Content by Jessica Goh, Nurina Rosley and Tuan Mu’azah | Visual by Faradipa

In conjunction with the World Rainforest Day, we decided to share some fun facts as a way to educate people on one of the things we tend to take for granted; our rainforests!
The green they surround us, especially the inhabitants of Southeast Asia, the tropics at times either appear as an eyesore for developers wanting to transform them into concrete jungles, or a life giving port to those of us who know better. 

Did you know that currently, around 6% of Earth’s land is covered by rainforests, and within this 6%, there are about 30 million species of flora and fauna that can be found inhabiting them!

Trees in the rainforest tend to shroud the ground as they grow tall and the bushy rainforest canopy hinders the falling raindrop from directly reaching the forest floor. It takes about 10 minutes for a falling raindrop to travel from the forest canopy to the forest floor!

Rainforests are like the treasure trove for the civilization, as we grow and thrive from the wondrous flora and fauna that can be found inhabiting them. Some of the things that tend to be harvested from the rainforests are bananas, chocolates, coffees, nuts, coconuts, cinnamons, rubbers etc.

In Australia’s Daintree rainforest, one of the oldest primitive trees called idiot fruit can be found. The tree was initially thought to have disappeared yet it was rediscovered in 1971; whereas the poisonous seeds were found inside the stomach of dead cattle!

Despite being a place of poisons and delicious food for civilization, over 25% of natural medicines have also been discovered inside rainforests. 

Talking about rainforests, the largest tropical rainforest in the world is The Amazon rainforest in South America. The sheer size of the rainforest is akin to the ninth largest country in the world; Kazakhstan!

Since rainforests tend to be so big and secluded, some of the house tribes that have no contact with the outside world; some of which exist within Africa and Brazil’s rainforests.

Despite all of these, there is one specific fungi that can only be found in tropical rainforests, and they smell like rotting food; and they’re given a befitting name; stinkhorn fungi.

Happy World Rainforest Day!