As would-be cultivators of the Brazil nut would later discover to their dismay, the tree’s hooded flowers have evolved to require pollination by a small group of large-bodied bees which are strong enough to pry them open. Those bees, in turn, rely for their own reproduction on a certain type of rain forest orchid, whose absence or disruption is devastating to the production of nearby Brazil nut trees. Even when a mature fruit is successfully produced, moreover, the Brazil nut’s hard casing is so effective at deterring unwanted predators that it can only be opened and dispersed by the agouti, a
...more
