Some of the 11,000 plant species found in the Congo rainforest include legume trees, Raphia palms, Okoume trees and mahogany trees. Other plants include evergreens and palm oil trees.
The oil palm is a tree found in the Congo. This tree is used to make many commercial products, such as chocolate, candles, soap and lubricating creams. In fact, oil palms are so useful that parts of the Congo have been deforested in order to make way for plantations.
The mahogany tree is abundant in the Congo rainforest and popular for its rough grained, dark-colored wood. It is used to make furniture, wood flooring and boats. The okoume tree is one of the most logged trees in the Congo because of its light weight. It is used to make plywood and wood veneer products.
While the canopy of the Congo rainforest is made up of the tallest, leafy trees, the second layer of understory plants contain shorter evergreen trees and palms trees. Some plants grow onto the trees in this layer instead of into the ground. This is also where Caesalpiniaceae or legume trees grow. These trees are characterized by the legume seed or pod. One of these plants is the Bauhinia galpinii, a shrub that climbs onto other rainforest trees.