Rainforest Plants Information

Rainforest plants are critical to the well-being of all humanity. According to the Bosque Lluvioso Foundation Research Center in Costa Rica, at least two-thirds of all the earth's plants are located in tropical rainforests and 25 percent of the world's medicines are made from rainforest plants and trees.

Rainforest Environment

The warm, moist climate of the tropical rainforest creates a perfect environment for a wide variety of plants. The heat and constant supply of water allows them to thrive. However, because there are so many plants and such a wide variety of them, they are in competition for resources such as light and nutrients which lead them to evolve in unique ways.

Bromeliads

Related to the pineapple, bromeliads have waxy leaves that are shaped to catch rainwater. Because of this, sometimes a number or smaller creatures such as insects, frogs and occasionally salamanders live in these plants, often co-existing in one bromeliad.

Vines

Climbing vines, also called lianas, are found growing from the forest floor and reach to the top of the tree canopy. These include philodendron and palm rattan. These vines sometimes grow up to 3,000 feet in length. They climb trees and larger plants by attaching themselves to the plants and wind up the stem or trunk, often intertwining with other vines, which gives both vines and trees added stability.

Strangler Figs

Strangler figs, a plant belonging to the Ficus family, are so named because they choke out their host plant or tree. Unlike the lianas, these figs actually grow from the top of trees and other canopy level plants, sending down long roots to the forest floor below. These roots wrap around the host tree, burrowing into it, sucking it dry of nutrients. They often kill the host tree, which decays, leaving a shell of strangler fig roots in the shape of the dead tree.

Decomposer Plants

Saprophytes speed the decomposition of plants and animals on the floor of the rain forest. These plants help provide nutrients to other life forms that exist on the forest floor. Plants that do this job range from fungi, called mycorrhizas, to microbes. These plants recycle nutrients from decaying matter so that healthy plants and trees can reabsorb them.

Flowers

The tropical rain forest contains an abundance of flowers, most of which have evolved with brilliant colors or enticing scents to attract birds and insects for pollination and propagation. White trillium, rain forest buttercup, bougainvillea, opium poppies, over 20,000 species of orchids, and many more come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Some plants, like the Venus flytrap and pitcher plant, even have flowers that attract insects and small animals to the plant. The plant lures them in and then consumes them as a source of nutrients.

Other Plants

Other plants native to tropical rain forests are varieties of ferns, lilies, bamboo, mangroves, curare, banana and other fruit trees, coffee beans, various spice plants and many more.

Resources

• Raintree Nutrition
• 21st C Resources - "Et Tu, O2?"