83-449: See text Cinnamomum is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae . The species of Cinnamomum have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark . The genus contains approximately 250 species, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia , Southeast Asia , East Asia and Oceania / Australasia . The genus includes a great number of economically important trees used to produce
166-698: A fleet to reach Peru by sea, and sought the military support of various rebels from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1822 the two men met at the Guayaquil Conference in Ecuador, where they failed to agree on governance strategies for the liberated nations. Two years later Bolívar's forces beat the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho , securing the independence of Peru and the rest of South America. In
249-806: A generous layer of wax , making them glossy in appearance, and a narrow, pointed-oval shape with a 'drip tip', which permits the leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing transpiration to continue. Scientific names similar to Daphne (e.g., Daphnidium , Daphniphyllum ) or "laurel" (e.g., Laureliopsis , Skimmia laureola ) indicate other plant families that resemble Lauraceae. Some Lauraceae species have adapted to demanding conditions in semiarid climates, but they tend to depend on favorable edaphic conditions, for example, perennial aquifers, periodic groundwater flows, or periodically flooded forests in sand that contains hardly any nutrients. Various species have adapted to swampy conditions by growing pneumatophores , roots that grow upward, that project above
332-459: A long history of colonialism , the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese , and societies and states are rich in Western traditions . Relative to Africa, Asia, and Europe, post-1900 South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars, although high rates of violent crime remain a concern in some countries. South America occupies the southern portion of
415-682: A part of Oceania, also administered by Chile), the Galápagos Islands (administered by Ecuador , sometimes considered part of Oceania), and Tierra del Fuego (split between Argentina and Chile). In the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil administers Fernando de Noronha , Trindade and Martim Vaz , and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago , while the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas ) and South Georgia and
498-481: A site called Chavín de Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters (10,423 ft). Chavín civilization spanned 900 BC to 300 BC. In the central coast of Peru, around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, Moche (100 BC – 700 AD, at the northern coast of Peru), Paracas and Nazca (400 BC – 800 AD, Peru) cultures flourished with centralized states with permanent militia improving agriculture through irrigation and new styles of ceramic art. At
581-689: A subtropical climate of the dinaric type. At the highest points of the Andean region, climates are colder than the ones occurring at the highest point of the Norwegian fjords. In the Andean plateaus, the warm climate prevails, although it is tempered by the altitude, while in the coastal strip, there is an equatorial climate of the Guinean type. From this point until the north of the Chilean coast appear, successively, Mediterranean oceanic climate , temperate of
664-419: A valued ornamental and medicinal plant, is so invasive as to have been declared a weed in subtropical forested areas of South Africa. Lauraceae flowers are protogynous , often with a complex flowering system to prevent inbreeding . The fruits are an important food source for birds, on which some Palaeognathae are highly dependent. Other birds that rely heavily on the fruit for their diets include members of
747-1075: Is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere , with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere . It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas . South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean ; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent includes twelve sovereign states : Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Paraguay , Peru , Suriname , Uruguay , and Venezuela ; two dependent territories :
830-526: Is because the most extensive part of the continent is in the equatorial zone (the region has more areas of equatorial plains than any other region), therefore giving the Southern Cone more oceanic influence, which moderates year round temperatures. The average annual temperatures in the Amazon basin oscillate around 27 °C (81 °F), with low thermal amplitudes and high rainfall indices. Between
913-460: Is by far the most populous South American country, with almost half of the continent's population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru. In recent decades, Brazil has also generated half of the continent's GDP and has become the continent's first regional power. Most of the population lives near the continent's western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America
SECTION 10
#1732790659761996-605: Is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon , Orinoco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes . The continent's cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of Indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves . Given
