Glenmark Doromal

Algin Sabac
Mac Bain Actub
 Are warm, wet forests with many tall trees.
 In most tropical rainforests, it rains every day.
 Tropical rainforests grow in a narrow zone near the
equator.
 Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and
plant species on the planet because rainforests are
very old, some almost 100 million years old, About
10,000 years ago the ice caps at the poles spread out
in an Ice Age, but the ice didn't reach the Equator so
tropical rainforests survived
 the "world's largest pharmacy" because over one-
quarter of modern medicines originate from its plants.
 Very poor and infertile
 Millions of years of weathering have washed
most of the nutrients out of the soil
 Plant life is so lush is because the plants store
the nutrients in themselves rather than getting
them from the soil
 The topsoil is only one to two inches (2.5 to 5
centimeters) deep.
 The average rainforest is very moist
 Temperatures generally fall between 23 - 27 degrees C.
 Some rainforests only have two seasons: a dry and a wet
season
 Rainforests are very humid. During the day and also
during the night, the humidity averages eighty percent,
which keeps the rainforest warm.
 The higher a rainforest gets in altitude, the lower the
temperatures get, every 1,000 feet (300 meters) a
rainforest goes up a mountain, the temperature drops
about 3° F (1.7° C) cooler.
 Rainfall tends to be highest near the equator.
 at least 80 inches (2,000 mm), and in some
areas over 430 inches (10,920 mm) of rain falls
each year
 During the parts of the year when less rain falls,
the constant cloud cover is enough to keep the
air moist and prevent plants from drying out
 The rainforest is more than a million years old. It is the oldest
biome. When the last Ice Age came, it covered most forests
north of the equator in ice. The only vegetation that
continued to grow was near the equator: the rainforests.
 Tropical rainforests lie in the "tropics", between the Tropic of
Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. In this region sunlight strikes
Earth at roughly a 90-degree angle resulting in intense solar
energy.
 Rainforests are found in more than forty countries around the
equator
 Central and South America
 Africa
 Southeast Asia
 Australia
 Tropical rainforest is divided into four
different layers, each with different
plants, adapted for life in the particular
area, where animals live.
 Emergents are the tallest trees and are usually over 50 metres tall. The
Kapok tree is an example of an emergent.
 Canopy is the sea of leaves blocking out the sun from the lower layers.
The canopy contains over 50% of the rainforest wildlife. This includes
birds, snakes and monkeys. Lianas (vines) climb to the canopy to reach
this sun light.
The under canopy mainly contains bare tree trunks and lianas.
 Shrub layer has the densest plant growth. It contains shrubs and ferns
and other plants needing less light. Saplings of emergents and canopy
trees can also be found here.
 Forest floor is usually dark and damp. It contains a layer of rotting
leaves and dead animals called litter. This decomposes rapidly (within 6
weeks) to form a thin humus, rich in nutrients.
 Common Names:
Spineless Indian
Bamboo, Calcutta Cane
Genus: Bambusa
Species: tulda
 This particular bamboo can grow anywhere
between 40 feet and 80 feet in height. It is
approximately 3 inches in diameter at maturity.
 Bamboo is not a tree or a shrub, it is a grass. It is the largest
grass.
 It is very fast growing. In two to three months it is full grown.
 The culms or stems never get thicker after they are full grown.
 They only flower once in their lifetime and die after they bloom.
 This species life span is 25 to 40 years.
 Genus: Bougainvillea
Species: spectabilis
 The bougainvillea plant grows in the biome of
the Amazon rainforest in South America
 The bougainvillea plant grows in the biome of the Amazon
rainforest in South America.
 The plant can reach over thirty feet. It can either be vines, trees,
or shrubs with sharp thorns. The leaves of the bougainvillea are
shaped like little hearts with drip tips at the ends.
 The root system of the bougainvillea is very fragile and doesn't
form a good firm root ball.
 Bougainvillea has many adaptations to its climate and
environment. It has many hooks so it can cling and hold onto
other plants for support.
 Common Names: Curare,
Grieswurzel, Pareira Brava,
Pareira, Vigne Sauvage
Genus: Chondrodendron
Species: tomentosum
Parts Used: Leaf, Root
 Curare grows as a large liana, or vine, found in the canopy of the
South American rainforest. The vine may get as thick as 4 inches
in diameter at its base.
 It has large alternate, heart-shaped leaves.
 Some Indians of South America crush and cook the roots and
stems, and add other plants and venomous animals, mixing it
until it becomes a light syrup. They call this mixture "ampi", or
"curaré", which they use on the tip of their arrows and darts to
hunt wild game.
 The name comes from Indian word meaning "poison."
 The active ingredient in "curaré", D-tubocurarine, is used in
medicine.
 Common Names: Kapok, Ceiba,
Silk-cotton tree
Genus: Ceiba
Species: pentandra
 It can grow to a height of 150 feet or
more, towering over other trees in
the rainforest

