All Together or None at All
Brazil Nut Trees are among the largest in the rainforest— reaching heights of approximately 100 to 150 feet or more. They often tower well above the rest of the canopy and into the emergent layer, where their large leaves absorb abundant sunshine and rainfall. Even their fruits are massive. Each baseballsized fruit can weigh up to five pounds and contain approximately 10-20 individual seeds in a circular pattern much like the segments of an orange. These seeds are what we call Brazil nuts, and the vast majority of the Brazil nuts sold and eaten around the world are collected from within the Amazon rainforest.
Wild harvest is essential because these sturdy trees can only produce their fruit within intact rainforest, where the orchid bees that pollinate them— and the orchids those bees rely on— can be found. This is because large female orchid bees are among the only insects strong enough to push past the petals that form a protective cap over the flowers’ nectar and pollen. If these bees are missing from the environment, the flowers would remain unpollinated and the trees would be unable to produce their fruit. Because both the bees and the orchids they are named for— which support the smaller male bees— require intact rainforest, the Brazil Nut Tree does as well. These intertwined relationships between two or more species are not uncommon within the Amazon. If one species is vulnerable to a threat, such as deforestation, the impact is felt by the other species as well.
Brazil nuts and flowers | kochabamba
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A Brazil Nut Tree | Cavan-Images