Story and photos by Joe Benassini, Urban Forestry Manager, City of Sacramento, California Pond on the estate of Burle Marx Urban canopy in Ipanema, a neighborhood in the southern part of Rio n late fall of 2011 I had the good fortune to Mature street and park tree care, including pruning and visit the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil—nicknamed “the removal, is performed by the solid waste department, Imarvelous city”—through SMA’s Municipal Arborist responsible for solid waste management citywide, includ- Exchange Program. I was hosted by Parks and Gardens ing cleanliness and general maintenance of all municipal Foundation Director of Arboriculture Flavio Pereira Telles streets, parks and gardens. Conversely, the Parks and along with his colleagues and family. I had previously Garden Foundation is responsible for administration, hosted Flavio in the City of Sacramento, and this second project planning and design, forestation and conserva- half of the exchange allowed me to witness firsthand tion of over two thousand public plazas and squares, some of the practices, problems, and opportunities in urban and natural parks, and streetscapes. The Parks and Rio’s urban forestry program that we had discussed during Gardens Foundation is housed under the Secretariat of his visit. the Environment. Rio’s forestry program differs from the model that we most Flavio had prepared an ambitious schedule for my visit, often see in the U.S. and Canada in that tree planting and and from the moment I stepped out of customs we were replacement is separated from routine tree maintenance on the go. First up was a visit to Quinta da Boa Vista From left to right: Rio Parks and Gardens Foundation staff Roberto Okabayashi, Alessandra Veloso, and Luciane Valente; Burle Marx by the department or agency under which it is managed. (“pleasant view”), a park of great historical importance Estate guide Marlon Souza; exchange host Flavio Telles; and exchange participant Joe Benassini. 10 City Trees www.urban-forestry.com 11 in the city. Originally a Jesuit farm with a hilltop view of be used by Rio’s colonial high society, it was eventually Guanabara Bay, the site eventually became the estate opened to the public. Like Campo de Santana, the history of the emperors of Brazil. Today, the park is home to the of the park was evident in its oldest trees. The Passeio National Museum and Rio’s Zoological Garden. Quinta da Publico contains the only baobob (Adansonia grandidieri) Boa Vista is one of the largest and most popular parks in the city and one of only 21 in all of Brazil. In the heart in the city, and many of the trees are original to the time of Centro, or downtown, the park is heavily used by city of the emperors. Included were many figueiras, a name residents and workers. applied to any number of species of the genus Ficus. The characteristic root flare of these ancient trees gave them After an incredible lunch, we were off to yet another city away from a distance. park, although this one was closer to the Rio de Janeiro that we see in the travel brochures. Flamingo Park flanks We spent the rest of the day touring local neighborhoods Flamingo Beach for a distance of approximately 1.24 miles in the North Zone, checking the growth and progress of (2 km). Designed by world-famous landscape architect newer street trees in the area. This is one of the most Burle Marx, the park’s 296 acres (120 hectares) of land congested and busiest zones of the city, and typical of sits across from the famed Sugarloaf Mountain and holds large cities everywhere, establishing and maintaining 11,000 trees and 4,000 palms of approximately 150 differ- street trees is challenging. Overhead utilities present sig- ent species. Of particular interest here were several exam- nificant barriers. Nonetheless, shade and flowering trees ples of brazilwood (Caesalpinia echinata), after which the are abundant, including amendoeira (Terminalia catappa), country is named. Once a common tree of coastal Brazil, algodeiro (Hibiscus tiliaceus), and munguba (Pachira it was brought close to extinction by the early traders who aquatica). Palms are commonly used, particularly where shipped the wood to the European continent to extract a planting space is limited. Admirably, there is an emphasis highly valued red dye. Fruit trees such as jambu (Syzygium on using species native to the region wherever possible. samarangense) and pitanga (Eugenia uniflora) were also The following day I was introduced to the staff at the abundant in Flamingo Park. Foundation, including landscape architects, civil engi- My third day held a special surprise. Rio de Janeiro is neers, biologists, and foresters. The staff of 20 was highly home to Floresta da Tijuca, a mountainous hand-planted educated, very professional, and as interested as I am in rainforest and the world’s largest urban forest, cover- common goals and challenges in arboriculture and urban ing some 7,907 