A History of Agriculture in India v2.c72.s6.5

v2.c72.s6.5

The significance of Brazil to the Old World largely lies in the new plants which it contributed. The rubber plant, *Hevea brasiliensis*, originated in the tropical rain-forests of the Amazon Valley in Brazil. In A.D. 1876 its seeds were brought to Kew and from there were sent to Ceylon, Malaya and Java, which now supply most of the rubber, while the mother country Brazil supplies hardly two per cent of the world production. To India, Brazil gave two most beautiful ornamental plants, viz. *Jacaranda* mimosifolia, with violet-blue flowers, and *Solanum macranthum*, the brinjal-tree with purple and white flowers.