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A temperate rainforest is any forest with a mean climate of 40 degrees F to 55 degrees F that receives over 55 inches of rain each year. Many parts of the world have small coastal rainforests, but the largest areas of temperate rainforest exist in the American Pacific Northwest and the southern coasts of Chile. Each of these areas have their own unique species of the types of plants normally found in a temperate rainforest.
Conifer
Because of the temperature, evergreen conifers like the Douglas fir thrive in temperate rainforests. The mild winters and heavy rain allow these conifers to grow to massive sizes. The enormous redwood trees, the largest trees in the world, grow in these temperate rainforests -- in addition to many other large tree species like the Sitka spruce and the Western Red cedar.
Understory
The massive canopy of evergreen conifers found in a temperate rainforest blocks much of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. This environment creates ideal conditions for smaller shade-loving trees to grow underneath. These trees include dogwoods and vine maples. Small plants such as ferns and berry shrubs grow In the small shafts of sunlight that pierce the canopy.
Epiphytes
Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants nonparasitically. They draw moisture and nutrients from the air around them, and include mosses and lichens. These types of plants thrive in temperate rainforests because the heavy rainfall reduces competition for moisture. As a result, while epiphytes grow in other temperate forests, they are especially prevalent in temperate rainforests.