Plants & Flowers of the Congo

The Congo rain forest, located in central Africa, features a wide array of tropical flora and fauna. It's bordered by the South Atlantic Ocean and features lush jungles, moist grasslands and a warm tropical environment surrounding the Congo River System. The flowers and plants of the Congo are various and plentiful, from deep green foliage, to flowers that blossom in bright, almost neon colors.

African Teak

Gingko image by Angelika Bentin from Fotolia.com

A deciduous tree hailing from the Congo region, African teak presents itself as a highly useful woody plant to the inhabitants of the region. The lumber produced by the plant provides people with the materials to construct boats, buildings and other necessary items. Growing up to 50 meters in height, the massive tree produces bark that varies in color from yellow and green to medium brown. The roots are buttressed, growing above the ground as large as 3 meters around. The color of the plant's foliage varies from shades of light spring green to darker grass green.

Moabi

A slow-growing, flowering fruit tree, the moabi produces sustenance to inhabitants of the Congo river basin and surrounding tropical region. It produces attractive blossoms of white, yellow and orange, which become the round green pear-like fruits of the plant. The tree is also used for its essential oils and hard wood.

Lobelia

A flowering plant hailing from the Congo, lobelia blooms as a stout shrub producing blossoms of indigo blue and violet. Other varieties of lobelia hail from Asia and the Americas, and the lobelias of the Congo also thrive throughout the world as border plants in home gardens. The plant prefers well-drained, humus-enriched soil and plenty of warmth and partial sunlight.