Understory gloom



 



Leafy bushes and small trees make up the understory. It is dark, hot and very still here. The canopy roof blocks out most of the sunlight and wind from above. Many insects, frogs and snakes live in this layer.



 



 



 





 



 



This is a chameleon. It can change its skin colour.



Chameleons camouflage themselves by changing colour to match their surroundings. They use their long, sticky tongue to catch insects. They can also swivel their eyes so that each eye looks in a different direction at the same time.


Continue reading "Understory gloom"

High flyers Birds in tropical rainforests



 



 



 



One-fifth of all the birds in the world live in tropical rainforests. They can be found, along with many other flying creatures, throughout the rainforest. They feed on insects, seeds, fruit, nectar or other animals.



 



 



 



 





 



 



This bird lives in the treetops as part of a noisy group.



Brightly coloured macaws have short wings to help them fly through the crowded canopy. They have a powerful beak which they use as a tool to crack open nuts and fruits. Macaws also use their beak to hold on to the canopy branches as they move around.



 



 





 



 



This rainforest butterfly is the biggest in the world.



Bird wing butterflies are poisonous and their brightly coloured wings warn other animals not to eat them. The poison in their bodies comes from a plant that they eat when they are caterpillars.



 



 





 



 



 



This bat feeds on fruit and nectar from flowers.



During the day, bats gather in large groups to sleep. They hang upside down from trees and sleep with their wings folded across their body. At night, they fly through the forest in search of fruit, insects and nectar to eat. Bats are important to rainforest plants and trees because they pollinate flowers. They also help to spread seeds in their droppings.


Treetop life



 



 



 



Plants and animals crowd the treetops. Some plants don’t need soil for their roots and many animals never touch the forest floor. The canopy provides all the sunlight, water, food and shelter they need.



 



 



 



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



 



This three-toed sloth lives high up in the trees.



Sloths are one of the slowest-moving creatures on Earth. They hang on to trees with hooked claws and spend most of their time asleep. Small plants called algae grow in their fur, turning it a greenish colour. This helps to camouflage sloths from their predators.



 



 



 


Continue reading "Treetop life "

Rainforest trees



 



 



Trees grow fast in the warm, wet rainforest. They race each other upwards to reach the sunlight. Some trees grow much taller than others. They have long, straight trunks and their branches spread out wide at the top of the tree.



 



 



 



 



 





 



 



Some treetops are as big as a school playground.



Huge trees, called emergents, can grow up to 70 metres tall! Their branches spread out over the forest canopy like an umbrella to make the most of the sunlight and space. They may also take advantage of the greater air movement at the top of the forest by developing winged seeds that can be carried by the wind.



 



 





 



 



Rainforest trees have large roots to prop them up.



Rainforest trees have large ‘buttress’ roots that spread out wide at their base like a skirt. They support the long trunk and anchor the huge tree firmly in place. The soil in a rainforest is shallow and nutrient-poor, so a tree’s roots fan out wide rather than dig deep.



 



 



 





 



Monkeys live high up in the treetops.



Monkeys are excellent climbers and leap or swing between branches. They use their strong tail like an extra arm and coil it around branches to help them hold on. A monkey’s tail has a bare patch under the tip, like the skin on the palm of a hand, to help it to grip on tightly.


Inside a rainforest



 



 



 



The heat and heavy rain in a rainforest are perfect for living things. Trees grow tall and flowers blossom. The lush rainforest provides food and shelter for the millions of creatures that it is home to.



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



 



Rainforests recycle their own water



Every day, the sun heats the rainforest, causing water from trees and plants to evaporate (turn into its gas form – water vapour). As the water vapour rises, it cools and condenses back into liquid water and forms rain clouds. When it rains, the plants soak up rain and the water cycle begins again.



 



 



 



 



 


Continue reading "Inside a rainforest"

What are rainforests?



 



 



Rainforests are dense, warm, wet forests, with huge trees. They are very special places. Over half the known animals and plants in the world live in rainforests, and new ones are being discovered all the time.



 



 



 





 



 



 



This is a tropical rainforest. It rains here almost every day.



