Brazilian Rainforest plants?

Does anyone know of or have any plants that would be of the Brazilian Rainforest? I know this is a stretch, but I have a dear friend from there and she has had a very hard time lately and I would like to give her a plant from her homeland to reconnect her with a time in her life when she was surrounded by love, peace and support. If anyone has info please contact me? Many thanks

I hate to say this to you, but I'd be very opposed to any plant(s) from the rainforests we are so busy destroying. How about just finding your friend a nice Tropical that may remind her, but not be from a destruction site?

I agree with Darius about the rainforest but there are plenty of plants already here from Brazil. Many of the passion flowers are native to Brazil. Orchids, Bromeliads, Amaryillis, Heliconia, Bougainvillea, and Brugmansia would be a few others.

This is a page of Brazilian flora that might give you some ideas. http://mpeixoto.sites.uol.com.br/ We have a DG member from Brazil that might come along with some suggestions too.

I assume that what you want are seeds or plants from cultivated stock, not something collected directly from the rainforest. I would imagine that the Brazilian rainforest has all sorts of subsets and thus any given plant from the "Brazilian rainforest" may not have been found in the area where she lived. If you moved to South America and someone wanted to give you something from the "North American temperate forest", you could end up with a redwood, a ponderosa pine, a canyon live oak, or any number of things not native to Ontario.

You could take your friend to a nursery that has a lot of tropical plants and see if anything strikes her fancy.

Thank you all for your input. Yes, Darius I would also be opposed to any plant that was removed from the already depleted rainforest. That goes without saying.

What I meant was a tropical plant that would be "the type" found in the rainforest. I have no clue and would like to surprise my friend with a plant, rather than consult her on it.

Thanks again all and I will try to choose my words more carefully next time. I thought I was clear, but apparantly not.

Thank you PoppySue for the link for the Brazilian plants. They are very beautiful! My friend always pokes fun at herself for her lack "gardening skills". She says she kills everything.....so it think I will maybe try to find a piece of Brazilian jewellery or another token. I appreciate your information. Thanks so much.

April, I really didn't want to be offensive, nor even thought to put you in the group who plunder one of the nicest habitats on earth ... it's just that now even the words "Brazilian Rainforest" cause me great pain for what we (humanity) are doing to Mother Earth.

I do think it's wonderful that you want to do something for your friend to do, as you say, "reconnect her with a time in her life when she was surrounded by love, peace and support." Just having you as a friend should help in that area!

Thank you Darius. My friend has been thru a horrific time and its a long story but she was raised by her grandmother deep in the Rain Forest. Her own father tried to drown her in a burlap sack in the river, until a neighbour looking for stray cattle discovered what was happening. He took my friend to her grandmother, deep in the forest to protect her. She never even saw a full sized house until she was almost adolescent. Her grandmother was a medicine woman who was very closely connected to Mother Earth and she used the plants to help heal others. She also taught my friend great love, compassion and kindness.

She has my unconditional love and friendship but I feel a strong need to give her something from her homeland, at this very difficult time in her life just for the comfort that I know it will bring. The more I think about it, a plant, that could die would not be a good idea for her. Something a little more "concrete" or some music would be the right gift. My friendship is free flowing. I hope you understand what I am saying? It just feels important to do this.

April, what tribe is she from?

Poppysue I have never asked her what tribe. But I am sending her an email right now and visiting with her on Thurs. I will let you know ok?

This may be an odd suggestion, but maybe you could get her some pau d'arco tea. Pau d'arco is a South American tree that is used as an herbal remedy. (The box I have is from Alvita, a division of Twinlab. It says that the tree is found extensively thoughout South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Bahamas and is frequently called taheebo.) They say that smell is the sense most closely connected to memory, so if her grandmother had used it, the smell of the tea might bring back memories of her grandmother and life in the rainforest. The dry tea doesn't have much smell but there is a little of an earthy smell to the hot tea.

Wow Kelli Thank you so much for that idea. Where would I get this tea? I have no idea where to find it? It sounds perfect! If you can let me know where to get it I will do my best. Many thanks

AprilHillside,
I have traded w/ a very nice man here on Dave's, and his Dave's name is Baa. I think he is from Brazil. I am not certain, but I think he is. Try to see if you can look him up in the Member List, and ask him. Even if it isn't Brazil, I bet he could help you!!!!!

Thanks, And Good Luck to you, and your Friend!!!!!!!
Traci S

I think I got the pau d'arco tea from drugstore.com, but they don't carry it any more. You might find it at a health food store.

It doesn't look like you can order anything from Alvita's website, but they have a phone number you can call and maybe found out where their products are sold in your area. http://www.alvita.com

They also have it (brand unknown) at vitamins.com.
http://www.vitamins.com/pages/file.asp?xs=336B71700578438F90507FA356E16C84&PID=553

Thank you so much to all of you for your ideas and suggestions. I asked my friend Mia via email what tribe she is from and this is her reply. I am going to visit her tomorrow night after work.