 Many plants and animals grow and live in the branches of the
kapok tree. Birds nest in it, and mammals use the huge branches
as highways. Frogs breed in the pools of water that collect in the
bromeliads.
 They allow animals to move around the rainforest without coming
down to the ground.
 In many places the straight trunks of the kapok tree are used to
make dugout canoes. Since it is buoyant and water resistant it is
often used in flotation devices and padding. The seeds, leaves,
bark and resin have been used to treat dysentery, fever, asthma,
and kidney disease.
 Common Names: Banyan Tree
Genus: Ficus
 Hundreds of animals like pigeons, parrots, hornbills,
toucans, monkeys, gibbons, and fruit-eating bats, feed
on the sweet fruit of the fig tree.

 Figs are considered a "keystone" species because they are so

important to the animals of the rainforest. This is so because
figs bear fruit several times a year.
 In some forests up to 70% of its animal's diets depend on figs,
and the number of fruit-eaters determines the number of
predators of fruit-eaters.
 Strangler figs are tall canopy trees which can grow to 148 feet
in height.
 Capybaras are the largest rodents and are found in
swamps, marshes and near rivers and lakes in Central and
South America.
 They are found in large groups and are excellent
swimmers.
 They mainly feed on aquatic plants, tree barks and fruits.
 They have barrel-shaped bodies with brownish fur and
webbed feet to help them swim.
 They are preyed upon by jaguars, anacondas, harpy
eagles, etc.
 Golden lion tamarins are primates of the size of a squirrel,
with a golden silky mane like that of a lion.
 They are arboreal, they live in families and are mainly
found in the tropical rainforests of Brazil in South America.
 Golden lion tamarins mainly feed on insects, fruits and
small birds.
 They have very strong legs with long, sharp claws that
enable them to dig out insects from tree barks.
 They have been declared endangered due to the vast
destruction of their habitats and also because they are
poached for their golden silky mane.
 Jaguars are species of wild cats found in the tropical
rainforests of Central and South America.
 They prefer living in habitats that have water sources and
they are good swimmers.
 They prey on capybaras, turtles, birds and reptiles.
 Jaguars are nocturnal animals with strong physical
features like short limbs and an extremely strong jaw with
long and sharp canine teeth.
 Jaguars are declared as endangered owing to their
hunting and considerable loss of habitat.
 Orangutans, the largest of the great apes, are most
abundant in the Southeast Asian tropical rainforests. They
are arboreal (live in trees) and spend most of their lives
on trees.
 They have a strong bulky body, strong arms and short
legs and are reddish-brown in color.
 Their diet includes ripe fruits, leaves, flowers, vines,
orchids, etc.
 Tropical rainforests offer the climate that is best suited to
orangutans.
 In Malay, orangutan means 'man of the forest'.
 Monarch butterflies are a species of poisonous butterflies
that feed on the milkweed plant.
 They are mainly found in North America.
 They appear beautiful and have bright-colored scaly
wings.
 Their predators fall sick if they eat them due to the poison
and hence, avoid preying on them.
 The anaconda, also known as the water boa, is the largest
snake in the world and is mostly found in marshes and
swamps.
 It is not venomous and it swallows its prey.
 It is a good climber and can go without food for almost a
year after feeding on a big prey.
 It mostly hunts at night and kills its prey by constricting.
 It feeds on rodents, pigs, deer, birds, fish, etc.
 Poison dart frogs are brightly colored frogs found in the
tropical rainforests of South and Central America.
 They have a poisonous skin and the poison is used on the
tips of darts and arrows for hunting.
 The poison also works on their predators.
 They feed on small insects like spiders, ants and flies.