The rain forests are pretty much the mystery of the world as it stands. And they consist of several plants that can be used to heal, and others are poisonous. There’s a lot to protect, and that’s why there are always campaigns to preserve the forests.
But did you know that some everyday foods and herbs can grow in the rainforest? It isn’t all about the exotic spices there, and they are more than you can imagine. Here’s a list of some of the herbs and foods that grow naturally in the rain forests.
Bananas
Who would have imagined it, but bananas grow naturally in the rainforest? You probably had one this morning for breakfast, and you didn’t know that. Now bananas are part of a $5 billion industry today. But in the early 1900s, this was an industry marred with speculation of worker abuse and deforestation. It was also an industry suspected of stream poisoning too. It may interest you to know that 15% of the globally traded bananas come from the rainforest.
Coffee and Tea
One of nature’s most traded commodities has got to be coffee, and on top of your banana, you have had a cup of coffee. Not many people know that coffee comes from rainforests. Coffee supports around 25 million people across the globe today.
Of course, most of the coffee comes from Latin America, Africa, and Asia; some of the best beans come from rainforests. This is because the beans are grown under the shade of the canopy of the forest cover. The same applies to tea. Tea can be found growing wild in rainforests, from African teas, to Australian tea, this plant grows and thrives in this type of habitat.
Cinnamon
Of the favored herbs today, cinnamon has got to be the most commonly used. It comes from the bark of the Cinnamomum tree. And most of it is grown by farmers in remote villages. Once cinnamon has been harvested, the bark curls naturally. When that happens, it forms what is commonly known as “cinnamon sticks.”
Chocolate
Like coffee, cocoa is quickly grown and performs better under the shade of the forest. So, if you enjoy chocolates, you may want to be a part of the fight to preserve the rain forests. This can be found in Asia, South and Central America, and West Africa.
There has been a shift regarding the growth of cocoa as people have cut down forests; hence cocoa can’t grow in the right conditions. Some of the NGOs are working with the farmers to return the shade to grow cocoa.
Black Pepper
The last item on this list, a herb that has grown in the rain forest, is black pepper. Black pepper has been used for various ideas, and one of them is offering to the gods in parts of Asia. You can also use pepper in almost all the cuisines in the world today.
The Important Fight
There have been fights going on with regards to preserving rainforests. It’s a good fight that people need to embrace as herbs and food we use grow there. These are some of them that you may have not even known grow in rain forests.