1079-405: Is not fully supported. Backing has come from matK sequences of chloroplast genes while a questionable placement of Cassytha has been concluded from analysis of intergenetic spacers of chloroplast and nuclear genomes. Embryological studies also appear contradictory. One study by Heo et al. (1998) supports the subfamily. It found that Cassytha develops an ab initio cellular-type endosperm and
1162-614: Is now Colombia. They established the Muisca Confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos , that had a free trade network among themselves. Many were goldsmiths and farmers. Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: the Cañaris (in south central Ecuador), Chimú Empire (1300–1470, Peruvian northern coast), Chachapoyas , and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000–1450, Western Bolivia and southern Peru). Holding their capital at
1245-480: Is one of the most biodiverse continents on Earth. It is home to many unique species of animals including the llama , anaconda , piranha , jaguar , vicuña , and tapir , and to one of the largest known insects in the world, the Titan beetle . The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity , with Brazil estimated to contain 10% of Earth's species . 83% of South America's large mammals ( megafauna ) became extinct at
1328-407: Is poorly understood. This is partly due to its great diversity, the difficulty of identifying the species, and partly because of inadequate investment in taxonomic work. Recent monographs on small and medium-sized genera of Lauraceae (up to about 100 species) have revealed many new species. Similar increases in the numbers of species recognised in other larger genera are to be expected. Most of
1411-582: Is the largest country in South America, covering a little less than half of the continent's land area and encompassing around half of the continent's population. The remaining countries and territories are divided among four subregions : the Andean states , Caribbean South America , The Guianas , and the Southern Cone . Physiographically, South America also includes some of the nearby islands. The Dutch ABC islands ( Aruba , Bonaire , and Curaçao ),
1494-569: Is unique in the Lauraceae in that its members are parasitic vines . Most laurels are highly poisonous. The family has a worldwide distribution in tropical and warm climates. The Lauraceae are important components of tropical forests ranging from low-lying to montane . In several forested regions, Lauraceae are among the top five families in terms of the number of species present. The Lauraceae give their name to habitats known as laurel forests , which have many trees that superficially resemble
1577-471: Is yellowish-brown with irregular vertical splits. Branches are light brown, cylindrical, and glabrous. The inner bark of several species is used to make the spice cinnamon . Other notable species are C. tamala , used as the herb malabathrum (also called tejpat and Indian bay leaf), and C. camphora , from which camphor is produced. About 250 species are accepted, including several commercially important ones. A molecular study found that species from
1660-519: The Altiplano , Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BC – 1200 AD, Bolivia) managed a large commercial network based on religion. Around the 7th century, both Tiahuanaco and Wari or Huari Empire (600–1200, Central and northern Peru) expanded its influence to all the Andean region, imposing the Huari urbanism and Tiahuanaco religious iconography. The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what
1743-586: The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina ( San Andrés Island , Providencia Island , and Santa Catalina Island etc., which are administered by Colombia ) are politically parts of South American countries but physiographically parts of North America. Other islands often associated with geopolitical South America are the Chiloé Archipelago and Robinson Crusoe Island (both administered by Chile), Easter Island (culturally
SECTION 20
#17327906597611826-820: The Atacama Desert ; the wettest place on earth, López de Micay in Colombia; the largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest ; the highest capital city, La Paz , Bolivia ; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca ; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica , the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro , Chile. South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin , and petroleum. These resources have brought high income to its countries, especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However,
1909-717: The Bering Land Bridge (now the Bering Strait ) at least 15,000 years ago from the territory that is present-day Russia. They migrated south through North America, and eventually reached South America through the Isthmus of Panama . Amongst the oldest evidence for human presence in South America is the Monte Verde II site in Chile, suggested to date to around 14,500 years ago. From around 13,000 years ago,
1992-634: The Caribbean colonies and Brazil, as European nations built up economically slave-dependent colonies in the New World . Nearly 40% of all African slaves trafficked to the Americas went to Brazil. An estimated 4.9 million slaves from Africa came to Brazil during the period from 1501 to 1866. In contrast to other European colonies in the Americas which mainly used the labor of African slaves, Spanish colonists mainly enslaved indigenous Americans. In 1750,
