Home >> Science & Nature >> Nature

Giant Trees of the Rainforest

Rainforest covers only 6 percent of the Earth's land surface, but is home to over half of all its species. Being such a lush, green environment, it creates 40 percent of the planet's oxygen. There are 4 layers to the rainforest; the top layer, which is the tallest, is called the emergent layer and is made up of widely spaced trees between 100 and 240 feet tall. Species of trees, just like species of animals, vary from region to region.

Kapok
- Found throughout the Amazon rainforest, the kapok tree can reach up to 200 feet in height, sometimes growing as much as 13 feet per year. The trunk can expand to 9 or 10 feet in diameter. Unlike most other emergents, it has nooks and grooves in which many species, including frogs, birds and bromeliads, make their homes. The kapok, also called ceiba, is deciduous, shedding all of its leaves during the dry season. Its seeds are blown into open areas, so these trees are some of the first to colonize open areas in the forest. As with almost all emergents, they flower periodically with white and pink blooms.
Red Cedar
- This tree is found in the shrinking rainforest of northern Queensland in Australia. Known as Red Gold for its pretty, red shade of wood, the tree was cut down en masse after the arrival of Europeans. There are currently private replanting efforts underway to repopulate the area with this tree, since they have largely disappeared. Like many emergent rainforest trees, its branches are home to other plants, such as orchids, mosses and ferns. One of Australia's few native deciduous trees, it sheds its leaves for winter and sprouts red leaves in spring.
Kauri
- Another giant rainforest tree found in Australia is the kauri tree. Kauris are among the world's mightiest trees; they grow to more than 165 feet tall, with trunk girths of up to 52 feet. They can live for over 2,000 years. Similar to the red cedar, the kauri was exploited with the arrival of Europeans and is no longer as common. Mature kauri trees have long, thick trunks after shedding their lower branches from when they were saplings. The best examples of the kauri tree can be found in New Zealand.
Dipterocarps
- The dipterocarps are a family of hardwood, tropical trees made up of about 500 species in Asia. Unlike other rainforests, which are made up various species, the southeast Asian rainforest is dominated by this large tree family. Northern Borneo is home to the tallest trees, between 200 and 230 feet, with some growing to over 260 feet in the region of East Sabah. As with most other emergents, they have long, straight trunks and flower every few years.

Nature