Types Of Plants In The Rainforest

Carnivorous Plants in the Rainforest: Plants which obtain nutrients from animal matter are known as carnivorous plants. Venus fly trap and the pitcher plant Nepenthes rafflesiana from south east Asia are the best examples of carnivorous plants. Nepenthes rafflesiana grows as high as 30 feet and has pitchers of about 12 inches in length, They have a cavity filled with either sweet or terrible smelling nectar that attracts insects and they are always overcrowded with digested insects! The biggest flower in the world is seen on the trees of Rafflesia, which grow in the Indonesian rainforests. The most amazing fact about the pitcher plants is that they also eat small mammals and reptiles who try to steal the insects from the pitcher.

Strangler Plants in the Rainforest: Stranglers mostly come from the fig family. They are also called 'killer trees'. The seed starts growing as an epiphyte, high in the trees. Epiphytes are the trees which derive moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and usually grow on another plant. But they are not parasitic on it. The list of epiphytes includes orchids, philodendrons, ferns and bromeliads. The aerial plants have so-called 'air roots' and air is the source of nourishment for them. Poison ivy vines have many small aerial roots. The seeds of these plants are borne and transported by birds and monkeys which eat the fig fruits. The seedlings develop long roots down to the ground and start surrounding the host tree. They grow quickly and the growth eventually suffocates the host, resulting in its death. The host tree leaves a huge upright strangler which has a hollow core. This is the best example of how plants adopt themselves to survive in the given specific environment. The strangler fig uses an adult tree as its host so that it doesn't have to struggle for light and nutrients at ground level.

Lianas in the Rainforest: Ninety per cent of the world's vine species are found in tropical rainforests. Lianas are climbing vines which are present throughout tropical rainforests. The thick, woody stems of lianas are of various lengths (up to 3,000 ft) and shapes. They need sunlight for survival and so they climb towards light after beginning the life on the forest floor. For this they depend on trees for support. They bind themselves to trees with sucker roots or tendrils. They climb while growing, by winding themselves round the supporting tree's trunk. They jump to other trees or start wrapping themselves around other lianas, after arriving at the top of the canopy layer of the rainforest. In this way they create a network of vines which provides the shallow-rooted, top-heavy trees, a very strong support. This helps them to survive against strong winds. Rattan palms, philodendron and Strychnos toxifera are some examples of lianas. The deadly poison strychnine is obtained from Strychnos toxifera. Rattans from Asia have thorny stems and they grow as tall as 650 feet (200 m). Baskets, ropes and wicker furniture is made from them.

Be Interested In Learning Facts About Tundra Plants

Before I elaborate on Tundra plants, let me discuss more about this Tundra. A biome that thrives in a cold weather, which facilitates the growth of low growing plants and shrubs, is known as Tundra. So you might have very well guessed where this environment is found across the world. The Arctic! Yes, that is one of the kind. And then there are Antarctic Tundras (Antarctic region) and Alpine Tundras (found in high mountain areas) too. One common characteristic amongst all these Tundra types is a layer of permanently frozen subsoil (permafrost), which cannot support plant growth much. On the contrary, the flora and fauna of Tundra consists mainly of lichen, mosses and low lying grasses. Occasionally stunted trees and shrubs also grow here. So let's understand more about these Tundra types and plants, in detail.

Arctic Tundra Plants
The Arctic Tundra is located around the North Pole and stretches further towards the coniferous forests of the Taiga biome. The average temperature is about -34 degrees C, with summers being slightly less negative, about 3-12 degree C. The permafrost, which is a permanently frozen subsoil comprises gravel and fine material. Growing season is only 50-60 days a year. However, plants cannot sustain with a deep root system in such an extremely climatic conditions. So the source of water for the vegetation to sustain is made available, when the water saturates in the upper surfaces forming bogs and ponds. Also, these plants exhibit good resistance to cold weather. Surprisingly, the snow coating protects these plants from the persistent cold winds of Tundra. These plants photosynthesize at low temperatures, depending on the low intensity of light. The reproduction of plants in the Arctic region is mostly by budding and division and not by flowering.

A good example of a dwarf Tundra plant is the Arctic Willow, which thrives close to the ground by developing shallow roots. It is also known as the tongue plant. These plants are also known as cushion plants, attributing to their growth in low tight clumps, that resemble a cushion. Their formation explains the trapping of warm air within them, to protect them from cold air. One example of this cushion plant is Purple saxifrage. It is conspicuous with its purplish star shaped flowers that bloom during the melting of snow. The stem of this plant is covered with tiny leaves which are equipped with tiny hair that capture heat for the plant.

