Though they are one of the main features of the Amazon rainforest, the trees that cover vast swathes of the region are often overlooked, viewed as a mere backdrop to the myriad of colourful and exotic animals that call the Amazon home.
However, look a little bit more closely and you’ll see just how incredible these huge trees really are. Producing around 20% of the earth’s oxygen and providing a home for some of the rarest and most beautiful creatures in the world, these tall trees play an essential role in jungle life.
For anyone about to embark on Amazon tours in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia or Ecuador, the trees that you see will form the backdrop to your trip. To help you appreciate these incredible plants a little more, here are some fascinating facts about the tallest trees in the Amazon and the role they play in the life of the jungle.
How many trees are in the Amazon?
As you’ll see on all Amazon tours in Brazil, if there’s one thing that the Amazon is not lacking, its trees. Though counting each and every tree in the jungle is impossible, scientists have undertaken several studies and surveys to determine the approximate number of trees, placing the number at a huge 400 billion.
In fact, around a third of the world’s tree species can be found in the Amazon, though more and more are being lost each day due to deforestation and illegal logging.
Which is the tallest tree in the Amazon?
The tallest tree in the Amazon is the Sumaumeira. A species of the Kapok tree, the Sumaumeira can grow to heights of 200 feet and diameters of more than ten feet, towering above their neighbours high up in the jungle canopy.
Found on the floodplains of jungle rivers, this fast growing tree is easy to spot on Amazon tours in Brazil thanks to the distinctive above ground roots that protect the tree from flood waters during the wet season.
Though the Sumaumeira is the tallest, there are hundreds of other enormous trees in the Amazon, each towering hundreds of feet above the jungle floor.
Integral to rainforest life and important for the health of the planet, these huge trees are well worth taking the time to appreciate during your Amazon adventure.
If you are planning an Amazon cruise Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia all have fantastic tree species to discover, so make sure that you don’t take these life giving plants for granted.