Palm trees of the Amazon and their uses

"Palm Trees of the Amazon and Their Uses" by Alfred Russel Wallace is a scientific account from the 1800s that shines a light on the many kinds of palm trees growing in the Amazon and how they are used by the people who live there. Wallace's writing shares his up-close look at these palm trees from his time traveling the Amazon, explaining what the trees look like and how the native people use them. Wallace was amazed by the Amazon's plant life and the many different palm trees he saw. He talks about how hard it can be to tell the palm trees apart and how he made careful drawings to help. Wallace makes it clear that palm trees are super important to the native people, since they use them for everything from building houses to finding food, setting the scene for a closer look at these important plants and why they matter.