Rainforests, as we know, are home to millions of plant species. Let us begin with the tallest of them all, the trees.
A 25-acre plot of the Borneo Rainforest alone is estimated to have around seven hundred species of tree variants which is more than what can be found in the whole of the North American continent! So much for its tree diversity!
Have you ever heard of the Kapok tree? Known as the biggest of all Central and South American rainforest trees, they can astonishingly gain a height of four metres every year!
The kapok is a multi-purpose tree too! Its fruit fibre is used to stuff mattresses, seed oil to make soaps and its lightweight trunks are widely used to make canoes. So, you can literally travel, bathe and then sleep with the help of a kapok tree!
The strangler fig tree, another type, strangles its vines around other trees in search of sunlight. It is a favourite among monkeys and parrots for its sweet fruit.
The bamboos of Asian rainforests are real friends of nature. They help prevent floods by sucking up large amounts of excess rainwater! These structures can soar up to a height of 24 m and a width of 8 m in diameter and are widely used in furniture, paper, and fishing rod manufacturing.
Picture Credit : Google
