Rainforest Flowers

In the rainforest itself, there are several things to keep in mind when searching for tropical rainforest flowers.

In general, many rainforest flowers are quite small, dull, and high up in the canopy.

They are often small because they are pollinated by small animals such as insects, so sometimes you are searching for groups ('infloresences') of smaller flowers.

Many are dull in colour, which suggests attraction by smell and/or pollination at night.This means that in theory you should go sniffing around the jungle at night! However, this will no doubt attract attention, and in practise it doesn't work very well;we humans, (unlike most mammals) are olfactory challenged, and find it hard to determine where a smell is coming from..(think about how long it sometimes take to sniff out where a bad smell is coming from in a single room...)and when spotlighting at night, you have a fairly narrow field of view compared to normal daytime viewing.

Many of the flowers that are larger and more colourful to attract birds and insects,are found at the 'roof' of the forest, the canopy, which we little humans do not normally see from the forest floor.. You can get around this by going to where the canopy comes to the ground;that is, the edge of the rainforest that is found against the ocean, rivers, lakes, the farmland, or gardens.

With all these factors in mind,it is best to hang out at the edge of the rainforest.

Lodges in the forest surrounded by clearing are usually good places.

Cultivated gardens are also good places.

so where can I go to see tropical rainforest flowers?

In North Queensland;

In Cairns, you can visit the Cairns Botanical Gardens to see a large range of both exotic and native flowers, including many gingers and palms. The flowers here also attract a range of insects, spider and birds. There is a 'native food garden forest', and a (native) 'evolutionary walk', as well as a fernery, and the usual exotics, plus a nice cafe and good little bookstore (but this shop is not open on weekends, unfortunately).