Lexical and Botanical Elements of the Tropical Cornucopia in Silvestre de Balboa's Espejo de paciencia

This article examines the lexical and botanical elements of the catalog of plants, flowers and vegetables of Espejo de paciencia by Silvestre de Balboa. The description of the flora follows a model tradition that seeks to renew the description of the ideal landscape from the genre of classical bucolic eclogue, transformed by the Renaissance eclogue. Among the most significant changes appear the use of indigenous lexicons and cumulative descriptions, which by their reiteration, seek to insist on the abundance and richness of Cuban nature.