The bottom of the rainforest is aptly named the forest floor and is the darkest and most barren part of the rainforest. Almost no plants grow on the forest floor, however at the end of winter when there is less forest coverage, light can penetrate the forest floor and few things get the opportunity to sprout and grow. Plants also also begin to decay very quickly because of the lack of sunlight, for example a leaf that may take a year to decay in a regular climate may disappear in six weeks on the forest floor. Giant anteaters live in this layer.
The next level up from the forest floor, this layer receives little sunlight too but more than the forest floor, so this means plants have to grow large leaves in order to absorb sunlight. Plants in this layer rarely grow beyond 12 feet. Many animals actually live in this layer such as jaguars, leopards and red-eyed tree frogs, as well as a large concentration of insects.
This is the principal and predominant layer of the rain forest and forms an efficient roof or canopy over the two previous layers. Most canopy trees have smooth and oval leaves that are unwrinkled with pointy extremities. It quite literally is a labyrinth of leaves, branches and growth which means many animals like snakes and birds live here as food is in abundance.
The last and highest layer there is, the emergent layer includes the tallest trees that grow in the rainforest as they emerge through the canopy. Trees can tower up to 200 feet above the forest floor with the width of trees measuring up to 16 feet in diameter. The majority of these trees are hardwood evergreens with broad leaves. Sunlight is in abundance in the emergent layer with many animals like eagles, monkeys, bats and butterflies living there.