The Diversity of Rainforest Plants

The rainforest is a beautiful place filled with wondrous creatures and plants of the strangest variety. The unique climate in the rainforest itself makes for really diverse plant life and healthy plants. People seldom come here and those who live in the periphery of the rainforest respect it and do not abuse the life in it. Some of the plants here are very common plants which can be found anywhere in the world while others are unique to the rainforest.

Rainforest plants thrive in the warm and humid climate here and some have developed strange ways to survive in the rainforest. Some have thorns others have developed a strong smell that attracts insects for propagation while others can live without soil. The rainforest is divided into the ground level and the canopy. There are different varieties of rainforest plants which live exclusively in the ground level and others exclusively in the canopy.

The types of rainforest plants that can live without the need to attach themselves to soil are called epiphytes. These plants utilize their roots to soak up the moisture in the air and use this to sustain themselves. They live high near the canopy and rarely grow in the ground level. Bromeliads, some ferns and orchids are included in the epiphytes category of rainforest plants. Orchids have very attractive flowers in various colors to attract insects while bromeliads gather water in the center and these plants provide a home for tree frogs and other animals.

Other plants that grow in rainforests are trees that can reach so high and spread so wide that sometimes it is dark in the ground level. It is because of these big and widespread trees that the rainforest ground is mostly moist and damp. The moisture here can not evaporate as quickly due to the canopy covering the ground. Lianas or vines attach themselves to the trees and act as their support. Animals often use these to swing from tree to tree.

Other rainforest plants include fruit bearing plants and other food supplying plants which people and animals take advantage of. Some of the fruits trees or plants found in the rain forests are bananas, coconuts, nut trees, mangos, berries, pineapples and figs. These fruit plants and trees provide the animals and people who live near the rainforest with food. Other plants also provide people with medicinal remedies which pharmaceutical companies are still researching or are now producing.

Rainforest plants are often taken out of the rainforest and smuggled into other countries. Caution must be exercised with this practice because some plants are poisonous or may have insects which are dangerous to humans.