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The plants
In a tropical rain forest a great number of trees grow, of course. However, they do not all get equally high or old. In a very young rain forest, the pioneer forest, are trees that grow fast, need a lot of light but which also die off quickly again, sometimes after 10 years already. Those trees, for instance the Balsa tree, only live in a few places in the Bush at this time. The next type of forest, with more and higher species of trees and more shadow, is called the secondary forest. It is a preliminary stage of the real tall and dark primary rain forest. In this century old forest are trees that usually grow slower and often have very hard wood. Sometimes they get really tall, like the kapok tree, but there are also pygmy trees and those in-between. Many can get very old, some even over 100 years, but these trees are very rare now-a-days due to the deforestation. Currently the Bush contains trees from all three types of forests. In addition to trees there are many other types of plants like palm trees, lianas, climbing plants and epiphytes. Lianas are climbing plants with a wood-like stem, which can get several tens of metres long.
They bloom in the top of the trees. So look up regularly or maybe not: flowers that fell off and landed on the paths often reveal a blooming liana! Epiphytes are plants that grow on or against the trees: ferns, bromelias, orchids and many other kinds of herbs. They get their nutrients from organic waste and the trickles of water running down the branches after a rain shower. Their high growing place guarantees sufficient light, because it is very dark on the forest floor. Only 1% of the sun's light can penetrate here! There are blooming plants in the Bush almost throughout the entire year. Sometimes with striking colours, sometimes with strong scents and sometimes very inconspicuously. They provide nectar and pollen for the insects, lizards and birds. The fruit appears after pollination. These can be eaten by lizards and Kalongs (flying fruit bats) or by zoobenthos when they have fallen off. When they start to rot they draw insects, which in turn can be eaten by birds, frogs and reptiles. There are real food chains in the Bush!
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