Schlumbergera truncata - When cultivated as a house plant, it is referred to as a “Christmas cactus.” Schlumbergera consists of six species of plants endemic to Southeastern Brazil. These plants are leafless; the green stems serve as the source of the photosynthesis process. Schlumbergeras are either epiphytic, living with a tree in a nonparasitic relationship or epilithic, living in a rocky crevice. In both cases it derives its nutrients from the air or decaying matter falling within its space.
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The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in June of 1494 and divided the newly discovered lands of the Americas between Portugal and Spain. The dividing line fell 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This was the halfway point between the Cape Verde Islands, already belonged to Portugal, and the territory Cristóbal Colón had claimed for Spain on his first voyage. The dividing line was not clearly defined nor strictly enforced; the current border of Brazil exceeds the limits of the treaty considerably.
