Large tree branches in the understorey support many ferns such as the Bird's Nest, Elkhorn, Staghorn and Basket Fern. These can reach great sizes and provide excellent catchment areas for falling leaves and plant debris. This rotting plant material then provides the fern with nutrients while supporting a miniature community of its own. Insects and other small creatures thrive in these damp aerial micro-habitats and frogs and reptiles commonly shelter within the foliage. Tropical rainforests in high rainfall and cloudy areas support the greatest abundance and diversity of epiphytic ferns, as most prefer shady situations beneath the canopy.
Most orchids also grow in shady conditions as epiphytes in the understorey.
There are about 150 species that have been recorded in the Wet Tropics, with at least 25percent of them being endemic to the region. Their brightly coloured flowers attract insect pollinators such as wasps, bees, moths and butterflies. Usually one petal is larger and acts as a landing platform for the pollinator. Hundreds of tree trunks of all shapes, sizes and colours can be seen in the understorey, their bark often decorated with epiphytic lichens and mosses giving it a mottled appearance. Trunks may be smooth, ridged, furrowed or noticeably bumpy.