Amazon Rainforest

Amazonia is home to the world's largest closed tropical forest system that's estimated to be about 3.7 million square kilometers (or 1.4 million square miles.) This is approximately the size of the Indian subcontinent. The area, also known as Amazonia or the Amazon Basin, encompasses seven million square kilometers (1.2 billion acres), though the forest itself occupies some 5.5 million square kilometers, located within nine nations: Brazil (with 60 percent of the rainforest), Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

Strictly speaking, only the lowlands and some isolated mountain ranges are covered by Amazonian plant species, but adjacent or even disjunct vegetation types in South America - such as the Atlantic coastal forest of southeastern Brazil - show strong floral or structural relationships.

The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

The diversity of species of the Amazon Rainforest is high. Additionally, at least 20 percent of all existing plantlife are found here. Some of the plant families are as old as up to 120 million years. This together with migration and seperation events of the tropical forest throughout the earth's history fascilitated the tremendous diversity that exists in the Amazon Rainforest.

For a visitor who is not an expert, identifying the thousands and thousands of plant species is an impossible task. You need a good guide to truly appreciate the real diversity of the Amazon Rainforest. Identifying all the species of plantlife is a daunting task even for an expert guide. Imagine trying to identify 10 different flowering or fruiting trees per day. It might be best to concentrate on the structure of the forest, the great variety of lianas, the diverse palms which can be stemless, bushy or climbing; buttresses and stilt roots; spiny trunks or unusual barks; and, high up, epiphytes like orchids, bromeliads and peperomias. Scanning the ground will reveal climbing aroids or Marcgraviaceae, and fallen flowers and fruits.