Central America, Caribbean islands, equatorial South America and western Africa, southeastern Asia from India to Malaysia, northern Australia, and many Pacific Islands.
Forests cover about seven percent of the earth's surface, half of that is tropical.
Restricted to southern Florida in the continental United States. Vast number of densely spaced trees and enormous diversity of species, sites and sounds . General lack of seasonality. Frost and freezing temperates restricted to tropical mountains. Soils are geologically old and therefore generally poor in mineral nutrients .