The tropical rainforests are a unique ecosystem. They cover a large portion of the earth’s surface and contain many different types of plants and animals. The rainforest is divided into three layers: the canopy, understory, and floor.
The canopy is a layer of trees that grow very tall and have large leaves to capture as much sunlight as possible. A tropical rainforest can have more than one layer of canopy trees. The understory is the area between the canopy and the floor where there is less light reaching these plants because they are shaded by the upper canopy layer. The floor consists of small shrubs, herbs, vines, ferns or other low-growing plants that get almost no light at all but still manage to survive in this harsh environment.
Tropical rainforests are known for having a wide variety of plants and animals. The forests are dense, lush, and full of wildlife. Some of the animals found in tropical rainforests include tigers, elephants, monkeys, parrots and macaws, snakes, spiders, and insects. There are many different types of plants found in tropical rainforests as well. Trees such as rubber tree and mahogany tree can be found in these rainforests. There are also many flowering plants that grow wild in these forests such as orchids and bromeliads.
Plants in tropical rainforests are diverse and abundant. Some of them have evolved to withstand the intense sunlight that reaches the forest floor. Others have adapted to live on tree branches that can be more than 200 feet above ground level. The plants often grow with little soil support because there is no need for it in this environment.
Aroids
The aroid family is a large family of flowering plants, with about 8000 species. Aroids are found in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. The name “aroid” comes from the Greek word “aros”, meaning mud-like or slime producing.
Aroids are also known as the arum family or aroideae because their flowers are similar to those of the genus Arum (uh-RUM).
Carnivorous Plants
The most famous carnivorous plants are the Venus flytrap and pitcher plants. These plants trap their prey by closing their leaves quickly when triggered by a touch or a raindrop. The traps can snap shut in less than 10 milliseconds, leading to multiple jaws that trap insects and other animals inside. If you put your finger inside a Venus flytrap, it will close around your finger and only release it after 24 hours!
The plant then secretes digestive enzymes which break down the animal into nutrient-rich food for itself. In some cases, these nutrients are used directly by the plant when they’re needed—but more often than not they’re stored for later use as part of its own growth process (or to pass on to other members of its species).
Canopy Trees
Canopy trees are the tallest and largest trees in the rainforest. These tall, massive trees form a canopy over your head that can be 100 feet or more above the ground. The canopy is home to many animals, including dozens of species of birds, mammals and reptiles. Canopy trees capture energy from sunlight through photosynthesis to produce sugar for themselves and their leafy branches also provide food for other plants by releasing sugars via their leaves back into the ecosystem.
Canopy trees are an integral part of a tropical rainforest’s ecosystem because they provide homes for many plants and animals that live beneath them as well as being primary producers themselves — meaning they produce organic compounds from inorganic compounds using solar energy
Flowers
Flowers are an important part of the tropical rainforest ecosystem. Flowers provide food for insects and other animals, as well as humans. Some flowers grow on trees while others grow on vines or ground covers. Some flowers are brightly colored while others are less noticeable, but all serve their purpose by attracting pollinating insects and birds.
Herbaceous Plants
In the tropics and subtropics, many plants die back to the ground after flowering and seeding. These plants are also called herbaceous species. In tropical rainforests, herbaceous species are found in all layers of the forest (understory, midstory, canopy). Herbaceous plants have many important roles to play in tropical ecosystems:
- They provide food for animals that eat leaves or stems (the primary consumers).
- Some herbaceous plants are eaten by animals like monkeys who eat only fruit; other herbaceous plants may be eaten by insects living on them or on trees nearby (secondary consumers).
Epiphytic Orchids
Epiphytic orchids are plants that grow on other plants. They do not have roots and do not need soil to grow; instead, they get their nutrients from the air and rain. They can be found in tropical rainforests all over the world.
It’s easy to see why these beautiful flowers are treasured by many people: they’re beautiful, and exotic-looking, and some species produce fragrant blooms that smell like vanilla or rose petals.
