Dear viewer,
A forest is a living laboratory where the fauna and flora are under a permanent and formidable test of survival. In fact, it is sustained by a fragile equilibrium of the elements. The images that follow are a mere glimpse of the richest and most endangered habitats on earth: the forests of eastern coastal Brazil. Simply put, the Mata Atlântica or Rain Forests.
The diversity of the flora is such that scientists speak of "the highest percentages of endemism in the world: over 50% of the tree species (Mori et al. 1981) and 92% of the amphibians (Lynch 1979) are found nowhere else in the world". (Northeastern Atlantic Coastal Forest Project Projeto Mata Atlântica Nordeste - Wm. Wayt Thomas and André M. Amorim).
Little is left of the original Mata Atlântica. Less than 8%. A biological disaster of enormous proportion to mankind. In spite of the local and international uproar, devastation goes on year after year. We are destroying what we are unable to create. A legacy of ignorance and arrogance towards our most valuable resource, the ecosystem.
Bromeliads are generous creatures. They supply food and shelter for other forms of life. And so are the sponsors and contributors of this site. Our gratitude to the Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies for their generosity in sharing with all of us this precious knowledge.
Photos are best viewed with a monitor resolution of 1024x768 pixels and with low luminosity in the room. So dim your lights and take your time examining carefully each shot. May you find some peace and joy.
Thank you, Oscar
Bromeliário Imperialis - Rio de Janeiro, June 2006.
More information on the Mata Atlântica :
- http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/atlantic_forest/
- http://www.nybg.org/bsci/res/bahia/Bahia.html
) Aechmea bambusoides |
) Aechmea candida |
) Aechmea nudicaulis |
) Aechmea phaneropheblia |
) Aechmea pineliana |
) Alcantarea geniculata |
) Alcantarea imperialis |
) Alcantarea imperialis variegata |
) Alcantarea odorata |
) Alcantarea odorata |
) Alcantarea odorata |
) Aranha |
) Arvore com nudicaulis |
) Arvore com nudicaulis |
) Arvore com nudicaulis |
) Arvore inclinada |
) Arvore na mata |
) Besouro |
) Besouro colorido |
) Besouro colorido |
) Billbergia amoena |
) Billbergia amoena |
) Billbergia euphimiae |
) Billbergia euphimiae |
) Billbergia euphimiae |
) Billbergia pyramidalis |
) Billbergia sanderiana |
) Borboleta amarela |
) Borboleta azul |
) Butterfly first fly |
) Caminhos-Paths |
) Canistropsis exigua |
) Canistrum triangulare |
) Circle of life |
) Cobra verde |
) Cogumelo vermelho |
) Dicksoniana |
) Dicksoniana |
) Dicksoniana |
) Embauba |
) Epidendrum allemanii |
) Epidendrum allemanii |
) Epidendrum variegatum |
) Esperança |
) Flor amarela |
) Flor azul |
) Flor da mata |
) Flores |
) Flores |
) Folha da vida |
) Folhas na pedra |
) Framboesa |
) Gafanhoto verde |
) Gomesa crispa |
) Gorducha |
) Grilo |
) Grilo na folha |
) Heliconea |
) Heliconea |
) Heliconea |
) Heliconea |
) Inseto |
) Jararaca |
) Lagarto |
) Lagarto dourado |
) Libélula |
) Líquen |
) Líquen |
) Líquen vermelho |
) Listradinho |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Mata |
) Miltonia clowesii |
) Mosca |
) Mosquito |
) Mulungu |
) Neoregelia chlorosticta |
) Nidularium |
) Nidularium fulgens |
) Nidularium fulgens |
) Peq flores |
) Perereca com ovos |
) Perereca na Vriesea |
) Pitcairnia flammea |
) Portea grandiflora |
) Quesnelia arvensis |
) Quesnelia arvensis |
) Quesnelia edmundoi |
) Quesnelia marmorata |
) Quesnelia seideliana |
) Riacho do Caramujo |
) Ronnbergia |
) Samambaias |
) Tillandsia gardneri |
) Tillandsia mallemontii |
) Tillandsia tenuiflolia |
) Tillandsia tricholepis |
) Vriesea appariciana |
) Vriesea bituminosa |
) Vriesea bituminosa |
) Vriesea corcovadensis |
) Vriesea fenestralis |
) Vriesea flammea |
) Vriesea fosteriana |
) Vriesea heliconioides |
) Vriesea hieroglyphica |
) Vriesea com sementes |
) Vriesea da mata |
) Vriesea inflata |
) Vriesea inflata |
) Vriesea joyae |
) Vriesea joyae |
) Vriesea malzinei |
) Vriesea pardalina |
) Vriesea patuschoffiana |
) Vriesea patuschoffiana |
) Vriesea philippo-coburgii |
) Vriesea philippo-coburgii |
) Vriesea psittacina |
) Vriesea tijucana |
) Vriesea triligulata |
) Vriesea triligulata |
) Wittrockia superba |
) Ying-Yang |