2075-1030: The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ; and one internal territory : French Guiana . The ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean (north of Venezuela in the Leeward Antilles ), Ascension Island (a part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ), Bouvet Island (a dependency of Norway ), Panama , and the Caribbean island country of Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered parts of South America. South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population as of 2021 has been estimated at more than 434 million. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America). Brazil
2158-470: The Fishtail projectile point style became widespread across South America, with its disappearance around 11,000 years ago coincident with the disappearance of South America's megafauna. Maize was present in northern South America by around 6,000 years ago. By 2000 BC, many agrarian communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along
2241-472: The Fortaleza area, contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt , one of the oldest-known civilizations in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. Caral–Supe governing class established a trade network and developed agriculture then followed by Chavín by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were found at
2324-715: The Maracaibo Lake and the mouth of the Orinoco, predominates an equatorial climate of the type Congolese, that also includes parts of the Brazilian territory. The east-central Brazilian plateau has a humid and warm tropical climate. The northern and eastern parts of the Argentine pampas have a humid subtropical climate with dry winters and humid summers of the Chinese type, while the western and eastern ranges have
2407-599: The Orinoco Llanos and in the Guianas Plateau , the precipitation levels go from moderate to high. The Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador are rainy regions, with Chocó in Colombia being the rainiest place in the world along with the northern slopes of Indian Himalayas. The Atacama Desert, along this stretch of coast, is one of the driest regions in the world. The central and southern parts of Chile are subject to extratropical cyclones , and most of
2490-547: The Portuguese Crown abolished the enslavement of indigenous peoples in colonial Brazil , under the belief that they were unfit for labor and less effective than enslaved Africans. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas on slave ships , under inhuman conditions and ill-treatment, and those who survived were sold in slave markets . After independence, all South American countries maintained slavery for some time. The first South American country to abolish slavery
2573-738: The Portuguese Kingdom of Brazil , Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom João VI , proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Brazil in 1822, which later became the Empire of Brazil . Despite the Portuguese loyalties of garrisons in Bahia , Cisplatina and Pará , independence was diplomatically accepted by Portugal in 1825, on condition of a high compensation paid by Brazil mediated by
Cinnamomum - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-665: The South American Plate . South America is home to several superlatives, including the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall , Angel Falls in Venezuela; the highest single-drop waterfall Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; the largest river by volume, the Amazon River ; the longest mountain range, the Andes (whose highest mountain is Aconcagua at 6,962 m or 22,841 ft); the driest non-polar place on earth,
2739-613: The Spanish American wars of independence between the patriots, who promoted such autonomy, and the royalists , who supported Spanish authority over the Americas. The Juntas, in both Spain and the Americas, promoted the ideas of the Enlightenment . Five years after the beginning of the war, Ferdinand VII returned to the throne and began the Absolutist Restoration , as the royalists got the upper hand in
2822-427: The matK chloroplast gene, as well as sequences of chloroplast and nuclear genomes, reveal close relationships between the two tribes. Embryological evidence does not support a clear division between the two tribes, either. Genera such as Caryodaphnopsis and Aspidostemon that share embryological characteristics with one tribe and wood and bark characteristics or inflorescence characteristics with another tribe blur
2905-712: The native populations had no immune resistance – caused large-scale depopulation of the native population under Spanish control. Systems of forced labor, such as the haciendas and mining industry's mit'a also contributed to the depopulation. After this, enslaved Africans , who had developed immunities to these diseases, were quickly brought in to replace them. The Spaniards were committed to converting their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, many initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with their established beliefs and practices. Furthermore,
2988-557: The palaeontological succession and climate change that followed the breakups of the supercontinents. These genera include some of the best-known species of particular commercial value: Loss of habitat and overexploitation for such products has put many species in danger of extinction as a result of overcutting, extensive illegal logging , and habitat conversion. Conversely, some species, though commercially valuable in some countries, are regarded as aggressive invaders in other regions. For example, Cinnamomum camphora , though