Ferns
Ferns are a group of spore-producing plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. These unique characteristics place ferns in their own kingdom, the Pteridophyta. Ferns are asexual, meaning they do not produce seeds; they also share many similar characteristics with other groups of plants that are considered to be hermaphroditic (hermaphrodite). Hermaphroditic plants, like ferns, produce both male and female gametes from the same plant. There is no need for separate male and female organisms when both can grow on one plant!
Ferns don’t have flowers, but instead, reproduce through spores which can be found on the undersides of their leaves. After the water has been applied to the underside of these leaves for several hours or days at high humidity levels, spores will begin growing into new life forms under optimal conditions such as moist soil with adequate sunlight exposure or shade protection from overhanging trees in tropical rainforests where light is limited during certain seasons due to dense tree cover overhead blocking out some rays from reaching ground level where there isn’t as much space between trees as there would be close up towards canopy level (topmost part) where direct sunlight hits more often than not during daylight hours due
Insects and Spiders
Insects are the most diverse group of animals in tropical rainforests. They can be found on every level of the canopy, from the highest reaches to the darkest understory.
Insects play an important role in the tropical rainforest ecosystem because they are eaten by many animals and pollinate plants. Insects and spiders are also important decomposers that break down dead plant material into nutrients for new plants to use when they grow.
Reptiles and Amphibians
Reptiles and amphibians are ectothermic, meaning they depend on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. This makes tropical rainforests the perfect habitat for these animals since it stays warm year-round.
Animals like the poison dart frog (“Phyllobates terribilis”) use toxins to protect themselves from predators. They also have bright colors that make them appear poisonous to potential predators. The poison dart frog can change its color from green to red depending on its mood or environment—it may also be black, blue, or yellow in color at times. Some species of poison dart frogs are able to change their skin’s texture as well!
Birds
The most abundant and diverse group of animals in the rainforest is birds. There are over 1500 species living in tropical forests; this number increases to more than 2000 when temperate zones are included. The most common birds in tropical rainforests include parrots, toucans and woodpeckers. Parrots can be found all over the world but are especially common in Southeast Asia and Australia, where they have been introduced by humans. Toucans live exclusively in Central and South America while woodpeckers inhabit North America as well as Europe and Asia.
Hummingbirds are another large group of birds that live only in the tropical zone because their small size makes them unable to stay warm enough during cold winters at higher latitudes where temperatures drop below freezing point (0 °C). Hummingbirds have long bills with a thin tongue which allows them to feed on nectar produced by plants with flowers such as orchids or bromeliads. One species of hummingbird found only in Cuba has long legs so it can perch on twigs without falling off the branch due to its weight! Some species even visit flowers during inclement weather when other types would stay away from them because if there is little light then there won’t be much nectar either so there wouldn’t seem many points coming out just for nothing!
Mammals
Mammals are a class of warm-blooded vertebrates that nourish their young with milk produced by the mammary glands. Mammals are the only living chordate subclass to have a subclass division between monotremes and therian mammals, which arose approximately 200 million years ago.
Mammal species can be found on all continents except Antarctica. They inhabit every biome, from grasslands and deserts to forests and jungles. Mammal diversity is greatest at tropical latitudes (between 23°N-23°S latitude) where more than 60% of all mammal species live today.[citation needed] However, this is not an exclusive pattern as 14 out of 24 orders (roughly half) contain at least one family that lives in tropical forests.
A large variety of plants are found in the tropical rainforests, and this is directly related to the climactic conditions that prevail here.
A large variety of plants are found in the tropical rainforests, and this is directly related to the climactic conditions that prevail here. In order for plants to grow in a biome such as this, they must have access to water and sunlight. There are many types of animals that live in these areas as well, including mammals like monkeys and apes. These animals depend upon the plants for food and shelter from predators like tigers or lions which live in other biomes such as grasslands or deserts