About Us
We are different, very different. We the plants are Earth's inhabitants for about 500 million years. Our ancestors, the cyanobacteria and algae, developed the ability to carry out photosynthesis about 1.2 billion years ago, and that made life possible in our planet. We share the same DNA code with all other living creatures, descending from the same single ancestor. (1) We are about 300,000 different species, the majority of us with properties and capabilities still unknown to humankind to a large extent. We interact constantly with our cousins: Animalia, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea (single-celled organisms) and Protists (virus and such). Our bodies are multicellular and modular, which make us unique and allow us to dominate the environment like no other, due to our multiple senses and adaptability.
Who We Are (the site editors):
Romel and Fatima Bezerra are married for over 50 years and share a particular love of plants, trees and nature. Fatima is an avid gardener, with a recognized "green thumb", who caters for many species on her beautiful, always changing garden. She is also a photographer, with thousand of pictures (the majority from her own plants), some of them showing on this website.
Romel is a wood products trader for over 40 years, specializing in tropical hardwoods from Brazil and South America.
He has successfully introduced various lesser-known-species which are now traded worldwide. This is recognized by many as an effective way to decrease the risk of extinction of high-demand species like Mahogany and Ipe. His deep love of trees has naturally moved him into Botany, Biology and Genetics. He likes to repeat that "wood is alive, wood has a soul".