3071-928: The tropical Americas classed in Cinnamomum were not closely related to the Paleotropical species, and have been reclassified with related species in genus Aiouea . Species transferred to Camphora : Lauraceae Many; see § Genera Lauraceae , or the laurels , is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide. They are dicotyledons , and occur mainly in warm temperate and tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America . Many are aromatic evergreen trees or shrubs, but some, such as Sassafras , are deciduous , or include both deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs, especially in tropical and temperate climates. The genus Cassytha
3154-755: The Americas. The continent is generally delimited on the northwest by the Darién watershed along the Colombia–Panama border , although some may consider the border instead to be the Panama Canal . Geopolitically and geographically, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is typically included in North America alone and among the countries of Central America . Almost all of mainland South America sits on
3237-692: The Argentine Patagonia is desert . In the Pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and South of Brazil the rainfall is moderate, with rains well distributed during the year. The moderately dry conditions of the Chaco oppose the intense rainfall of the eastern region of Paraguay. In the semiarid coast of the Brazilian Northeast the rains are linked to a monsoon regime. Important factors in the determination of climates are sea currents, such as
3320-748: The Breton type and, already in Tierra del Fuego , cold climate of the Siberian type. The distribution of rainfall is related to the regime of winds and air masses. In most of the tropical region east of the Andes, winds blowing from the northeast, east and southeast carry moisture from the Atlantic, causing abundant rainfall. However, due to a consistently strong wind shear and a weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. In
3403-400: The Lauraceae are evergreen trees in habit . Exceptions include some two dozen species of Cassytha , all of which are obligately parasitic vines . The fruits of Lauraceae are drupes , one-seeded fleshy fruit with a hard layer, the endocarp , surrounding the seed. However, the endocarp is very thin, so the fruit resemble a one-seeded berry. The fruit in some species (particularly in
Cinnamomum - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-410: The Lauraceae is not fully resolved. Multiple classification schemes based on a variety of morphological and anatomical characteristics have been proposed, but none are fully accepted. According to Judd et al. (2007), the suprageneric classification proposed by van der Werff and Richter (1996) is currently the authority. However, due to an array of molecular and embryological evidence that disagrees with
3569-405: The Lauraceae, though they may belong to other plant families such as Magnoliaceae or Myrtaceae . Laurel forests of various types occur on most continents and on many major islands. Although the taxonomy of the Lauraceae is still not settled, conservative estimates suggest some 52 genera worldwide, including 3,000 to 3,500 species. Compared to other plant families, the taxonomy of Lauraceae still
3652-499: The South Sandwich Islands ( biogeographically and hydrologically associated with Antarctica) have been administered as two British Overseas Territories under the Crown , whose sovereignty over the islands is disputed by Argentina . An isolated volcanic island on the South American Plate , Ascension Island is geologically a part of South America. Administered as a dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ,
3735-1014: The Spaniards brought their language to the degree they did with their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church 's evangelization in Quechua , Aymara , and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form. Eventually, the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. At the beginning, many mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. After independence, most mestizos had native fathers and European or mestizo mothers. Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers; this included many gold and silver sculptures and other artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal. Spaniards and Portuguese brought
3818-534: The Spanish and Portuguese colonies. First, Napoleon invaded Portugal, but the House of Braganza avoided capture by escaping to Brazil . Napoleon captured King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and appointed his own brother instead. This appointment provoked popular resistance, which created Juntas to rule in the name of the captured king. Many cities in the Spanish colonies, however, considered themselves equally authorized to appoint local Juntas like those of Spain. This began
3901-605: The Tertiary strata of Europe and North America, but they virtually disappeared from central Europe in the Late Miocene . Because of their unusual fragility, the pollens of Lauraceae do not keep well and have been found only in relatively recent strata. Deciduous Lauraceae lose all of their leaves for part of the year depending on variations in rainfall. The leaf loss coincides with the dry season in tropical, subtropical, and arid regions. Laurel wilt disease, caused by
