Buttresses: the Natural Tree Supports
The towering trees of the rainforests have relatively thin trunks that branch out into a dome-shaped crown of leaves and branches high above the forest floor. These giant trees have to support their own mass as well as the mass of the plants and animals that make their homes on and among their branches. With only 2 inches (5 cm) of topsoil on the forest floor, the trees require additional support. Giant roots called "buttresses" rise up out of the ground next to the trees in the shape of a cathedral.

Lianas
Lianas are thick woody vines that run from the forest floor to canopy and from tree crown to tree crown. Lianas have their own roots systems, but depend on trees for support. Since they are supported by other plants, lianas can use all of their energy on increasing their size. Some even grow to be 3,000 feet (900 meters) long.

Lianas begin their lives on the forest floor as seeds. Once a vine begins to grow, it starts searching for a tree. When it finds a tree, it begins to climb up the bark of the tree until it encounters light. Once it reaches light, the vine grows, flowers, and produces fruit, completing the cycle.
Unfortunately, at times, lianas connect the surrounding trees too well; when one tree topples, it forces the surrounding trees to go down with it.