Palms surviving in a botanical desert.

[Alberto]

In january 2024 I will be joining a trekking to the fascinating mount Roraima in northern Brazil with some friends , relatives and other folks, in total 12 people. It will be a trip of 9 days. To prepare for this adventure, I want to walk at least once a week. Today is a holiday in Brazil ( Corpus Christi) so a group decided to walk from the farm of my niece to a place called " Tacinha", ( Little Cup) a sandstone in the form of a cup. In total it was 12.7 kilometers ( 7.9 miles). We crossed several Pinus elliotti and Pinus taeda plantations, ( also a lot of escaped trees because they are very invasive species!) where only a few native plants can survive. I was surprised to find a few Geonoma schottiana ( it's the most demanding in its requirements), Allagoptera campestris and Syagrus romanzoffiana ( jerivá) surviving in the shade of the pines.  https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g316071-d316162-Reviews-Monte_Roraima-Canaima_National_Park_Guayana_Region.html

[Alberto]

This little stone is called Tacinha ( Little Cup) because 30 km from here, in the Parque Estadual Vila Velha, there is a well-known sandstone formation called " Taça" ( Cup)