More than two metres of rain falls in a tropical rainforest every year. It is a hot, wet and steamy place with little variation in weather and no seasons. As a result, the trees and plants stay green and keep growing all year round.



 



 



 





 



 



The white areas were once rainforests.



An area of rainforest the size of a football pitch is destroyed every second! They are cut down for their wood, or to make way for farms, mines or roads. These unique and important environments – which affect the world’s weather and provide us with medicine, food and oxygen – could be lost forever.



The green areas on this map show where tropical rainforests grow today.



Most of the world’s rainforests are tropical. They grow in ‘the tropics’, a hot area just north and south of the equator. The equator is the imaginary line we draw around the middle of the earth. Some rainforests grow further north and south of the equator where it is cooler. These are temperate rainforests.



 


Flesh - eating plants



 



 



 



 



Some plants trap insects and suck the goodness out of their bodies. Insects go to sundews or flytraps to look for food. When they do, they may be held by sticky hairs or trapped by strong leaves that snap shut like jaws!



 



 



 





 



 



This plant feeds on tasty insects.



This plant catches insects on its sticky leaves. Other plants catch insects by looking and smelling good. Pitcher plants do this. The insect goes to the pitcher plant to feed on the nectar. Once inside the plant’s hollow leaf, it cannot climb out because the walls are slippery. It dies in the liquid at the bottom, dissolves and becomes plant food.



 





 



Insects stick to the hairs on sundew plants.



This sundew plant oozes sticky juice onto the insect. The insect isn’t strong enough to escape. Its body turns to liquid and the plant absorbs the insect through its leaves!



 



 



 





 



 



This Venus flytrap has a fly in its jaws.



This fly has been tricked into stepping onto the leaf of a Venus flytrap while it was searching for nectar. The leafy jaws snap shut when anything touches the hairs. The Venus flytrap kills its victims using a liquid that turns the fly’s body into juice. It can take the flytrap two weeks to digest one fly.



 


Plants as food



 



People and animals need plants for food. We can eat all the different parts of plants. We can eat the stem and leaves of some plants, but sometimes we eat the roots, the fruits or the seeds.



 



 



 





 



We eat some flowers but not others.



Did you know that broccoli and cauliflowers are edible flowers? Capers are edible flower buds. Other flowers are not at all good to eat. It is dangerous to eat some flowers. Eating this iris would make you ill.



 



 





 



 



Farmers sow seeds. The seeds grow into plants for us to eat.



Farmers water their crops if there is too little rain. They harvest the crops when they are ready. If there is too much rain or wind, or it is too hot or too cold, the crops may be ruined.



 



 



 


Continue reading "Plants as food"

Seeds life Cycle

When a seed bursts into life and a new plant begins to grow, it is part of a greater life cycle. The new plant grows and makes new seeds which may grow into new plants. Dead plants also give life to other plants and animals.





 



 



 



Pine cones contain lots of seeds. They contain the information they need to make a new plant.



 



 



 



 





 



 



If the seed lands on soil and has water and light, it may germinate.



 



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



With enough light and water, the tiny plant continues to grow.



 



 



 



 



 


Continue reading "Seeds life Cycle"

When seeds begin to grow



 



 



 



 



A seed needs water and warmth so it can start to grow into a seedling. Then it needs sunlight, soil and more water so it can grow into a full size plant. If it has too much water it will rot. If it has too little water it will dry out.



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



 



This is a bean seed. It grows a root and a shoot.



A seed can look dead, but it is often just dormant. Some seeds can lie dormant for hundreds of years. The time when a seed begins to grow is called germination. The root grows first and then the shoot appears.



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



 



 



Beans can grow in a jar.



Soak some beans in water overnight. The next day, place the bean seeds between blotting paper and the side of a glass jar. Pour in a few centimeters of water. Put the jar on a warm, sunny window-sill. Add a little water each day. Your bean will grow a root and a shoot. When it grows too big for the jar, plant it in soil. If it has flowers and they are fertilized it will make new bean seeds.


