Plants of the Rainforest

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PLANTS OF THE RAINFOREST

http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/plants.html

More than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical rainforests: plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well as taking part in the gas exchanges which provide much of the world's oxygen supply.
Rainforest plants live in a warm humid environment that allows an enormous variation rare in more temperate climates: some like the orchids have beautiful flowers adapted to attract the profusion of forest insects.
Competition at ground level for light and food has lead to evolution of plants which live on the branches of other plants, or even strangle large trees to fight for survival.
The aerial plants often gather nourishment from the air itself using so-called 'air roots';. The humidity of the rainforest encourages such adaptations which would be impossible in most temperate forests with their much drier conditions.

Use the website to learn about some of the plants that are found in a rainforest

Using the information to answer these questions:

  1. How have very tall trees in a rainforest adapted to obtain nutrients from the soil?
  2. What type of plants are carnivorous plants? (name some)
  3. In what family does the ‘strangler’ belong?
  4. What is another name for a ‘liana’?
  5. How do ‘epiphytes’ get into the canopy of the rainforest?
  6. What do ‘saprophytes’ do?

Write some questions of your own for others to investigate at home.

Make your own bromeliad plant

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/education.cfm?id=bromeliad_activity

To learn more about bromeliads investigate this site:

http://library.thinkquest.org/5087/Bromeliadsed.htm