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Plants & Vegetation in the Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical rain forests produce many unique plants -- in fact, over two-thirds of the plant species in the world can be found in tropical rain forests. These plants shelter exotic animals and provide them with food in addition to supplying a majority of the world's oxygen. Competition for resources, such as nutrients and sunlight, has resulted in tropical plants developing adaptations for survival. Many tropical rain forest plants also are important to the world economy.

Plants
- In Southeast Asian rain forests, Bengal bamboo grows between 40 and 80 feet in height. The vibrant bougainvillea plant grows in the Amazon rain forest, where it spreads out and climbs on other plants to reach the sunlight, and grows to over 30 feet wide. Liana vines, such as the curare, send roots down to the rain forest's floor while climbing thousands of feet up and around trees to gain better access to sunlight.
Trees
- Rain forest trees include fruit trees such as the jambu, which grows in Indonesian rain forests. The kapok tree, an emergent tree that grows to majestic heights of over 150 feet, grows in rain forests in South America, West Africa and Southeast Asia. Mangrove trees grow in tropical rain forests at the edges of bodies of water, where their stilted roots help protect the coast from erosion. Strangler figs are a keystone rain forest species that start out life as epiphytes, growing on other plants until their roots reach the ground, and fusing to a host tree in order to promote their own growth.
Adaptations
- Many tropical rain forest plants have developed adaptations, or characteristics, that allow them to survive and thrive in hot, humid environments. Many plants in the rain forest have "drip tips" or spout-shaped leaves that allow water to run off, reducing the chances that bacteria and fungi will grow on the plant. Rain forest trees often have buttress roots or stilt/prop roots that help anchor and support them in the rain forest's shallow soil. To reach the sunlight in the higher levels of the rain forest's canopy, some plants have evolved to grow on the leaves or bark of other plants, or even to climb up them in search of sunlight.
Economic Importance
- Rain forest plants provide many products used in day-to-day life. Cacao, the plant from which chocolate is produced, and coffee are two of the most prominent examples, but many fruits, spices, essential oils and hardwood lumbers come from the rain forest. Tropical rain forest plants also provide important components of many medicines and are used in industry as fibers, resins, dyes and gums. As a result, rain forests in tropical countries must be carefully managed to ensure a balance between conserving plant life and economic growth.

Nature