Rainforest Flowers

There are hundreds of species of rainforest flowers that grow abundantly throughout the rainforests of Brazil, Peru, Australia, and others. This is especially miraculous because the soil in the Amazon rainforest is nearly bereft of nutrients!

Experts in botany claim there are hundreds, if not thousands, of flower and plant species in the Amazon rainforest. You'll find flowers growing in each of the layers, including flowering trees in the canopy layer. Since most of the nutrients that plants require are in the plants and trees of the rainforest itself, flowers will grow not only from the soil, but within the various layers of trees and plants.

Gorgeous and Unique Rainforest Flowers

Every color of the rainbow can be found in the flowers of the rainforest! Blue, purple, pink, yellow, orange, red, and many shades of each color too. Each flower species is unique in its appearance and design. They're fascinating and beautiful!

Some species can be grown in other parts of the world, so you could possibly add some of these tropical flowers to your own garden.

Bromeliads - Most Well Known Rainforest Flowers

The Amazon rainforest is home to at least 2,700 species of plant called a bromeliad. It's not necessarily a flower, but it could pass for one! It is a plant that grows on rocks, on other plants or trees, or from the soil.

From a top view, the plants look like flowers because of their stunning colors and leaf formation. They are actually a relative of the pineapple, but are much prettier with colors of blue, red, purple, yellow, white, green, red, maroon, and crème.

An interesting thing about bromeliads - their uniquely designed leaves hold water after it rains, providing a mini ecosystem for insects, snails, tiny frog species, and even small salamanders!

Puya Raimondii is the largest bromeliad species with a flower spike measuring up to 10 meters high.

Some species of this flowering plant can be cultivated and grown in warmer climates across the world, but it is naturally found in Florida, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, and Chile.

Heliconia

Also known as the lobster claw plant, heliconias display a beautiful array of colors including pink, green, purple, yellow, red, and orange. Leaves of the plant are oblong in shape and can grow up to 10 feet in length.

This rainforest flower provides a nesting place for hermit birds, food for hummingbirds in the forest, and housing materials for the Honduran White Bat.

It's a popular ornamental plant used in tropical gardens across the world.

Orchids

Orchids are classified as epiphytes - a plant that utilizes another plant or tree for support and gets its food from rain, compost left behind on tree branches, and the air. These beautiful flowers number 10,000 species in the rainforests and tropical areas of the world alone!

The strong scent of an orchid will draw insects and moths to it and they in turn will help pollinate the orchid species. Colors of orchids can be any color of the rainbow, but never are found in true black. The smallest orchid bloom measures about the size of a nickel whereas the largest bloom can weigh 2,000 pounds and have flower petals that measure up to 30 inches!

Rainforest orchid species grow best in South America, Central America, and in countries located near the Andes Mountains. Thousands of other orchid species can be cultivated and grown successfully across the world.

Blue Passionflower

The blue passionflower, a flowering vine, is native to the Brazilian rainforest and Argentina. It's a very interesting looking flower with long white petals spreading outward from the center. Over the white petals are spiny white or blue colored petals and above that are the green and purple stamens. The blooms give off a delicious minty scent that might remind some of tropical fruit.

These rainforest flowers produce not only beautiful blooms, but also edible, oval shaped, orange fruit. The blue passionflower can grow in most climates other than extremely cold ones, but does require a structured support system given that it can grow as high as 30 feet into the air.

Water Lily

The water lily is one of the largest flower species in the world. The giant Amazon water lily, found in the Brazilian Amazon, can cover large expanses of water with its giant green pads. The pads can be as wide as 7 to 8 feet across! The flowers grow up in between the giant pads on stems that can be as long as 18 feet. White blooms appear first and then turn into pink flowers within one day. The blooms themselves can be up to 12 inches high.

Giant water lilies are on display in a few botanical gardens, but cannot be cultivated in home gardens.

Rainforest Flowers - Flowering Trees

Many species of flowering trees flourish in the tropical rainforest alongside the flower and plant species. Some of the flowering trees in the rainforest include:

• Sausage Tree - found in the rainforest of Senegal; grows up to 60 feet high; boasts trumpet shaped blooms in shades of red; called the sausage tree because of the sausage-shaped fruit it produces
  
  
• Jacaranda - grows up to 50 feet in height and has richly colored flowers in hues of blue and purple against leaves of bright green; native deciduous tree to the river basin of the Amazon; can be grown in certain parts of the U.S.
  
  
• Spotted Silky Oak - native to the Queensland rainforest in Australia; grows to 80 feet in height and produces elegant creamy white blooms that grow in huge clusters; ornamental tree.
  
  
• African Tulip Tree - grows in the Uganda and Kenya rainforest; has flowers that are a deep orangish-red color and blooms shaped similar to tulips; can reach up to 80 feet high and grows at altitudes of 3 to 4 thousand feet.

The diversity of rainforest flowers is so amazing and beautiful! The humid environment of the rainforest encourages the flowers and the flowering trees to bloom at various times throughout the year, so if you would visit, you'd see many species in bloom at any given time!