 species, but it is believed that no less than 1800 to 2000 species are to be found in that great river and its tributaries.
In strong contrast to the poverty of Brazil in the larger mammals is the astonishing profusion of insect life in every part of the country. The Coleoptera and Lepidoptera are especially numerous, both in species and individuals. A striking illustration of this extraordinary profusion was given by the English naturalist H.W. Bates, who found 7000 species of insects in the vicinity of only one of his collecting places on the Amazon (Ega), of which 550 species were of butterflies. Within an hour’s walk of Pará are to be found, he says, about 700 species of butterflies, “whilst the total number found in the British Islands does not exceed 66, and the whole of Europe supports only 321.” (H.W. Bates, The Naturalist on the River Amazons.) One of the rare species of the Amazon Morphos (M. hecuba) measures 8 to 9 in. across its expanded wings. Dipterous insects are also very numerous in species, especially in those of sanguinary habits, such as the mosquito, pium, maroim, carapanā, borochudo, &c. In some places these insects constitute a veritable plague, and the infested regions are practically uninhabitable. The related species of the Oestridae family, which include the widely disseminated chigoe or bicho do pé (Pulex penetrans), and the equally troublesome berne (Cutiterebra noxialis), which is so injurious to animals, are equally numerous. The most numerous of all, however, and perhaps the most harmful to civilized man, are the termites and ants, which are found everywhere in the uninhabited campo and forest regions, as well as in the cultivated districts. Nature has provided several species of animals, birds and reptiles, to feed upon these insects, and various poisonous and suffocating compounds are used to destroy them, but with no great degree of success. It is not uncommon to find once cultivated fields abandoned because of their ravages and to see large campos completely covered with enormous ant-hills. The termites, or “white ants,” are exceptionally destructive because of their habit of tunnelling through the softer woods of habitations and furniture, while some species of ants, like the saúba, are equally destructive to plantations because of the rapidity with which they strip a tree of its foliage. Spiders are represented by a very large number of species, some of which are beautifully coloured. The largest of these is the Mygale with a body 2 in. in length and outstretched legs covering 7 in., a monster strong enough to capture and kill small birds. A large Mygale found on the island of Siriba, of the Abrolhos group, feeds upon lizards, and has been known to attack and kill young chickens. One of the most troublesome pests of the interior is a minute degenerate spider of the genus Ixodes, called carrapato, or bush-tick, which breeds on the ground and then creeps up the grass blades and bushes where it waits for some passing man or beast. Its habit is to bury its head in its victim’s skin and remain there until gorged with blood, when it drops off. Scorpions are common, but are considered less poisonous than some European species.
Flora.—Brazil not only is marvellously rich in botanical species, but included at the beginning of the 20th century the largest area of virgin forest on the surface of the earth. The flora falls naturally into three great divisions: that of the Amazon basin where exceptional conditions of heat and moisture prevail; that of the coast where heat, varying rainfall, oceanic influences and changing seasons have greatly modified the general character of the vegetation; and that of the elevated interior, or sertão, where dryer conditions, rocky surfaces, higher sun temperatures and large open spaces produce a vegetation widely different from those of the other two regions. Besides these, the flora of the Paraguay basin varies widely from that of the inland plateau, and that of the Brazilian Guiana region is essentially distinct from the Amazon. The latter region is densely forested from the Atlantic to the Andes, but with a varying width of about 200 m. on the coast to about 900 m. between the Bolivian and Venezuelan llanos, and thus far civilization has made only a very slight impression upon it. Even where settlements have been located, constant effort is required to keep the vegetation down. Along the coast, much of the virgin forest has been cut away, not only for the creation of cultivated plantations, but to meet the commercial demand for Brazil-wood and furniture woods.
