Rosy periwinkle
This pretty plant from Madagascar gives us two very important cancer-fighting medicines: vinblastine and vincristine. Vincristine has helped increase the chance of surviving childh...
Learning resources
Giant taro
Giant taro has the largest un-split leaf in the world, reaching two metres long. The giant leaves are ideally adapted to absorbing the small amount of light that reaches the rainfo...
Philippines jade vine
The Philippines Jade Vine has some of the most extraordinary flowers of any plant. Enormous, metre-long spikes of brilliant turquoise blooms hang from the scrambling stems usually ...
Blue poison dart frog
Blue poison dart frogs are found in only a few isolated areas of rainforest in Suriname and northern Brazil, so were only discovered in 1969. They are diurnal, which means they are...
Emerald tree boa
Emerald tree boas, as their name suggests, are a tree dwelling species, spending most of their time high up in the foliage. They prefer to be solitary. They are found in lowland tr...
Goeldi’s monkey
Goeldi’s monkeys live in family groups of six to eight in South American rainforests. The parents and siblings keep close, rarely moving more than 15 metres apart, whilst older s...
Linné’s Two-toed Sloth
Quick facts Scientific name Choloepus didactylus Native to South America Rainforest layer Canopy Diet Plants Size Maximum length 85cm Weight 8kg Lifespan 30 years IUCN cons...
Six-banded armadillo
Six-banded armadillos dig big dens up to two metres deep to sleep in at night, but only stay in the same place for a few days at a time. Unlike most armadillos, the six-banded is m...
Pygmy marmosets
Pygmy marmosets are the smallest living true monkey in the world, hence, they have been given a genus of their own, Cebuella. They are from South America and can be found in Brazi...