What tribe?.... okay here it goes...I'm from the Xingu River near the Amazon... http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/Anthro/Anth101/kayapo.htm My gradfather was from Rio Grande. My grandmother from Xingu because all people are born from women we take the woman's side of the family. My grandmother was from the very old tribe called FORMIGAS which means THE ANT PEOPLE TRIBE. Some people called them now the KAYAPO Tribe it's the ones with the discs on there lips I know HAHA funny yeh.
My mother side of the family came from Morena http://members.aol.com/rtwinam/Xingu.html
When you get here I'll pay a CD from back home.

Wow! Now that's interesting. I have a CD on the Kayapo people and how they are managing their gold trade. It was made in 1987 so I can imagine that the culture has dwindled even more now. It blows my mind to see these remote tribes just disappear with "progress".

So how did your friend end up here in the US? She's a long way from home...

Hi Poppysue: Thats so cool that you have music of the Kayapo people.
My friend was tricked onto an airplane by her father, then the doors shut and she landed in Canada. Her father had sold her to a Portuguese man......a very abusive man. Long, sick, sorry tale. She never saw her beloved grandmother again and the grandmother died of a broken heart. I believe the love of her grandmother has sustained her thru some very trying times. Despite all the rough going, she is still one of the most loving, spiritual people I know.
We have a special place her in Ontario called the Petroglyphs. It is a place where native people from long ago drew pictures (pictographs) on the rocks.....this was before there were words to use. My friend had never felt at home in Canada, it was not her home. She always felt at odds.....then one day she visited the Petroglyphs with a friend and she says that as soon as she stepped onto the property she heard her ancestral language being spoken to her by spirits and they told her that this was home now and that it was ok to settle in and let go of her longing for her life with her grandmother. It was a vision, so to speak. Since that day Canada is her home and she has made peace. It has been a long hard road for her and as I said, she is one of the most loving, caring, spiritual people that I know on this planet. This is why I want to give her something special at this time. She has just nursed her father-in-law thru many months of gruelling cancer and he passed away last week. Her own husband who is just in his 30's has had 2 heart attacks. She was worried as much about her husband thru this illness as she was her father-in-law. Her hubby is the last remaining member of his family. They have all passed......parents, siblings, cousins...all. AND the father-in-law left a lot of debt behind for them to sort thru. I believe they are going to be forced to claim bankruptcy on his estate. They are also very financially strapped themselves. It's been hard...... and they deserve so much.

Hi Kelli: Thank you for the information on the teas. I just remembered someone that I know that drank that tea once after a party that she hosted. It was a greeny grey colour and she filled a special cup that had a straw built into it and poured just enough water to moisten the leaves. Then drank it thru the straw. Then she added more boiling water and repeated this. I believe the tea makes you mellow. Calming affrect?
I will try calling her and ask about that special tea.

You all have responded in such a caring, helpful way and it occured to me that it is because you are "of the earth" , meaning that you are gardeners and when you work close to Mother Earth you are connected to all that is truly important in life., ie caring about others, taking care of Mother Earth and respecting her. This is the way of our native people. We have always been caretakers of the earth. Giving back what we take and it makes perfect sense. It's one of the few things in this world that do make sense. I agree with Darius about the world being a mess and its heartbreaking to read the news every day. Destruction and abuse all around us. Those of us that find solace in our gardens, or just sitting on the ground, next to a tree in nature are lucky. Thank you all for your caring, informative links, and most of all for sharing yourselves. Blessings .

I should have said DVD... it's a movie, not music. Maybe it's the same one she has. I'm a little confused about the abusive Portuguese man... He brought her to Canada?

I've done a lot reading this past winter about some of the indigenous tribes of South America. It seems like many of them have a tough time adjusting to the modern world when they leave. I don't think I'd want to try!

AprilHillside, I have to say your caring, and the story of your friend have really touched me. Thank you for sharing it.

April, the tea you are thinking of might be kava. I've never had it as a tea, so I don't know what the color is, but it is supposed to make you mellow. There is some newly-discovered health problem with kava, though (liver damage?) so it is not legal to sell in some countries now. Kava comes from the south Pacific.

Hi all : Kava tea sounds scarey. Mellow but damaged liver? Yikes.

PoppySue she was tricked into boarding an airplane. (she had never seen a plane before) and the doors were closed and her father and her, along with her brother flew to Canada. Her father had sold her to a Portuguese man in Canada. They were married, with her fathers consent. She was as naive as the driven leaves on the trees. The Portuguese man (who was now her husband) was very abusive. She had a child by this man and then shortly after, fled with her child. She met and married another man, whom she had 2 more children with. He was also not a nice person. She left him also with 3 chidren in tow. She raised them alone until she met her current husband - he is very loving, supprtive and kind. He has a serious heart condition tho and his father just passed away last week from cancer. They struggle financialy but are both wonderful, amazing people. I am proud to call them both "friend".
I am going by to visit her on Friday for a nice long catchup visit. She lives in the city and although I work in the city, I commute to a smaller city to the east.
Anyway, I am rambling.....its early LOL 5:15 am ! Have a wonderful day and despite the horrific political situation in our world, I guess we need to give thanks for our freedom. Blessings to all.