The chief characteristic of the Amazonian forest, aside from its magnitude, is the great diversity of genera and species. In the northern temperate zone we find forests of a single species, others of three or four species; in this great tropical forest the habit of growth is solitary and an acre of ground will contain hundreds of species—palms, myrtles, acacias, mimosas, cecropias, euphorbias, malvaceas, laurels, cedrellas, bignonias, bombaceas, apocyneas, malpigias, lecythises, swartzias, &c. The vegetation of the lower river-margins, which are periodically flooded, differs in some particulars from that of the higher ground, and the same variation is to be found between the forests of the upper and lower Amazon, and between the Amazon and its principal tributaries. The density of the forest is greatly augmented by the cipós, or lianas, which overgrow the largest trees to their tops, and by a profusion of epiphytes which cover the highest branches. As a rule the trees of the Amazon forest are not conspicuously high, a few species rarely reaching a height of 200 ft. The average is probably less than one-half that height. This is especially true of the flood plains where the annual inundations prevent the formation of humus and retard forest growth. The largest of the Amazon forest trees are the massaranduba (Mimusops elata), called the cow-tree because of its milky sap, the samaúma (Eriodendron samauma) or silk-cotton tree, the páu d’ arco (Tecoma speciosa), páu d’ alho (Catraeva tapia), bacori (Symphonea coccinea), sapucaia (Lecythis ollaria), and castanheira or brazil-nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa). The Amazon region has a comparatively narrow frontage on the Atlantic. In Maranhão, which belongs to the coast region, open spaces or campos appear, though the state is well wooded and its forests have the general characteristics of the lower Amazon. South-east of the Parnahyba the coast region becomes dryer and more sandy and the forests disappear. The coast and tide-water rivers are fringed with mangrove, and the sandy plain reaching back to the margin of the inland plateau is generally bare of vegetation, though the carnahuba palm (Copernicia cerifera) and some species of low-growing trees are to be found in many places. The higher levels of this plain are covered with shrubs and small trees, principally mimosas. The slopes of the plateau, which receive a better rainfall, are more heavily forested, some districts being covered with deciduous trees, forming catingas in local parlance. This dry, thinly-wooded region extends south to the states of Parahyba, where a more regular rainfall favours forest growth nearer the coast. Between Parahyba and southern Bahia forests and open plains are intermingled; thence southward the narrow coastal plain and bordering mountain slopes are heavily forested. The sea-coast, bays and tide-water rivers are still fringed with mangrove, and on the sandy shores above Cape Frio grow large numbers of the exotic cocoa-nut palm. Many species of indigenous palms abound, and in places the forests are indescribably luxuriant. These are made up, as Prince Max zu Neuwied found in southern Bahia in 1817, “of the genera Cocos, Melastoma, Bignonia, Rhexia, Mimosa, Ingá, Bombax, Ilex, Laurus, Myrthus, Eugenia, Jacarandá, Jatropha, Visinia, Lecythis, Ficus, and a thousand other, for the most part, unknown species of trees.” Further inland the higher country becomes more open and the forests are less luxuriant. Giant cacti and spiny scrub abound. Then come the catinga tracts, and, beyond these, the open campos of the elevated plateau, dotted with clumps of low growing bushes and broken by tracts of carrasco, a thick, matted, bushy growth 10 to 12 ft. in height. Formerly this coast region furnished large quantities of Brazil-wood (Caesalpinia echinata), and the river valleys have long been the principal source of Brazil’s best cabinet-wood—rosewood (Dalbergia nigra), jacarandá (Machaeriumfirmum, Benth.), vinhatico (Plathymenia foliosa, Benth.), peroba (Aspidosperma peroba), cedro, &c. The exotic mangabeira (mango) is found everywhere along the coast, together with the bamboo, orange, lemon, banana, cashew, &c.
