Competition

• A tree branch high in the canopy covered with orchids.orchid image by Anton Chernenko from Fotolia.com
  
  All the tropical rainforest plants are in competition for growing space and exposure to light. Tall trees dominate the landscape and are covered with airplants such as ferns, bromeliads and orchids. The forest canopy is so thick with competing vegetation that less than 1 percent of the available light reaches the ground.
  
  

Specialization and Adaptation

• Such a high concentration of plant life has lead to specialization where plants fill a small niches in the ecosystem to exploit untapped resources or develop symbiotic relationships with other plants and animals. One adaptation common to rainforest plants are drip tips and grooves on leaves that to channel the large amounts of rainfall off the leaf like a gutter.
  
  

Plant Types

• Types of plants in the tropical rainforest include lianas, which are long vines that root on the ground and flower high in the tree tops. There are a number of parasitic plants in the rainforest such as the Rafflesia, which lives entirely inside another plant and only shows itself when in bloom.