Orchid Nursery in Santos gathers native species from the Atlantic Forest

Located in the middle of the urban area, very close to the beach, the Orchid Nursery in Santos is a true sanctuary of tropical forest. In an area of ??22,240 thousand square meters, the Orquidário (as they say) gathers several plant species native to the Atlantic Forest and specimens of the tropical forest in Brazil and also from other countries.

The Orquidário has about 1,500 trees and shrubs. They are fruit and medicinal trees, as well as native trees such as brazilwood, embaúba, ipe-purple and ironwood, totaling 137 tree species from 36 families. Highlight for the 30-meter-high kingwood, the tallest tree in the park, which can be seen right at the entrance.

The name of the park comes from the rich collection of orchids: there are about 3,500 orchids of 120 species, the vast majority of which are affixed to trees.

Old Indigenous Park

The park was inaugurated in 1945, with the collection of orchids and other species that existed in the Indigenous Park, a large area located on Boqueirão beach where its owner, Júlio Conceição (the first orchidist in Brazil) grew about 90 thousand orchids. After his death, the family donated the collection to the city. Right at the entrance to the Orchidarium there is a statue in honor of Júlio Conceição.

Loose animals

The Orquidário has about 500 animals, of 70 species, many of which live free, like agouti, tortoises, tortoises and saracuras.

But the big stars are the peacocks, who walk through the woods and alleys of the park and, without warning, surprise the visitor by opening their beautiful fan-shaped tail. The Orquidário also serves as a shelter for migratory birds, which find the right environment in which to feed and rest.

Other attractions of the park are the Honey Trail, where there are six hives (of wild bees (iraí, jataí, mandaçaia, mandurim and mirim) without sting; Jardim Sensoria, where visitors can meet different species by touch; and Viveiro de Visitação Indoor, where birds come to land very close to people.

Address: Washington Square, José Menino.

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