Tropical Rainforests

Tropical rainforest, also spelled tropical rain forest, luxuriant forest found in
wet tropical uplands and lowlands around the Equator. Tropical rainforests, which worldwide
make up one of Earth’s largest biomes (major life zones), are dominated by broad-leaved
trees that form a dense upper canopy (layer of foliage) and contain a diverse array of
vegetation and other life. Contrary to common thinking, not all tropical rainforests occur in
places with high, constant rainfall; for example, in the so-called “dry rainforests” of
northeastern Australia, the climate is punctuated by a dry season, which reduces the
annual precipitation. This article covers only the richest of rainforests—the tropical
rainforests of the ever-wet tropics.

Tropical rainforests represent the oldest major vegetation type still present on the terrestrial
Earth. Like all vegetation, however, that of the rainforest continues to evolve and change,
so modern tropical rainforests are not identical with rainforests of the geologic past

Tropical rainforests grow mainly in three regions: the Malesian botanical subkingdom,
which extends from Myanmar (Burma) to Fiji and includes the whole of Thailand,
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands,
and Vanuatu and parts of Indochina and tropical Australia; tropical South and
Central America, especially the Amazon basin; and West and Central Africa (see
biogeographic region). Smaller areas of tropical rainforest occur elsewhere in the tropics
wherever climate is suitable. The principal areas of tropical deciduous forest (or
monsoon forests) are in India, the Myanmar–Vietnam–southern coastal China region,
and eastern Brazil, with smaller areas in South and Central America north of the Equator,
the West Indies, southeastern Africa, and northern Australia.

It is no surprise, therefore, to find the greatest diversity of flowering plants

today in the tropical rainforests where they first evolved. Of particular
interest is the fact that the majority of flowering plants displaying the most
primitive characteristics are found in rainforests (especially tropical
rainforests) in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, particularly South America,
northern Australia and adjacent regions of Southeast Asia, and some larger
South Pacific islands. Of the 13 angiosperm families generally recognized as
the most primitive, all but two—Magnoliaceae and Winteraceae—are
overwhelmingly tropical in their present distribution. Three families—
Illiciaceae, Magnoliaceae, and Schisandraceae—are found predominantly in
Northern Hemisphere rainforests. Five families—Amborellaceae,
Austrobaileyaceae, Degeneriaceae, Eupomatiaceae, and Himantandraceae—
are restricted to rainforests in the tropical Australasian region. Members of
the Winteraceae are shared between this latter region and South America,
those of the Lactoridaceae grow only on the southeast Pacific islands of Juan
Fernández, members of the Canellaceae are shared between South America
and Africa, and two families—Annonaceae and Myristicaceae—generally
occur in tropical regions. This has led some authorities to suggest that the
original cradle of angiosperm evolution might lie in Gondwanaland, a
supercontinent of the Southern Hemisphere thought to have existed in the
Mesozoic Era (252 to 66 million years ago) and consisted of Africa, South
America, Australia, peninsular India, and Antarctica. An alternative
explanation for this geographic pattern is that in the Southern Hemisphere,
especially on islands, there are more refugia—i.e., isolated areas whose
climates remained unaltered while those of the surrounding areas changed,
enabling archaic life-forms to persist.