3984-607: The United Kingdom. The newly independent nations began a process of fragmentation, with several civil and international wars. However, it was not as strong as in Central America. Some countries created from provinces of larger countries stayed as such up to modern times (such as Paraguay or Uruguay), while others were reconquered and reincorporated into their former countries (such as the Republic of Entre Ríos and
4067-437: The coast, helping establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society . South American cultures began domesticating llamas , vicuñas , guanacos , and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BC. Besides their use as sources of meat and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods. The rise of plant growing and
4150-461: The concentration in producing one, or few, major export commodities has often hindered the development and diversification of its economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in international markets has led historically to major highs and lows, booms and busts, in the economies of South American states, often causing political instability. This has led for calls to diversify production and increase trade within South America itself. Brazil
4233-548: The conflict. The independence of South America was secured by Simón Bolívar (Venezuela) and José de San Martín (Argentina), the two most important Libertadores . Bolívar led a great uprising in the north, then led his army south towards Lima , the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru . Meanwhile, San Martín led an army across the Andes Mountains, along with Chilean expatriates, and liberated Chile. He organized
SECTION 50
#17327906597614316-405: The current Humboldt and Falklands . The equatorial current of the South Atlantic strikes the coast of the Northeast and there is divided into two others: the current of Brazil and a coastal current that flows to the northwest towards the Antilles , where there it moves towards northeast course thus forming the most Important and famous ocean current in the world, the Gulf Stream . South America
4399-457: The division of these groups. All available evidence, except for inflorescence morphology and wood and bark anatomy, fails to support separate tribes Laureae and Perseeae. The tribe Cryptocaryeae is partially supported by molecular and embryological studies. Chloroplast and nuclear genomes support a tribal grouping that contains all the genera circumscribed by van der Weff and Richter (1996), as well as three additional genera. Partial support for
4482-427: The end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event , among the highest of any continent, with the casualties including saber-toothed cats , ground sloths , glyptodonts , gomphotheres , the equines Hippidion and Equus neogeus , and all remaining South American native ungulates . South America is thought to have been first inhabited by humans when people were crossing
4565-407: The families Cotingidae , Columbidae , Trogonidae , Turdidae , and Ramphastidae , amongst others. Birds that are specialised frugivores tend to eat the whole fruit and regurgitate seeds intact, thereby releasing the seeds in favourable situations for germination ( ornithochory ). Some other birds that swallow the fruit pass the seed intact through their guts. Seed dispersal of various species in
4648-542: The family however, occur pantropically in general lowland and Afromontane forest, and in Africa for example there are species endemic to countries such as Cameroon , Sudan , Tanzania , Uganda and Congo . Several relict species in the Lauraceae occur in temperate areas of both hemispheres. Many botanical species in other families have similar foliage to the Lauraceae due to convergent evolution , and forests of such plants are called laurel forest . These plants are adapted to high rainfall and humidity, and have leaves with
4731-482: The family include these genera: These genera have traditionally been considered separate within Lauraceae, but have not been included in the most recent treatments: A laurel wreath , a round or horseshoe-shaped wreath made of connected laurel branches and leaves, is an ancient symbol of triumph in classical Western culture originating in Greek mythology , and is associated in some countries with academic or literary achievement. South America South America
4814-432: The family is also carried out by monkeys , arboreal rodents , porcupines , opossums , and fishes . Hydrochory occurs in Caryodaphnopsis . The leaves of some species in the Lauraceae have domatia in the axils of their veins . The domatia are home to certain mites . Other lauraceous species, members of the genus Pleurothyrium in particular, have a symbiotic relationship with ants that protect and defend
4897-469: The flowers are small. The perianth is glabrous or puberulent outside and densely pubescent inside. The purplish-black fruit is an ovate, ellipsoidal or subglobose drupe. The perianth-cup in fruit is cupuliform. Cinnamomum parthenoxylon and Cinnamomum camphora are large evergreen trees that can grow to 30 m in height with trunks 3 m in diameter, with broadly ovate crowns. Terminal buds are broadly ovoid or globular, and covered with sericeous scales. Bark
