Types Of Plants That Live In The Tropical Forest

There are over 250,000 types of plants that live in the tropical forest. Some of these plants include the Epiphytes that generally grow on trees and Astrocryum which is a plant without a stem. There is also Ayahuasca Vine which is also referred to as the vine of the dead, Curare which is used for purposed of poison for blow guns, and Cats Claw, a vine that is applied into treating inflammations.

Other trees that force their way into the roof of the tropical rainforest are known as Emergents. Mahogany trees also do very well in the tropical rainforest as do passion flowers. But these are just some of the types of plants that live in the tropical forest although a classification of their adaptations is mentioned below.

Bromeliads have a close connection to the pineapple classification and have thick and lustrous leaves that are bowl shaped in the middle to trap rain water. Some plants of this type can hold gallons of water and are a small ecosystem that supplies habitation for a number of creatures. When the plant dies, they decay and provide the living bromeliads with nourishment.

Because of poor nutrients in rainforest coil, rainforest trees have roots that are not too deep. Some trees find ways of acquiring more support by producing buttressed roots that can grow as high as fifteen feet from the base of the trunk. Through such extension, they boost the area over which they can take in nutrients from the ground.

Other types of plants that live in the tropical forest include carnivorous plants that get their nutrients from animal matter. The Venus Fly Trap is one such plant although the pitcher plant known as Nepenthes Rafflesiana that is found in parts of Southeast Asia is a better example. This plant will get to 30 feet and can have pitchers that are twelve feet long and full of consumed insects. Pitcher plants feed on tiny mammals and reptiles that attempt to grab insects from the pitcher.

Epiphytes are also known as air plants and grow all over but mostly grow on branches, trunks or the leaves of trees. Various types of epiphytes will generally grow on one tree. Their lives start in shade form or in spores that are carried there by either birds or the wind.

Lianas are other types of plants that live in the tropical forest by beginning their lives on forest floors but begin to depend on trees when they start growing towards the sun to seek survival. They have sucker roots that they use to attach themselves to the trees or wind themselves around the trunks of the tree. Lianas are actually a type of vine spices and part of the 90% that grow in tropical rainforests.

Other types of plants that live in the tropical forest include orchards which are the most plentiful and diverse among the flowering plant classification. Over 20,000 spices are available in the tropical rainforest and they grow non-parasitically on trees. They vary in shapes, colors and sizes although they have a prevalent pattern of three petals and three sepals that look like petals.

There are other types of plants that live in the tropical forest such as the Saprophytes, the Stilt or Prop Roots and the Strangler Figs. Saprophytes are plants that act as rainforest decomposers while Stilt or Prop Roots are aerial and pitch fork like extensions that come from tree trunks. They grow with a descending position and hold themselves on the soil to take in sediments that help to provide the tree with stability. The Strangler fig is a member of the fig tree family and grows very fast ultimately chokes its host.