As everyone knows, it is the plants that give the forest substance. Trees, shrubs, and epiphytes all provide the distintive rainforest character that the Amazon is so famous for. Although the rainforest may seem like a random jumble of trees and shrubs, there is actually a stratified order. A given forest might be made up of three to five of the following layers:-

Made up of towering trees over 40 meters tall. Examples of such trees include fig, mahogany, silk-cotton, and teak. Epiphytes, such as bromeliads and orchids, line the lower branches.

Contains trees 12 – 30 meters high. The densest of all layers, it resembles a large green carpet. The middle layer also contains the most biodiversity of all the forest levels and home to 90 % of the forests photosynthesis. It is home to the infamous strangler fig, who is known to strangle off her hosts only to take their places amongst the forest community. The fig also is beneficial in that it provides nooks and hiding places for insects and lizards.

The understorey is a sparse level composed of treelets and shrubs. Most notable of its inhabitants are the ivory palms, tree ferns, and cycads.

Because the canopy deprives much of the forest’s lower levels of light, only the shade loving ferns, fungi, herbs, and tree seedlings inhabit the ground level. Here exist members of the arum family including arrowroot and green elephants ear. Other inhabitants include the plants of the genus Piper, which is known as one of the most diverse plant genera. Over 1000 of its members have been catalogued.

Unlike the ground level, forest edges and gaps provide plenty of light for low growing shrubs. Along the Amazonian rivers grow the beautiful acacias, mimosas, retama legumes, and cecropia trees. These highly specialized areas of the forest tend to be dense and very jungle like. The plants provide shelter, as well as food, for birds and mammals, them essential to the surrounding ecosystem.