4980-649: The genera Ocotea ) are partly immersed or covered in a cup-shaped or deep thick cupule , which is formed from the tube of the calyx where the peduncle joins the fruit; this gives the fruit an appearance similar to an acorn . In some Lindera species, the fruit have a hypocarpium at the base of the fruit. Because the family is so ancient and was so widely distributed on the Gondwana supercontinent , modern species commonly occur in relict populations isolated by geographical barriers, for instance on islands or tropical mountains. Relict forests retain endemic fauna and flora in communities of great value in inferring
5063-502: The great city of Cusco , the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu , and "the land of the four regions", in Quechua , the Inca Empire was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some nine to fourteen million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system . Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming
SECTION 60
#17327906597615146-454: The groupings, it is not fully accepted by the scientific community. Their classification is based on inflorescence structure and wood and bark anatomy. It divides Lauraceae into two subfamilies, Cassythoideae and Lauroideae. The Cassythoideae comprise a single genus, Cassytha , and are defined by their herbaceous, parasitic habit. The Lauroideae are then divided into three tribes: Laureae, Perseeae, and Cryptocaryeae. The subfamily Cassythoideae
5229-931: The huge amount of variation within the family poses a major challenge for developing a reliable classification. The adaptation of Lauraceae to new environments has followed a long evolutionary journey which has led to many specializations , including defensive or deterrent systems against other organisms. Phytochemicals in the Lauraceae are numerous and diverse. Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids include aporphines and oxoaporphines , as well as derivatives of morphinans . Essential oils include terpenoids , benzyl benzoates , allylphenols , and propenylphenols . Lignans and neolignans are present, along with S -methyl-5-O- flavonoids , proanthocyanidins , cinnamoylamides , phenylpyrroles, styryl pyrones , polyketides ( acetogenins ), furanosesquiterpenes , and germacranolidous , heliangolidous , eudesmanolidous and guaianolidous sesquiterpene lactones . Recent taxonomic revisions of
5312-417: The island is geopolitically a part of Africa. All of the world's major climate zones are present in South America. The distribution of the average temperatures in the region presents a constant regularity from the 30° of latitude south , when the isotherms tend, more and more, to be confused with the degrees of latitude. In temperate latitudes, winters and summers are milder than in North America. This
5395-487: The islands of Trinidad and Tobago ( Trinidad Island and Tobago Island etc.), the State of Nueva Esparta , and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela sit on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf and are sometimes considered parts of the continent. Geopolitically, all the island countries and territories in the Caribbean have generally been grouped as a subregion of North America instead. By contrast, Aves Island (administered by Venezuela ) and
5478-466: The land outside Europe should be an exclusive duopoly between the two countries. The treaty established an imaginary line along a north–south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands , roughly 46° 37' W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the west of the line (known to comprise most of the South American soil) would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of longitude were impossible at that time,
5561-436: The leaves are mostly triplinerved or sometimes inconspicuously five-nerved, with conspicuous midrib on both surfaces. The axils of lateral nerves and veins are conspicuously bullate above and dome-shaped. Terminal buds are perulate. The axillary panicle is 3.5–7 cm long. It is a genus of monoecious species, with hermaphrodite flowers, greenish white, white to yellow are glabrous or downy and pale to yellowish brown. Mostly
5644-549: The leaves to shed water despite the humidity, allowing respiration from plant. Mostly, the plants present a distinct odor. Their alternate leaves are ovate-elliptic, with margins entire or occasionally repand, with acute apices and broadly cuneate to subrounded bases. Upper leaf surfaces are shiny green to yellowish-green, while the undersides are opaque and lighter in color. Mature leaves are dark green. Young leaves are reddish brown to yellowish-red. The leaves are glabrous on both surfaces or sparsely puberulent beneath only when young;
5727-439: The levels of periodic floods that drown competing plants which lack such adaptations. Paleobotanists have suggested the family originated some 174±32 million years ago (Mya), while others do not believe they are older than the mid- Cretaceous . Fossil flowers attributed to this family occur in Cenomanian clays (mid-Cretaceous, 90-98 Mya) of the Eastern United States ( Mauldinia mirabilis ). Fossils of Lauraceae are common in
5810-476: The line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors , first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies. European infectious diseases ( smallpox , influenza , measles , and typhus ) – to which