Of the great inland region, which includes the arid campos of the north, the partially-wooded plateaus of Minas Geraes, Goyaz and Matto Grosso, the temperate highlands of the south, and the tropical lowlands of the Paraguay basin, no adequate description can be given without taking each section in detail, which can be done to better advantage in describing the individual states. In general, the carrasco growth extends over the whole central plateau, and heavy forests are found only in the deep river valleys. Those opening northward have the characteristic flora of the Amazon basin. The Paraguay basin is covered with extensive marshy tracts and open woodlands, the palms being the conspicuous feature. The vegetation is similar to that of Paraguay and the Chaco, and aquatic plants are specially numerous and luxuriant. On the temperate uplands of the southern states there are imposing forests of South American pine (Araucaria brasiliensis), whose bare trunks and umbrella-like tops give to them the appearance of open woodland. These forests extend from Paraná into Rio Grande do Sul and smaller tracts are also found in Minas Geraes. Large tracts of Ilex paraguayensis, from which maté, or Paraguay-tea, is gathered, are found in this same region.
The economic plants of Brazil, both indigenous and exotic, are noticeably numerous. Coffee naturally occupies first place, and is grown wherever frosts are not severe from the Amazon south to Paraná. The states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Geraes are the largest producers, but it is also grown for export in Espirito Santo, Bahia and Ceará. The export in 1905 was 10,820,604 bags of 132 ℔ each, with an official valuation of £21,420,330. Sugar cane, another exotic, has an equally wide distribution, and cotton is grown along the coast from Maranhão to São Paulo. Other economic plants and fruits having a wide distribution are tobacco, maize, rice, beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, cacáo (Theobroma cacao), mandioca or cassava (Manihot utilitissima), aipim or sweet mandioca (M. aipi), guavas (Psidium guayava, Raddi), oranges, lemons, limes, grapes, pineapples, mamão (Carica papaya), bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa), jack fruit (A. integrifolia), and many others less known outside the tropics. Among the palms there are several of great economic value, not only as food producers but also for various domestic uses. The fruit of the pupunha or peach palm (Guilielma speciosa) is an important food among the Indians of the Amazon valley, where the tree was cultivated by them long before the discovery of America. Humboldt found it among the native tribes of the Orinoco valley, where it is called pirijao. The ita palm, Mauritia, flexuosa (a fan-leaf palm) provides an edible fruit, medullary meal, drink, fibre, roofing and timber, but is less used on the Amazon than it is on the lower Orinoco. The assaí (Euterpe oleracea) is another highly-prized palm because of a beverage made from its fruit along the lower Amazon. A closely-related species or variety (Euterpe edulis) is the well-known palmito or cabbage palm found over the greater part of Brazil, whose terminal phylophore is cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Another highly useful palm is the carnauba or carnahuba (Copernicia cerifera) which supplies fruit, medullary meal, food for cattle, boards and timber, fibre, wax and medicine. The fibre of the piassava (Leopoldinia piassava, or Attalea funifera) is widely used for cordage, brushes and brooms. There are many other palms whose fruit, fibre and wood enter largely into the domestic economy of the natives, but the list given shows how important a service these trees rendered to the aboriginal inhabitants of tropical America, and likewise how useful they still are to the people of tropical Brazil. Another vegetable product of the Amazon region is made from the fruit of the Paullinia sorbilis, Mart., and is known by the name of guaraná. It is largely consumed in Bolivia and Matto Grosso, where it is used in the preparation of a beverage which has excellent medicinal properties. The Brazilian flora is also rich in medicinal and aromatic plants, dye-woods, and a wide range of gum and resin-producing shrubs and trees. The best known of these are sarsaparilla, ipecacuanhá, cinchona, jaborandi and copaiba; vanilla, tonka beans and cloves; Brazil-wood and anatto (Bixa orellana); india-rubber and balata. India-rubber is derived principally from the Hevea guayanensis, sometimes called the Siphonia elastica, which is found on the Amazon and its tributaries as far inland as the foothills of the Andes. Other rubber-producing trees are the maniçoba (Jatropha Glasiovii) of Ceará, and the mangabeira (Hancornia speciosa), of the central upland regions.