The family of palm trees in Rio's Botanical Garden is going to grow

The project "Enriching the collection of living palms at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden" was awarded funding from the BCGI Member Grant. The aim of the project is to enrich the JBRJ's collection of palms (Arecaceae family) by introducing species not yet cultivated in the arboretum. Expeditions are planned in the state of Rio de Janeiro to collect fruit, followed by studies into seed germination and seedling propagation in the seed laboratory and in the Botanical Garden's forest garden.

Among the species selected are at least seven of the genera Bactris sp. (the same as the pupunha), Geonoma sp. and Attalea sp., which are not represented in any living collection of botanical gardens in the world.

The project is in line with the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden's objective of contributing to the conservation of the incredible diversity of species of Brazilian flora, as well as, by introducing these plants into the arboretum - which is the area open to visitors - connecting the public to the ecology and evolution of plants - says the project's coordinator, researcher Sérgio Ricardo Sodré Cardoso. The project team also includes doctors Luciana Ozorio Franco and Antonio Carlos Silva Andrade, from the JBRJ's Scientific Research Directorate.