Plants and Trees of the Amazon Rain Forest

Some of the common plants and trees you would find in the Amazon rain forest are Bougainvillea spectabilis, Curare, Kapok trees, Strangler Fig tree, and Coconut trees. I will give a brief summary of all these plants and trees because each has their own purpose for surviving. I would like you to know that all plants have a Genus name and a species name but they also may have one or more common name. First I will begin with the Bougainvillea spectabilis, this is an epiphyte plant. This plant can grow up to 30 feet high. Its flower is heart shaped and can be red, pink, orange, yellow, or white. They can survive in sunny and intermediate shady areas but prefers the tropical land. They have made many adaptations for their survival. The plant grows vines with leaves that have pointy spikes of the underneath side so it can climb upward to reach sunlight and wrap trees for support. Its flower is heart shaped with a drip tip so that the water runs off and does not weigh the plant down. This plant is very unique in the way it can change its form to grow. It can change to be a tree, vine or shrub depending on where it starts its growth in the forest.

The Curare is a vine (liana). Its common names are Curare, Grieswurzel, Pareira, Pareira Braua and Vigne Sauvage. Its Genus and species name is Chondrodendron tomentosum. It has a 4 inch diameter at the base of the vine and can grow over 100 feet tall. They also have heart shaped leaves with spikes on the underneath side. The leaves grow 4 to 8 inches long and wide. This vine has clusters of white flowers. The Indians use to crush the flower and make a syrupy substance that they would place on the ends of their arrows. This substance would have a paralyzing effect on the animal after being shot. The root of this vine has an ingredient called D-tubocurarine and is used in medicine. It is known to be a diuretic and has also been used for edema, fever and kidney stones. This vine has made the same adaptations as the Bougainvillea spectabilis. The heart shaped leaves allowing water to run off quickly and spikes on the underside of leaves used for climbing and wrapping trees to reach sunlight and support the growth of the vine.

Ceiba pentandra is the Genus and species name for this tree. It is found in the emergent layer of the rainforest. It can grow to be over 150 feet tall. Their trunks are smooth, cylindrical, and grey. The base of tree trunks reaches about 9 feet in diameter. They branch out horizontal and the crown of the tree is umbrella shaped. It flowers in clusters of pink or white before leaves appear. A lot of the plants and animals of the rainforest live in these trees. This tree has made a few adaptations for its environment. They grow spine-like protrusions out of its trunk to protect its trunk from being damaged by falling trees and climbing animals. The crown of the tree is shaped like an umbrella to allow water to run off quickly and shelter animals. Its also known as; Kapok tree, Ceiba and Silk cotton tree.

Strangler fig trees also called Banyan trees, begin life as an epiphyte. They can grow to be 148 feet tall. These trees are the most important for animal survival in the rainforest because they bear fruit all year round and constantly have a supply of food for animals to eat. This Strangler Fig starts growing in the creases of other trees and quickly strangles it host tree and takes over. This aggressive growth pattern insures its survival. It has many adaptations for survival. They have waxy leaves to protect them against dry winds and dehydration from constant sunlight. And has the ability to root it’s self on and in other trees to begin life do to the poor soil and low sunlight at the forest floor that it is not able to grow in. The genus and species name for this tree is Ficus ssp.

The Coconut tree grows to be 50 to 80 feet tall with feathery yellow-green leaves that are 15-18 feet long. It produces about 50 coconuts a year. These are found near edges of water. They can only survive in frost free areas. Their fruit are used for many sources such as meat, drink, sugar, cattle food and making soap. The Genus and species name for this tree is Cocos nucifera.

