Exchange of useful plants between Brazil and England in the second half of the nineteenth century: Glaziou and the botanists of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Abstract

During the XIXth century, the transfer of plants for various purposes became increasingly widespread and spanned the globe. The present study aims to inventory the potentially useful species which formed part of the two-way exchange between Brazil and England, based on the information found in the letters written by Auguste Francois Marie Glaziou, General Director of Forests and Gardens of the Imperial House in Rio de Janeiro and landscape artist to the Emperor, to botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. A total of 60 manuscripts housed in the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew were analysed. Sixty three species from 32 botanical families were quoted as useful within the documentation. Plants were grouped into five use categories, according to the uses listed by Glaziou. The high number of taxa in the ornamental category reveals the great interest in ornamental plants on the part of both Glaziou and the Kew botanists.