5 Guardian Nymphs of the Vegetation of Brazil
Martius divided Brazil into five areas based on the vegetation of each one. These areas were associated with the names of nymphs, four immortal and one who dies and is reborn.
CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Luiza F. A. de Paula
Travels in Brazil
The German naturalists Spix and Martius, during their expedition through Brazil (1817-1820)
, cataloged a significant part of Brazilian biodiversity.
Flora Brasiliensis: Vol. I, Part I, Fasc. unplaced Plate 61 CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Brazil divided into five botanical provinces
During his stay in Brazil, Martius
mapped different regions that today make up part of what we call biomes, dividing the country into five areas based on the vegetation of each one. On the map, these areas are presented in different colors.
Greek nymphs
Martius associated these five floristic domains with the names of Greek nymphs, four immortal and one who dies and is reborn.
1. Naiads: nymphs of the waters
Regions covered by the Amazon Rainforest
were associated with the naiads, entities of streams and springs, emphasizing the presence of the complex river basin that interacts with the vast forest in the northern region of Brazil.
Amazonian Forest (2011-04-19) by Neil Palmer/CIAT Original Source: Wikimedia Commons
Amazon
The Amazon is Brazil’s largest biome and spans over nine countries. It is home to the Amazon Rainforest, considered the world’s largest tropical forest, and boasts high biodiversity. It is characterized by dense and humid forest formations and the presence of large trees .
2. Dryads: nymphs of the forests
The coastal forests of eastern Brazil are associated with the dryads, who cared for woods located in mountainous regions. Today, this is known as the Atlantic Forest
, the biome where forests and mountains
meet.
Atlantic Forest by João Renato Stehmann CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Atlantic Forest
The Atlantic Forest encompasses a diverse array of forest ecosystems with different structures and floral compositions, along with associated ecosystems like mangroves, restinga vegetation, and rocky outcrops
.
3. Oreads: nymphs of the hunting fields
Biomes known today as the Cerrado
and Pantanal – consisting of plains, plateaus, and tablelands of central Brazil – are related to the oreads, nymphs that accompanied Diana, the hunting goddess, in governing the mountains and fields.
Cerrado biome by João Renato Stehmann CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Cerrado
The Cerrado is the second largest biome in South America and includes different types of vegetation formations, such as grasslands, savannas,
and forests. In general, the vegetation of the Cerrado features trees with twisted trunks, shrubs, and grasses.
Pantanal Biome (2014) by Filipe Frazao Original Source: Wikimedia Commons
Pantanal
The Pantanal biome is recognized as the largest continuous floodplain on Earth, which constitutes the main factor for its formation and differentiation from other biomes.
4. Napaeae: nymphs of the ravines
The regions of southern Brazil, with their open fields and mountain forests marked by the presence of pine trees
, are associated with the napaeae, goddesses who protected the valleys and meadows. This corresponds to the Araucaria forests and southern grasslands.
Pampas Biome (2012-10-12) by Sandro Anhaia Original Source: Wikimedia Commons
Pampas
The natural landscapes of the Pampa are characterized by the predominance of native fields, but there is also the presence of other vegetation formations such as forests, shrubs, and rocky outcrops.
5. Hamadryads: nymphs who die and are reborn
In Greek mythology, the hamadryads are nymphs who are born with the trees with which they share a destiny, and must protect them. Hamadryads, the nymphs who die and are reborn, chosen by Martius to rule over the Caatinga
, also represent the seasonality of this biome.
Caatinga vegetation during the dry season (2019) by Luiza Paula CRIA - Centro de Referência em Informação Ambiental
Caatinga
Uniquely Brazilian, the Caatinga is the main biome of the northeastern region of Brazil. Due to its semi-arid climate, the vegetation exhibits features adapted to the prolonged dry period, such as thorns and shedding leaves.
Brazilian biomes map by Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística Original Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística
Brazilian biomes
A biome
is the set of living beings in an area, with similar geological and climatic conditions and which, historically, underwent the same landscape formation processes.
Legacy of Spix and Martius
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) currently recognizes six types of biomes for Brazil: Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Caatinga, Pampa, and Pantanal. These classifications have their roots in the works of the naturalists Spix and Martius.
Research and writing:
Luiza F. A. de Paula (UFMG/CRIA)
Assembly:
Luiza F. A. de Paula (UFMG/CRIA)
Review:
João Renato Stehmann (UFMG), Renato De Giovanni (CRIA)
References:
Flora Brasiliensis ( http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/opus
), Travels in Brazil ( https://www2.senado.leg.br/bdsf/handle/id/573991
)
Additional information:
http://florabrasiliensis.cria.org.br/stories
Acknowledgments:
All the authors of the photos and characters in the story
*Every effort has been made to credit the images, audio, and video and correctly recount the episodes narrated in the exhibitions. If you find errors and/or omissions, please email contato@cria.org.br
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