Then there are mosses and lichens which thrive in abundance in the Arctic Tundra. Lichen is a plant which is a combination of algae and fungi. These plants are diversified and are found as a flaky crust growing on tree trunks and rocks. Some even look like bushy plants erupting from tree trunks, while some hang from the trees. One good example of the Arctic lichen is the Reindeer Lichen. These lichens can grow without soil too. They grow on rocks and are also a source of food for various Tundra animals like the caribou. A few mammals also use this plant to line their burrows and nests. On the other hand, mosses are flowerless plants that are equipped with small rhizoids (thread like roots), to absorb moisture. They grow in any region which has enough moisture and less soil. They too can grow on rocks.

Alpine Tundra Plants
Alpine Tundra is found across any latitude of earth, with a very high elevation. But it is not a uniform zone that can sustain too many plants. This is because, the level of elevations in this Tundra decide the vegetation in this biome. The major micro habitat that thrives in Alpine Tundra are Meadows, snowbeads, talus fields, and fellfields. Alpine biomes are found at a height of about 10000 feet or more. These Tundra regions are not so cold like the Arctic Tundra. In summers (June - September), the average temperature is about 10-15 degree C. In winters (October - May), however the temperature drops below freezing.

There are about 200 species of Alpine plants that thrive in this Tundra region. Most plants that grow here are small perennial ground cover plants which grow with sparsely available carbon dioxide. The reproduction cycles are very slow, because of the cold and the wind. Also, when plants die, due to the extreme cold, the decomposition is slow, which thereby results in poor soil formation. The Tundra vegetation comprises dwarf shrubs and myriad flowers (only during the blooming season: July - August). Due to the short growing period, alpine plants prepare themselves by maturing the buds in late fall or late winters or early spring. Mosses and lichens dominate this region too. This variety of plants can be found profoundly in Colorado and in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The main difference between the Arctic Tundra and the Alpine Tundra is that the latter has a well drained soil. Also one interesting feature of Alpine Tundra is light with a high UV wavelength, which is a great risk to animal life here. This region is more inhabited by warm blooded animals, which hibernate in cold and warm their bodies by drawing the insulation from fats stored. Animal life includes mammals (pikas, marmots, mountain goats, sheep, elk), birds (grouse like) and insects (springtails, beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies). Vegetation that grows here mostly comprises tussock grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths.

Description And Characteristics Of The Daffodils

Those immortal words are from William Wordsworth’s 1804 poem, Daffodils. Wordsworth understood the unique quality of this hardy mostly spring blooming flower that has the uncanny ability to dance through the fields like a flock of angels, or as they tiptoe through our imagination while sitting in a bouquet of beauty.
Scientific Name
The botanic name Narcissus has two derivations. The first one comes from the story of Narcissus in Greek mythology. Narcissus became obsessed with his own reflection in a pool.

He died from starvation and thirst at the edge of the pool, or in another version he drowned in the pool. A flower sprang up in the spot he died, and it was called the Narcissus plant.

The other derivation is from the Greek express "vapkaw narkao," which means “to grow numb” since the plant has a chemical composition that has some narcotic properties.

The name daffodil comes from the early English Affodell name, which is a variation of Asphodel. The Dutch put a “De” in front of affodell.

The name daffodil was brought to life around the 16th century from those names. An assortment of other names like “Daffadown Dilly” and “daffydowndilly” were used around the same time.

Geographic Origin
Daffodils are part of the Amaryllis family which is native to Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Botanically the plant is called Narcissus, which has between forty and two hundred species, subspecies, or varieties of species depending on what botanist’s description you read.

Daffodils For North American Gardens claims there are over one hundred species variants and wild hybrids. Thanks to genetic research that number continues to change.

Description and Characteristics
All Narcissus species have that prominent central trumpet-bowl or the disc shaped corona enclosed in a ring of six floral leaves, which unites in a tube at the forward edge of the ovary.

The seeds are round, black, and swollen with a very hard coat. Traditional folklore describes daffodils as yellow or golden yellow, but due to special breeding the corona and the perianth (six floral leaves) can be a variety of colors.

The American Daffodil Society publishes a Daffodil Journal that contains great information about the latest developments in the world of daffodils. The history, the varieties, and the hybridizing of daffodils are some of issues that keep daffodil lover's aware of the ever-changing world of horticulture.

Meaning
The range of daffodils in cultivation is constantly modified and extended so there are new variations available from flower specialists every year. In some parts of the US the yellow daffodil is called jonquil, but the jonquil species only refers to several yellow flowers with strong scents and rounded foliage.

Professionally the name jonquil should only be used for daffodils in division 7 or for hybrids in division 13. There are over 13 divisions in the official daffodil classification system since there are over 25,000 registered cultivars (hybrids).

