Tropical Rainforest Plants Characteristics

Tree trunks - these are tall and thin to allow trees to reach the sunlight.

Tropical rainforest plants characteristics. Very high annual rainfall high average temperatures nutrient-poor soil and high levels of biodiversity species richness. The Amazon Rainforest alone boasts of over 40000 plant species. Rainforests are made up of several layers of vegetation each representing a distinctly different habitat and requiring special adaptations by the plants that survive there.

The plants found in this biome can be divided into three main categories. Tropical Rainforest Plants The Selvas is the densest forest area found in the Amazon forests which has a very dense canopy. The bark on these trees is smooth to allow water to flow down to the roots.

Fungi and decaying plants are also plentiful. In fact nearly two-thirds of the worlds flowering plants are found in rainforests. Some plants have special leaves to collect as much of the sun that filters through the canopy as possible.

A related plant type the hemiepiphyte begins life in the canopy and grows long roots that eventually reach the forest floor. The leaves of rainforest plants are often waxy with thin tips known as drip-tips. Tropical rainforest plants are densely packed broad-leaved and cover every surface in the forest.

Other characteristics that distinguish tropical species of trees from those of temperate forests include Exceptionally thin bark often only 1-2 mm thick. Tropical rainforest also spelled tropical rain forest luxuriant forest found in wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the Equator. These are considered as adaptation.

This bottom-most layer receives the least amount of sunlight only around 2. Tropical rainforests are located around and near the equator therefore having what is called an equatorial climate characterized by three major climatic parameters. One of the most common adaptation is seen in the leaves of tropical plants.