If you are a biology lover and passionate about studying the typical vegetation on this green planet, tropical evergreen trees are an interesting topic!
Due to an extremely rich flora system and tree physiol, listing all the ingredients that make up this vegetation is never easy!
In this article, we have researched and synthesized 8 types of evergreen trees with the densest distribution in large tropical evergreen forests scattered throughout the Earth.
Scroll down for more interesting information!
What Is The Tropical Evergreen Forest?
A tropical evergreen forest is formed of an assemblage of evergreen trees, mainly along the world’s temperate mid-latitudes (such as the Western Ghats’ western slopes, the Amazon forest of central and South America, the Western Ghats of India, Costa Rica, and so on).
Here we have the general characteristics of these areas’ climate:
- High rainfall (usually more than 200 cm).
- Year-round warmth (average over 20 °C).
- Short dry color.
The vegetation in these tropical rainforests forms a multi-layered structure with various plants such as trees, vines, and shrubs.
The tropical evergreen forests are so dense that even sunlight cannot penetrate the leaves to reach the ground.
Broadleaf evergreen forest occurs in southeastern Brazil, southern China, southeastern North America, and the Mediterranean basin.
Meanwhile, the remaining evergreen tropical forests cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface and 50% of the Earth’s terrestrial animals/plants.
In addition, the evergreen deciduous forest also occurs in swamp forests, freshwater wetlands, or flooded forests.
They are generally spread along the lower reaches of rivers, around freshwater lakes, mainly in subtropical to tropical and northern to temperate climates.
Some Important Tropical Evergreen Trees
Because of the large area and the huge number of plant species, it would be impossible to list them all!
Therefore, we have studied and synthesized nine typical plants that often appear with dense frequency in evergreen tropical forests.
Miracle Fruit
Miracle fruit is native to tropical regions located in western Africa. This shrub can reach 18 feet tall when grown in ideal habitat and is much smaller if kept in water alone.
A miracle fruit tree impresses with its long, narrow leaves with an attractive dark green color. It flowers year-round but will not bear fruit until it is about 2 feet tall and about 3 years old.
Besides its attractive succulent appearance, its fruit also offers a “miracle” use, as its name implies.
After eating, it leaves an invisible film on the inside of the tongue and mouth, which can change the taste of food and protect the taste buds from the influence of sour taste.
Thanks to its impressive appearance, many people often choose this plant to grow in the home garden. If you are also interested in them, plant them in pots and keep them away from cold environments.
Chinese Hat
The name of the Chinese hat plant (also known as Mandarin Hat or Holmskioldia sanguinea) is inspired by the distinctive shape of the flowers (like hats).
They are often eye-catching red or orange, attracting hummingbirds to suck nectar and promote pollination.
In terms of growth, they are quite similar to vines – growing on trellises or even climbing other plants (but without the tendrils).
This plant occurs only in evergreen rainforests in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in Asia.
Chinese hat plants are extremely frost-sensitive, requiring water, adequate sunlight, and fertile soil columns throughout their lives.
Cordyline
Cordylines are commonly found with extreme frequency in subtropical or tropical evergreen forests, such as Asia, New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific islands, and so on. It is derived from the word “kordyle,” a Greek word for giant tree roots.
The vines sprouting from its trunk are covered in vibrant colors such as cream, white, green, purple, orange, and red.
Unlike other tropical evergreens, this plant is much more “easy going” because it can live in windy, cool, and even arid conditions.
Currently, more and more people choose cordylines to make ornamental plants because they require little care, diverse types, and are easy to adapt to different environmental conditions and soil columns.
Rosewood
The Rosewood plant includes all hardwood trees of the genus Dalbergia (a large genus of the Fabacrae family), such as Burmese rosewood, Honduran rosewood, Brazilian rosewood, etc.
All plants of this genus have impressive durability, weight, and excellent shine. Therefore, locals often exploit them for purposes such as making guitars, door handles, and marimbas.
In the West, Dalbergia nigra is one of the most prized rosewoods for its excellent looks and quality.
Malabar Kino
Malabar Kino is a medium-sized deciduous tree native to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India, particularly in the tropical rainforests of the Karnataka-Kerala region, the Western Ghats, and central India.
Its average height ranges from 15 to 20 m, sometimes reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) if grown in ideal light conditions.
This plant’s heart has excellent medicinal properties, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, astringent, anthelmintic, and bitter acrid.
Therefore, it is often a valuable remedy to treat elephantiasis, diabetes, diarrhea, dysentery, albinism, gray hair, cough, and rectal pain.
Bamboos
Bamboo belongs to the subfamily Bambusoideae, a subfamily of tall grasses in the grass family Poaceae.
They are distributed mainly in subtropical, tropical, to temperate regions, with high frequency in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Thanks to a special rhizome mechanism, this evergreen plant can grow up to 30 cm (1ft) daily.
The smallest species of bamboo ranges in height from only 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), while the largest species can grow to over 40 meters (about 130 ft).
Most bamboos flower only once a lifetime (after age 12) and grow mainly on a vegetative mechanism – growing another seedling on its stem.
Indian Laurel
The Indian Laurel commonly occurs in the temperate rainforests of Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and India.
It comes from the Fig family with a parasitic habit on other individual trees, which poses a threat to the host.
Their fruit is quite similar in shape to a fig, containing about 150 seeds. These pods, once ripe, attract birds to eat, resulting in the seeds being spread across the island-wide.
The Indian Laurel uses its massive network of roots to surround the trunk of the host plant.
When growing large enough, some plants even pull down the host plant or kill it by the broad foliage blocking the sun at the crown level.
Teak
Teak (aka Tectona grandis) is a genus of giant evergreen tropical trees from Lamiaceae native to south/southeast Asia.
These deciduous trees commonly occur in the mixed hardwood evergreen forests of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and other tropical monsoon forests.
This plant tends to lose all its leaves in the dry season and regrow new leaves in the rainy season. Teak flowers grow in thick clusters at the end of branches, pale blue and very fragrant.
Their leaves are reddish green, hairy on the underside, and feel rough to the touch.
Our Final Thoughts
Tropical evergreen forest is always a topic that attracts those interested in biology because of their rich flora and fauna system.
Due to the diverse distribution location, each evergreen forest type has different functional traits, tree physiol, and tree species diversity, becoming a never-ending research topic for biologists.
Through our article, we hope you now have more detailed insights into the ecology of tropical evergreen trees and the most typical tree species. See you in the next articles!
