Vegetação e quintais da casa brasileira

Abstract

To understand the changes in the natural landscape of colonial Brazil one must first consider the role played by domestic backyards as centres of experimentation and in the diffusion of exotic and native plants. The study of residential backyards is also indispensable to tracing the formation of the first green areas in colonial cities. This article outlines an introduction to the history of brazilian backyards and their vegetation, from the 16th to the 18th centuries. It investigates the multiple meanings held by them and their attributes in daily domestic life, principally map-ping some of the food plants cultivated in them. It emphasizes the action of the portuguese in both the introduction of exotic species, such as the orange, banana, papaya, jackfruit and mango, and the use of native species such as cashew, mangabeira, guava and passion fruit.