5893-402: The mid-17th century. It became a Dutch colony in 1667. The indigenous peoples of the Americas in various European colonies were forced to work in European plantations and mines; along with enslaved Africans who were also introduced in the proceeding centuries via the slave trade . European colonists were heavily dependent on indigenous labor during the initial phases of settlement to maintain
5976-473: The rest of the family (with one exception) develops a nuclear-type endosperm. Kimoto et al. (2006) suggest Cassytha should be placed in the tribe Cryptocaryeae because it shares a glandular anther tapetum and an embryo sac protruding from the nucellus with other members of the Cryptocaryeae. The tribes Laureae and Perseeae are not well supported by any molecular or embryological studies. Sequences of
6059-478: The spice of cinnamon . This genus is present in the Himalayas and other mountain areas and is present in tropical and subtropical montane rainforests, in the weed-tree forests, in valleys, and mixed forests of coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved trees, from southern China, India, and Southeast Asia . Some species, such as Cinnamomum camphora , tolerate drought. All species tested so far are diploid , with
6142-421: The subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America. One of the earliest known South American civilizations was Caral–Supe , on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Caral–Supe created one of the first cities of the world, generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga in
6225-411: The subsistence economy, and natives were often captured by expeditions. The importation of African slaves began midway through the 16th century, but the enslavement of indigenous peoples continued well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade brought enslaved Africans primarily to South American colonies, beginning with the Portuguese since 1502. The main destinations of this phase were
6308-411: The total number of chromosomes being 24. This Lauraceae genus comprises approximately 250 trees and shrubs and most are aromatic. Some trees produce sprouts. The thick, leathery leaves are dark green, lauroid type. Laurophyll or lauroid leaves are characterized by a generous layer of wax, making them glossy in appearance, and narrow, pointed oval in shape with an 'apical mucro', or 'drip tip', which permits
6391-485: The tree. Some Ocotea species are also used as nesting sites by ants, which may live in leaf pockets or in hollowed-out stems. Defense mechanisms that occur among members of the Lauraceae include irritant or toxic sap or tissues that repel or poison many herbivorous organisms. Trees of the family predominate in the world's laurel forests and cloud forests , which occur in tropical to mild temperate regions of both northern and southern hemispheres. Other members of
6474-471: The tribe is also attained from the matK sequences of chloroplast genes as well as embryology. Challenges in Lauraceae classification The knowledge of the species comprising the Lauraceae is incomplete. In 1991, about 25-30% of neotropical Lauraceae species had not been described. In 2001, embryological studies had only been completed on individuals from 26 genera yielding a 38.9% level of knowledge, in terms of embryology, for this family. Additionally,
6557-518: The virulent fungal pathogen Raffaelea lauricola , a native of southern Asia , was found in the southeast United States in 2002. The fungus spreads between hosts via a wood-boring beetle, Xyleborus glabratus , with which it has a symbiotic relationship. Several Lauraceae species are affected. The beetle and disease are believed to have arrived in the US via infected solid wood packing material, and have since spread to several states. Classification within
6640-573: The western European architectural style to the continent, and helped to improve infrastructures like bridges, roads, and the sewer system of the cities they discovered or conquered. They also significantly increased economic and trade relations, not just between the old and new world but between the different South American regions and peoples. Finally, with the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish languages, many cultures that were previously separated became united through that of Latin American. Guyana
6723-472: Was Chile in 1823, Uruguay in 1830, Bolivia in 1831, Guyana in 1833, Colombia and Ecuador in 1851, Argentina in 1853, Peru and Venezuela in 1854, Suriname in 1863, Paraguay in 1869, and in 1888 Brazil was the last South American nation and the last country in western world to abolish slavery. The European Peninsular War (1807–14), a theater of the Napoleonic Wars , changed the political situation of
6806-689: Was a useful form of agriculture. The Mapuche in Central and Southern Chile resisted the European and Chilean settlers, waging the Arauco War for more than 300 years. In 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime European powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas , by which they agreed, with the support of the Pope, that all
6889-562: Was initially colonized by the Dutch before coming under British control , though there was a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars when it was occupied by the French . The region was initially partitioned between the Dutch, French and British before fully coming under the control of Britain. Suriname was first explored by the Spanish in the 16th century and then settled by the English in
#760239