Cultivation and Care
Daffodils have a number of interesting features that attract weekend gardeners as well as professional growers. Daffodils are reasonably priced for the most part because they can multiply through blub division (asexual cloning) as well as from seed (sexually).

They can also be pollinated by the wind or insects when they are blooming. The seed pod can contain one seed or as many as twenty-five seeds when pollen is brushed from one flower to the stigma of another.
When good growing conditions are present daffodils can enjoy a long life. That life can be much longer than the growers who planted them. When weekend gardeners know how and where to plant them they can bloom for six weeks to six months depending on the climate and the growing region of the country.
The experts say that the best care after daffodils bloom is to let the daffodil blub rebuild for the next year. The leaves stay green during that process. When the leaves turn yellow it’s time to cut the leaves off.
Most daffodils are tolerant when it comes to cold weather and even snow doesn’t harm so they can be planted in states that border the Canadian border.

Where to plant daffodils is always a topic of conversation for new gardeners who have vintage trees in their yards or have large shrubs that serve as a backdrop for walkway gardens.

Knowing how to plant daffodils is almost an innate sense since almost all varieties of these hearty plants bloom under the shade of deciduous trees, but it’s good to remember that they are not fond of being planted under evergreens and shrubs. When walkway gardens need flowers it’s best to keep the daffodils away from the shrubs.

Another interesting bit of daffodillia is not forcing daffodils to grow when ivy and pachysandra have already staked a claim in the garden. They don’t last long in that environment, but they do well when shallow-rooted, trailing plants, like, foamflower, myrtle, or creeping phlox are growing.

Diseases and Pests
Daffodil bulbs contain lycorine, which is a poison so it protects itself from predators for the most part although there are some insects that still make a feast out of it.

Florists have a tendency to develop dermatitis problems while planting daffodil bulbs or when they handle them without gloves because the chemical is so toxic.

Uses
Some of the most interesting daffodil facts involved the medicinal uses for the roots as well as the bulbs. The Romans used the roots to dispense any dis-ease that occurred in any part of the body.

They considered it an emollient or erodent. The Japanese treated their wounds with a mixture of wheat flour paste and narcissus root, but modern herbal studies don’t list daffodils as important remedies since there are conflicting reports about its effectiveness in lab animals.

Beautify Your Home With Flowers

Nothing is more beautiful than home grown plants. Flowers, plants and herbs make an excellent addition to any size home. From homes with yards large enough for gardens to simple flower boxes on decks or patios, gardening is rewarding. The basics of growing plants are actually quite simple, so starting a garden isn't as daunting a task as you might believe, especially if there are resources like software available to help you plan.

The first, and perhaps most important step, is deciding what you to grow. Unfortunately, it is this step that often overwhelms new gardeners. Plants and flowers only thrive under very specific conditions. Climate zones, sunlight, irrigation and soil conditions are just the start. Gardeners must also decide to plant annuals or perennials or even a combination of the two. Almost all flowers are annuals and will need to be replanted on a yearly basis.

As you can guess, new gardeners can literally spend hours researching plant and flower varieties only to discover that what they bought simply won't thrive. Maybe the plant isn't hardy enough for the climate or perhaps it was simply planted in the wrong place. Planning how to plant these flowers together generally requires tons of charts and almanacs, but simple software can make the process much easier.

Instead of trying the trial and error method, it's always a good idea to utilize software designed to help gardeners not only layout their gardens, but to choose plants, flowers and herbs that have the best chance of growing harmoniously in their gardens. Some gardening software provides an encyclopedic knowledge of designing a garden, along with the ease of being able to upload pictures and dimensions to get a good idea of available space.

Garden Design software may have a database of thousands of plants, which provides detailed information regarding the requirements for each plant as well as basic care and watering information. The design function allows gardeners to design a new garden or to import pictures of their existing space. Even better, users can drop and drag pictures of their plants, flowers and herbs, ensuring thorough coverage and allowing the user to visualize the end result of their planting.

Knowledge may very well be the gardener's best weapon. Finding all of the information regarding plant and flower species in one concise location has never been easier. From landscape design, to plant selection and even irrigation plants, garden design software is a powerful design tool and source of information.
Whether you are new to the world of gardening or have years of experience, you are likely to find that knowing what plants will thrive where is the hardest part of planning a successful garden. Be sure you are planting 'smart' by reviewing the latest information on your favorite flower and herb varieties. Who knows, you may find several new favorites in the large database.

Putting in a garden is rewarding, relaxing and fun. Start your project out right by learning all you can about the plants, flowers and herbs you plan to plant.