JAMBU: a herb of the Compositae family (Wulffia stenoglossa) with yellow flowers. Its leaves are eaten boiled, and used to flavor rice. It is an essential ingredient of tacacá.

JARAQUI: a fish (Prochilodus toeniatus), common in the Amazon, that lives in shoals.

JATOBÁ: a tree of the Leguminosae (Hymenaea courbaril) found throughout much of Brazil, and exploited for its wood.

KING OF THE BELGIANS: Albert I (1871-1934), who visited Brazil in 1922, during the celebrations of the centenary of the country’s independence.

MANAUS HARBOR: originally the name of the (British) company that administered the Port of Manaus; the name came to signify the whole port area of the city, with its warehouses, docks, etc.

MATRINXÃ: a medium-sized fish of the freshwater genus Characinidae.

MULATEIRO: another name for pau-mulato (q.v.).

MURUPI: a small, yellow pepper.

NHEENGATU: a language of indigenous, Tupi origin, though with European influence, also known as lingua geral (general language), and much used as a lingua franca in the Brazilian past and in the Amazonian region.

OITIZEIRO: a tropical tree (Licanea tomentosa) of the Rosaceae family, much used in streets, parks, etc., with pale yellow flowers.

PACOVÃ: a type of banana, also called banana comprida (long banana) in the Amazon. It is eaten fried or roasted.

PACU: a fish of the freshwater genus Characinidae, similar to the piranha, but a herbivore.

PARÁ (ESSENCE OF): PATCHOULI: a herb native to India, from which an oil much used for perfume is extracted. In Amazonia, the powder made from this herb is used to fill sachets for perfuming clothes.

PAULISTA: name given to people from the state, and the city, of Sao Paulo, the largest in Brazil, and the center of the country’s wealth and industry.

PAU-MULATO: as is said in the novel, the pau-mulato (Calcophylum spruceanum) is a large, handsome tree of the Rubiaceae, which also contains the coffee bush. The name also has an obscene connotation, however: pau is a common word for “cock.”

PAU-RAINHA: a tree of the rain forest (Centrolobium paraense), a member of the Leguminosae, with valuable wood, streaked yellow and brownish-red.

PIASSAVA: a palm tree (Leopoldina piassaba) that produces a coarse fiber used for making brushes.

PIRARUCU: the largest freshwater fish (Arapaima gigas), which grows up to eight feet long. Its meat is highly prized, and it has a rough tongue used as a grater.

PITOMBA: the fruit of a bush of the Sapindaceae family (Talisia esculenta), which is small and red.

QUIBE: an Arab dish, made of raw lamb and whole wheat, seasoned with mint, etc.

RUI BARBOSA: a famous Brazilian politician (1849-1923), the first finance minister in the Republic (1889), later candidate for president (1910), who is particularly famous for representing Brazil at the peace conference at The Hague in 1907. He is known as A águia da Haia (“The Eagle of The Hague”), but has another reputation, for pomposity, vanity, and exaggeratedly “fine” writing.