Between 1849 and 1864, the English botanist and explorer Richard Spruce carried out a detailed study of the Amazon flora and the costumes of the peoples who inhabited the region. To date a large part of the existing knowledge about several botanical families in the region stems from this scientist’s efforts. His comprehensive interests, his detailed and precise descriptions were outstanding: nothing seems to have been left out of his scrutiny and recording aptitude. Not only was Spruce a remarkable botanist but he was also a distinctive anthropologist, linguist (he knew French, Spanish and Portuguese), geologist and geographer, as well as an acute sociological observer of the political systems and habits of the Amazonian and Andean tribes in which he has been. He could thus make a considerable contribution to the understanding of indigenous beliefs and practices, as well as to the knowledge and uses of plants within the Amazonian context. Also important was his participation in the economic exploration of local species, particularly as regards the Hevea and the Cinchona genera.
Richard Spruce; botanical exploration of the Amazon; Cinchona plantations in Southeast Asia; Amazon ethnobotany