What Sparked My Interest

Believe it or not I use to hate these kinds of places. About 13 years ago I moved into a house that sat on 3 acers of wooded land. I hated all the trees and bugs that came with it. I began having the trees wiped out three and four at a time. After making a clearing for the backyard, I begun to like being outside. What I did not expect was the close encounters with snakes, groundhogs, raccoons, salamanders, deer, moles and bats but it did not seem to frighten me. I was more fascinated that they came so close to all of us. I was able to get about 5 feet away from a family of raccoons after awhile becaue I kept sitting out food. My nephew and kids were constantly snatching up gardener snakes and frogs, bringing them home to be pets and my husband was baiting in deer with a salt lick. As time went on the more I liked to hike through different woods checking out the animals. Well it was until I started school that I decide that working in a forest would be really cool. The more science coarses I took the more interesting forestry became so I decided to study biology part time. It is more like a hobby for me right now but one day that might change.

Amazon Rain Forest

The Amazon Rain Forest is the largest tropical rain forest located in South America. It takes up more than 1.6 million square miles. This forest lies within parts of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and Suriname and makes up 40% of all rain forest. 30% of the Amazon Rain Forest occupies most of Brazil. It is the home for over 500 mammal species, 175 lizard species, 300 reptile species, thousands of insects, 1/3% of the world's birds and more than 480 tree species. This forest also contains the world's largest river system (Amazon River & Basin). The river is 4080 miles long and varies from 1 mile to 35 miles wide. This Amazon forest has an average daily temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit and 120 inches of rainfall in a year. The humidity is normally around 82%, very muggy. To have a chance to visit this particular forest would be a dream come true to me. I feel it is one of the most trilling places on earth. Sure, I would be more than a little freaked-out if I come across some extremely dangerous predators but in the end it would be awesome.

Pictuers of the Amazon River

Layers of the Rain Forests

Emergent Upper Canopy

Understory Forest Floor

I would like to begin by talking about the tropical rain forests because they have intrigued my interest the most. They cover only 6% of our earth's surface but they have the highest diversity of plants and animals. Over 50% of all the world's plants and animals species are found within these forest. They have extremely tall trees and many plants that are known as epiphytes, which means the plant grows on and in trees. There are many vines enter-twining through the trees, its the way some plants reach sunlight. Pretty Cool! All the rain forest have four distinct layers which plants and animals can grow and survive. The emergent layer (top) is exposed to high winds and sunlight. The upper canopy (below the emergent layer) receives modern light and most animals are found here and food supply. The understory (below the upper canopy) does not receive much light and has humidity. The last layer, the forest floor completely shaded and poor soil contents.

Tropical

Temerate

Boreal

Unique in their own Ways

Forests can be found all throughout the world. Their climate has everything to do with where they are located. Tropical Rain Forests live near the earth's equator in places that temperture stays consistently warm, wet and high humidity (no seasonal change). The temperture in these forest range from 68 to 87 degrees Fahrenheit depending if it is day or night and where it is located around the world. The average rainfall is 120 inches a year but they have been know to recieve up to 260 inches in a one year. Temperate Forests are found in areas of western and eastern North America, northeast Asia, western and central Europe. they normally have four defined seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter althought in some places the winters can be very mild. The temperture ranges from 40 to 80 degrees Fahrenfeit depending on the season. They recieve anywhere from 80 to 120 inches of rain in a years time. The Boreal Forests also know as Taiga Forests are found in parts of Europe, Asia, Siberia, North America, Alaska and Canada these are places with four seasons but winters are long and cold. Temperture varies from 10 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. And they recieve most of their precipitation in the from of snow, the average is around 70 inches a year but this varies alot depending on location in the world.

The Heartbeat of our World

I look at the forest and I see the heart of our world. This is a place where life has began before mortal existence. One-third of the Earth's land is occupied by different types of forest. There are three main divisions: tropical, temperate, and boreal. Among the temperate and boreal forest lies many subdivisions. With the combination of all forest in one group scientist have predicted that they are accompanied by two-thirds of the world's plants and trees and approximately 70% of the animal species on Earth. Forests are considered to be the "lungs of our world" as well, they take in massive amounts of carbon dioxide that we people produce on an everyday basis and release over 75% of worlds oxygen we breathe. If these forest did not exist-we would not exist.