The following adaptations allow plants to survive in the conditions of the rainforest. Lianas - these are woody vines that have roots in the ground but climb up the trees to reach the sunlight. Their leaves and flowers grow in the canopy. Tree trunks - these are tall and thin to allow trees to reach the sunlight.
Heliconias are one of the most showy, distinctively tropical flowers with beautiful, brilliant colorful flowering bracts. Formerly classified in the banana family (Musaceae), the leaves and their general shape do resemble banana and bird of paradise (Strelitziaceae), but the flowers are very different.
Most rainforests are structured in four layers: emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor.
A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator, and has at least 60 millimetres (2.4 in) of rainfall every month of the year. A tropical rainforest climate is typically hot, very humid, and wet.
The Plants of the Tropical Rainforest
- Heliconia Flower. It is one of the most beautiful plants in the Amazon rainforest.
- Rubber Tree. From the economical point of view, rubber tree is the most important plant of the rainforest.
- Orchids. The most exquisite rainforest flowers that you will find are orchids.
- Cacao.
- Goliath Water Lilies.
- Passion Fruit Flower.
The Coolest Plants Found in the Amazon Rainforest
- Heliconia Flower (Lobster-Claw)
- Orchids.
- Cacao (Theobroma cacao)
- Giant Water Lilies (Victoria amazonica)
- Passion Fruit Flower (Passiflora)
- Bromeliads (Bromeliaceae)
- Monkey Brush Vine (Combretum rotundifolium)
- Coffee Plant (Coffea)
While tropical forests often seem quiet on the ground, the forest canopy buzzes with life. Amazon rainforest trees support hundreds of species of vines and epiphytes such as orchids, bromeliads, and mosses. More than plants, the canopy provides the structure for birds and arboreal animals such as sloths and monkeys.
Cats Of The Amazon Rainforest
- Jaguar. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest cat species native to the New World and the third largest in the world behind tigers and lions.
- Puma.
- Jaguarundi.
- Ocelot.
- Margay.
Rainforests are populated with insects (like butterflies and beetles), arachnids (like spiders and ticks), worms, reptiles (like snakes and lizards), amphibians (like frogs and toads), birds (like parrots and toucans) and mammals (like sloths and jaguars). Different animals live in different strata of the rainforest.
Tigers are found in amazingly diverse habitats: rain forests, grasslands, savannas and even mangrove swamps. You can help by taking action to save tiger forests.
Lions have famously acquired the title of 'King of the Jungle'. However, the title is a little misleading as lions don't actually live in jungles (and as we found out earlier, they don't have kings!). Their habits include scrubland, grasslands, savannahs and rocky hills, but not jungles.
There are approximately 10 million species of animals, plants and insects known to man and more than half of them call the rainforest home. There are approximately 3000 fruits that grow in the rainforest that are edible. Many plants around the world have medicinal qualities.
To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 427 mammals (e.g. jaguar, anteater and giant otter), 1,300 birds (e.g. harpy eagle, toucan and hoatzin), 378 reptiles (e.g. boa), more than 400 amphibians (e.g. dart poison frog) and around 3,000 freshwater fishes1 including the piranha have been found in the Amazon.
