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Introduction: Bromeliads and aroids as epiphytes
Life in a lowland rain forest is concentrated in the canopy, home to most of its
plant and animal species. A walk through the Bromeliad and Aroid house offers a
peek into these lofty heights.
As so-called “air plants” or epiphytes, bromeliads and aroids are especially
common in the forest canopy. After orchids and ferns, which are displayed in
other buildings, these two groups are the most diverse plant families in this
habitat, with more than a thousand species each.
The composition of the forest canopy flora is very different from one continent
to another. The tropics of the Americas, the socalled Neotropics, are particularly
unusual. They show the greatest diversity and many groups of epiphytes are only
found here. For example, bromeliads exist naturally only in the Americas. The
aroids or Araceae are found worldwide, but by far the largest diversity is found
in the canopy of Neotropical forests. The exceptional role of the Neotropics is
also reflected in a lot of other plant and animal groups.
If you want to know more about the general life-style of an epiphyte, press the
pound key 161 on your handset.
Audio file download
Introduction: Bromeliads and Aroids as epiphytes (MP3, 600 KB)
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