A promenade in the tropics: the imperial palms between Rio de Janeiro andSao Paulo

摘要

The imperial palm (Roystonea oleracca) was introduced into Brazil in 1809, when the first specimen was planted in Rio de Janeiro.1 It accompanied the diffusion of coffee plantations, scattering through the province of Rio de Janeiro during the first half of the nineteenth century. By the mid-century, the palm tree began to be planted in the Paraiba Valley2 belonging to the Province of Sao Paulo3 (figure 1). In cities like Lorena,4 remarkable arrangements, made in the manner of those of Rio de Janeiro, began to decorate streets and squares. The use of imperial palms in public spaces of Lorena was significant because at the end of the nineteenth century, the species was finally introduced in the city of Sao Paulo, where it was employed in urban reforms undertaken in the early decades of the twentieth century.