Introduction - Temperate Rainforest Plants
Plentiful rainfall and rich soil make temperate rainforest the perfect environment for a variety of plants (including tree) species. In this section of Temperate Rainforest Facts we provide interesting information about the various plants and trees that grow in the temperate rainforest biome. Below you will find listed numerous facts including the type of flora that grow in these regions, where this vegetation grows, and how they survive in these forests.Click here for a great selection of Amazon.com books about temperate rainforests.
Temperate Rainforest Tree Facts
- In temperate rainforest you will find the tallest trees in the world. The coastal redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is the largest of them all. Some of these giants reach heights of over three hundred and fifty feet (106.68 meters).
- Coast redwood trees, found in California, grow extremely fast often reaching 130 feet (39.62 meters) by the time they are thirty years old and 170 feet (51.82 meters) by the time they are fifty years old.
- Some of the oldest trees in the world grow in the temperate rain forest of the world. Some Coast Redwood trees have been recorded to be 2000 years old and Douglas Firs have been known to reach over 1000 years old. One contributing factor allowing trees in these regions to grow so old is that forest fires are extremely rare due to the amount of moisture present.
- Most of the trees in the temperate rainforest located in the northern hemisphere are needle-leaf trees include fir, pine, and spruce trees. In the temperate rainforest located in the southern hemisphere broad-leaf trees (trees with broad and flat leaves) are most common.
- North American temperate rainforest are located on the pacific coast of North America and are the largest temperate rainforests in the world. They span from north California up through Oregon into Alaska. The species of trees and plants found here vary as you go further north. Trees found in these regions include Douglas Fir, Coastal Redwood, Sitka, Shore Pine, spruce, Western Red Cedar, Mountain Hemlock, and Western Hemlock.
Facts about Temperate Rainforest Plants
- In all of the worlds temperate rainforest you will find epiphytes growing on the sides of the huge trees and on tree branches. Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants getting their nutrition from nutrients in the air and from forest debris that gathers around them. Epiphytes thrive on moisture; the more moisture present in a temperate rain forest the more epiphytes you will find.
- Temperate rainforest consist of three layers based on the vegetation that grows there:
- Canopy - This is the upper layer. It is characterized by the top of huge trees covering the rest of the forest like an umbrella, allowing little sunlight to make it to the lower layers.
- Understory - Under the forest canopy is the understory; here you will find small trees and shrubs. The understory of the temperate rainforest is a difficult place for plants to survive. Sunlight, which is essential for plant life is minimal and the roots of the huge forest trees sap up a lot of the nutrients in the soil.
- Floor - Beneath the understory is the forest floor which is covered with dead trees and tree limbs. Here you will find plants that can survive with very little sunlight. The plants found here include mosses, mushrooms, and ferns.