Biome
Plants of the Atlantic Forest biome
A humid biome of varied terrain and enormous diversity — and home to much of Brazil's experience with syntropic agriculture. The list runs from fast pioneers to climax timber, which leaves room to design complete successions. Each species' relation to the biome is on its profile.
284 species in the catalog · Refine this list in the catalog
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jelly palm
Butia odorata
Climax Medium No biomass productionNative palm of the Pampa and southern grasslands. 4–8 m, leaf-base covered trunk. Orange-yellow fruits with fibrous sweet-tart flesh — basis of jel...
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pigeon pea
Cajanus cajan
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerShort-cycle shrubby legume that fixes nitrogen, widely used in Brazilian agroforestry as green manure, early shade and food. Vigorous on poor soils.
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calliandra
Calliandra calothyrsus
Placenta II Medium Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerA very fast-growing leguminous shrub or small tree, usually 4-6 m tall, native to Central America. A nitrogen fixer that coppices vigorously after ...
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cambuci
Campomanesia phaea
Secondary II Medium No biomass productionNative fruit endemic to the São Paulo Atlantic Forest, threatened with extinction. Pasini lists it in the medium stratum of Tabela 3. Aromatic gree...
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Brazilian jack bean
Canavalia brasiliensis
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume native to Brazil, cousin of feijão-de-porco. Listed in Embrapa CT-16 Tabela 1 as a cover crop alongside crotalarias a...
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jack bean
Canavalia ensiformis
Placenta I Low Fertilizer biomass 🌱 Nitrogen fixerAnnual nitrogen-fixing legume with strong soil-decompacting and weed-suppressing ability. Explicitly cited by Pasini among Accumulation-system spec...
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cumari pepper
Capsicum baccatum
Placenta II Low No biomass productionNative Brazilian forest pepper, small (~1 cm) very pungent fruits (30,000–100,000 SHU). Tolerates partial shade — riparian forest understory and ho...
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dedo-de-moça pepper
Capsicum baccatum
Placenta II Low No biomass productionBrazil's most-consumed fresh chili (5,000–30,000 SHU). Elongated red fruits (~6 cm). 1–1.5 m plant, open canopy. Backbone of the sauce and pickle i...
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pimenta de cheiro
Capsicum chinense
Placenta II Low No biomass productionBrazilian C. chinense pepper with low pungency (0–500 SHU) and very intense aroma. Round yellow/green/red fruits. Foundation of Pará and Amazon cui...
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biquinho pepper
Capsicum chinense
Placenta II Low No biomass productionBrazilian C. chinense cultivar with low pungency (0–200 SHU) and intense aroma, teardrop shape. Origin in southern Minas Gerais. 60–90 cm plant, de...
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malagueta pepper
Capsicum frutescens
Placenta II Low No biomass productionVery pungent Brazilian pepper (60,000–100,000 SHU), small upright red fruits. Perennial in tropical zones (3–5 years). Tolerates light shade. Widel...
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papaya
Carica papaya
Placenta II High Mulch biomassShort-cycle Placenta II species occupying the high stratum for 2–4 years. Fruits 9–12 months after planting.
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jequitibá
Cariniana legalis
Climax EmergentEmergent giant of the Atlantic Forest; climax species forming the uppermost canopy stratum of dense ombrophilous forest. Can exceed 60 m at maturit...
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pecan
Carya illinoinensis
Secondary II High No biomass productionPecan, a large deciduous tree of the Juglandaceae family, native to North America and successfully grown in southern Brazil, especially Rio Grande ...
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sweet chestnut
Castanea sativa
Secondary II High No biomass productionEuropean sweet chestnut, a large deciduous tree of the Fagaceae family, exotic to Brazil and suited to cold temperate regions of the south. It tole...
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trumpet tree
Cecropia pachystachya
Placenta II Medium Mulch biomassFast-growing, short-lived (~20 years) pioneer tree that colonizes edges and gaps in all Brazilian biomes. Fruits eaten by birds and primates; symbi...
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Spanish cedar
Cedrela fissilis
Secondary II High Mulch biomassPremium native timber of the Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, and Amazonia. Pasini lists it in the high stratum of Tabela 3 and cites it as a premium timb...
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kapok tree
Ceiba pentandra
Climax Emergent Mulch biomassAmazonian emergent giant reaching 70 m — one of the tallest trees of the American tropics. Pasini lists it in the emergent stratum of Tabela 3. Sac...
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silk floss tree
Ceiba speciosa
Secondary I EmergentDeciduous Atlantic Forest tree reaching 15–30 m with a crown up to 20 m wide. Fast growth (~6 m in 2–3 years). Trunk often armed with conical spines.
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vetiver
Chrysopogon zizanioides
Placenta II Low Mulch biomassPerennial grass with deep vertical roots (up to 4 m), originally from India. The Bosque de Niebla Guidebook recommends vetiver as a hedgerow specie...
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common chicory
Cichorium intybus
Placenta I Medium No biomass productionBitter perennial leafy green with deep taproots — an excellent soil decompactor. Pasini lists it in the medium stratum of Tabela 3. Leaves used in ...
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watermelon
Citrullus lanatus
Placenta I Ground cover No biomass productionAnnual creeping cucurbit with large fruit. Embrapa CT-16 plants it in the planting holes of forest and fruit species during the initial agroforestr...
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Persian lime
Citrus × latifolia
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionMedium-stratum citrus in syntropic systems. Pasini cites 'lemon' as a stratification example next to coffee (low), avocado (high), and eucalyptus (...
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grapefruit
Citrus × paradisi
Secondary I Medium No biomass productionMedium-stratum citrus in syntropic systems. The Bosque de Niebla Guidebook lists grapefruit in the Secondary phase of the medium stratum, alongside...
❓ Frequently asked questions
What characterizes the Atlantic Forest biome?
Humid tropical forest that once covered Brazil's entire east coast. Less than 12% of original cover remains — restoring it is one of the central goals of Brazilian syntropic agriculture. High diversity of fruit, timber, and pioneer species adapted to a tropical-highland climate.
Which plants does the catalog suggest for the Atlantic Forest biome?
The catalog holds 284 species, among them jelly palm, pigeon pea, calliandra. Each profile shows stratum, succession stage, and the management data, with sources cited.