http://www.heygo.com 2nd May - Botanical Gardens Rio de Janeiro It was founded in 1808 by John, prince regent of the United Kingdom of Brazil and Portugal (later King John VI, for introducing and acclimatizing economically beneficial plants brought from other tropical regions of the world. Originally intended for the acclimatization of spices like nutmeg,pepper and cinnamon imported from the West Indies. The garden was opened to the public in 1822. The park itself consists of the Botanical Garden, research centers, museum collections, cultural centres. The diversity of plants is extraordinary and is mostly made up of vegetation from the Atlantic forest yet approximately 40% is cultivated on site. This unique setup is home to 140 species of birds including the channel-billed toucan and the white-necked hawk. It also boasts wild monkeys and which
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