How seeds travel

Most new plants will grow better if they do not have to share water, soil and sunlight with a bigger plant. When seeds are made, the plant tries to spread its seeds as far away as it can. Animals, the wind and water are used to move seeds to new places.





Some seeds are blown by the wind.



Dandelion seeds are very light and are carried by the wind. They float on the wind instead of falling straight down.



 



 



 



 



 





 



 



 



Coconuts are carried away by the sea.



Coconuts have a padded waterproof case so they can travel long distances by sea.



 



 



 


Continue reading "How seeds travel"

Seeds



 



 



 



Some seeds are so tiny they look just like specks of dust. Others are as big as footballs! Most seeds do not start to grow as soon as they are made. They need to be kept safe inside a fruit or seed case until it is the right time to grow into a new plant.



 



 





 



 



Most seeds grow inside a seed case or fruit.



The casing that protects a seed can be hard like a nut shell, or soft like an apple or tomato. Each seed case is adapted to help keep the seed safe.



 



 



 





 



 



Beans and nuts are seeds.



Inside each seed is a baby plant. This tiny plant already has a root and shoot and the food it needs to begin to grow.



 


Flowering trees



 



Some trees have two kinds of flowers on them – male flowers and female flowers. These catkins are male flowers. They are covered with pollen. The same tree also has small female flowers.



 



 





 



 



 



A holly tree can be male or female.



Holly trees or bushes are either all male or all female. Both male and female holly trees have white flowers. Berries only form on the female trees. To make new plants, there must be a male and female holly tree growing near each other. Insects carry pollen from the male to the female tree.



 



 





 



 



 



Both male and female flowers grow on a pine tree.



The male flowers are usually red or purple and the female flowers are often yellow or white. The female flower will become a pine cone if it is fertilized.



 



 



 



 





 



 



Most trees and bushes have flowers.



Some trees have flowers to attract insects, while others use the wind to spread pollen. Trees that use the wind usually have green, feathery flowers that hang from the tree.


Flower needs birds



 



Some flowers need birds to help them make seeds. Just like insects, some birds go to brightly coloured flowers in search of nectar. The pollen rubs off onto their beaks and feathers. They carry the pollen to other flowers.



 



 





 



Colourful flowers attract birds.



Birds are heavier than insects and a bird’s beak is hard. Because of this, bird-pollinated flowers are firm and tough. Birds have a poor sense of smell so these flowers don’t need to have a strong scent. Unlike bees, birds are not sensitive to ultra-violet light so flowers must be brightly coloured to attract them.



 



 





 



 



 



Humming-birds drink nectar from some flowers.



Some flowers need humming-birds to carry pollen to help them make seeds. Humming-birds also need flowers. They need the sugary nectar in these flowers for energy so that they can beat their wings up to 80 times a second!



 



 





 



 



Some bats and small animals like to drink nectar.



This tiny honey possum has a long snout and tongue for lapping up nectar from eucalyptus flowers. Its tongue can extend two centimeters from its body even though honey possums are only half the size of a mouse. Pollen rubs off onto the possum’s snout and is carried from one flower to another in this way.


Flowers Colour and scent



 



 



Some flowers have brightly coloured petals. When bees and other insects see these bright colours they go to the flower to search for nectar. Other flowers have strong scents so that insects will go to them.



 



 



 



 





 



This bee saw the petals and is looking for nectar.



Insects see differently from humans. Some colours that look dull to us can attract insects to flowers when they are searching for nectar. Some rare flowers are very brightly coloured and have unusual shapes to attract insects who might otherwise ignore them.



 



 



 





 



 



Some flowers have strong scents to bring insects to them.



The Buddleia bush smells so sweet and attracts so many butterflies that it is called the ‘butterfly bush’. It is the nectar in the flower that smells sweet. Some flowers, such as the Rafflesia, smell of rotting meat, which attracts flies to them.



 



 





 



An evening primrose looks different to a bee than it does to us.



Bees can see ultra-violet light so they can see flower markings that are invisible to us. The flower markings point towards the nectar, stamens and carpels in the middle of the flower. Some flowers, such as this evening primrose, even advertise a landing platform for bees. This way, plants make sure that plenty of insects visit them.