acres (3,200 hectares). The Atlantic greening in general. We agreed that our impediments Rainforest is home to hundreds of species of plants, are the same, and probably so everywhere. Urban trees many threatened by extinction, found only in that eco- tend to be undervalued, and successfully incorporating system. After the original forest had been destroyed to them into the fabric of city infrastructure requires strong make way for coffee farms, it was replanted by hand in partnerships. The Foundation office is located in Campo 1861 in a successful effort to preserve Rio’s water sup- de Santana, another of the many historic parks in the city. ply. Now a national park, the forest includes some of the Founded in the late 17th century as a military compound, most famous attractions of Rio, including the Christ the it was transformed into a park in 1873. Over sixty thou- Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain. With 79 inches sand individual plants and trees were introduced, many (200 cm) of rain a year, the forest is dense and bromeli- of which are still in existence today. Here again were ads, epiphytes, and ferns cling to ipê (Tabebuia), jequitiba numerous ancient figueiras, including banyan fig (Ficus (Coriniana legalis), painera (Chorisia speciosa), embauba religiosa), rubber tree (F. elastica), and Indian laurel (F. (Cecropia sp.), and a host of other species. Researchers microcarpa). Along with the many figuerias, oiti (Licania from the New York Botanical Garden catalogued 458 spe- tomentosa) and sterculia (Sterculia foetida), so named for cies of plants on one hectare of Atlantic Rainforest alone. its unpleasant odor, were prominent. Unfortunately, this incredible forest is in rapid decline as From Campo de Santana, we walked to the Passeio a result of human activity. Publico. Built in the 1779, it is the oldest public park in On my fourth day I had the opportunity to learn about Brazil and one of the oldest in the Americas. Like many the restinga, a distinct ecosystem within the Atlantic parks of the day, the Passeio Publico is a formal garden Rainforest. Restingas are coastal lowland plant com- and includes lawns and trees, interspersed with statues, munities and form on sandy and saline soils. Tree cover fountains, moats, and pavilions. Originally intended to tends to be compact and mixed with bromeliads, ferns, shrubs, vines, cacti, palms and epiphytes, including some The infloresence of Talipo palm (Corypha umbraculifera) is the interesting orchids. Though occasionally punctuated by largest of any plant in the world. One of the largest palms in the world, it flowers only once at maturity, and dies after fruiting. exotics such as beefwood (Casuarina stricta), canopy 12 City Trees www.urban-forestry.com 13 height ranges from only 3.2 to 9.8 feet (1 to 3 meters). I pieces. Over time, Marx became an expert collector of was surprised to see Brazilian pepper trees (Schinus ter- exotic and unusual plants and established an incredible ebinthifolius), a medium size tree in California, growing as landscape surrounding his house and studio. The estate, a low shrub and mixed with passion fruit vine (Passiflora now a national monument, holds over 4,500 species of sp.) and Brazilian cherry (Eugenia braziliensis). We toured plants and includes a 5-acre (2-hectare) rare plant nursery. several conservation areas dedicated to this unique plant His use of broad swaths and large groupings of plants, community, including the coastal beaches of Recreio. free-form water features, and vistas punctuated by groves Here, where there is tremendous development pressure, of trees and palms is classic Marx. The garden shows like huge conservation easements to protect the restinga are a giant abstract painting with no edges. Here we saw rain- placed between the white sand beaches and rows of mod- bow eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta), Brazilian ironwood ern new apartment blocks. (Caesalpinia ferrea), and countless other trees and palms The afternoon brought a chance to observe some of at their best. Marx is considered by many to be the most the field staff at work clearing a coastal creek corridor influential landscape architect of the 20th century. of invasive exotics. Local residents are fond of tropical Over the following days I was able to spend some time houseplants and Ficus benjamina seems to show up in at Rio’s Botanical Garden. Originally intended for accli- parks and on streets everywhere. Interestingly, the clear- matization of spices from the West Indies, the garden ing on this project also served an underlying purpose: Bamboo tree protection cage Sugarloaf Mountain with Floresta de Tijuca, the world’s largest was opened to the public in 1822. The Botanical Garden urban forest, in the distance to expose the creek to residents and call attention to a houses the School of Tropical Botany, an important tropi- severe pollution problem of untreated sewage and runoff.