From Azerbaijan to Zambia, the trend of creating theme restaurants is gaining rapid popularity. Some of these themes are unique while some are truly grotesque in nature. Restaurant owners and designers are putting their minds together to create some interesting or bizarre theme restaurants.

Can you imagine - a Mars theme restaurant, modern toilet restaurant, undersea restaurant, tree-house restaurant, ice-restaurant sculpted completely from ice, train-restaurant, air-plane restaurant, village-restaurant, robot restaurant, and even a nude restaurant? Truly, the world of theme-restaurants can be mind-boggling.

One of the most popular theme that is popular among young children, families, singles, seniors and even teenagers is a Tropical Theme restaurant.

Tropical theme restaurants usually recreate the charm and ambiance of a rain-forest complete with mountain caves, animals, ancient jungle ruins, bizarre water-falls, and exotic flowers.

One of the most important ingredients for creating the perfect tropical theme restaurants is obviously your choice of plants! Without the right mix of plants, a tropical theme restaurant will be incomplete. Imagine putting a polar bear in a tropical theme restaurant!!

Most tropical theme restaurants use artificial plants to recreate an impeccable tropical ambiance. With the advent of modern technology, it's become very easy to create a tropical ambiance even in a place located on the Arctic Circle! All Thanks to the world of artificial plants!

Artificial plants are available in a wide variety; they are inexpensive, free from allergens and ask for zero maintenance. And most importantly they are so real looking that, it is almost impossible to differentiate between the real plant and artificial plant.

Artificial plants and indoor trees help create a flawless tropical topography. Designers use different types of flowering trees, bamboo palms, and large trees to create layers of vegetation that are typical to tropical forests. Tropical forests typically have four layers of flora – ground layer, understorey layer, canopy layer, and emergent layer.

Here are some trees and plant species that you may use to create the quintessential tropical forest in your restaurant:

Flowering Trees:

Small and large flowering trees are the essence of any tropical theme restaurant. Flowering trees are the heart of a tropical forest. They make up the ground layer of the tropical forest.

Some of the artificial flowers that can be used for decoration are Bird of Paradise, Snapdragon flower, Orchids, Heliconia, and Candle bush.

Birds of paradise are synonymous to tropical forests. Snapdragon flower colors are vibrant include white, pink, yellow, orange, red, violet, purple, and peach.

High-quality silk flowers like fiery red Heliconias and multi-colored Orchids are also used in tropical theme restaurants. The bright colors of these exotic flowers are an added value to the artistic appeal. Restaurants usually prefer energetic and lively colored flower trees. Red, orange, pink, fuchsia, peach, yellow and crimson are suggested to liven up the mood of tired customers. Such colors are also very popular among little children who love brightly colored things.

Small Artificial Trees:

Small artificial plants are recommended by experts to imitate the understorey layer of a tropical forest. Most of these small plants tend to have large leaves and are not higher than 12 feet in height.

Experts recommend using plants like – Rubber plant, Schefflera plant, Yucca plant, Money tree, and Banana tree to name a few. With long, glossy leaves these trees add the zing value to the otherwise mundane greens of the tropical forest.

Large Artificial trees:

Large artificial indoor trees are an important element of tropical or rainforest theme restaurants. They make up the canopy and emergent layer of a tropical forest. They have thick foliage and some are more than 100 feet high.

Artificial trees like – Mango tree, Weeping Willow tree, Weeping Juniper tree, Kapok tree, Coconut tree, and Cacao tree are widely used. With real looking fruits hanging from these trees, the furnishings look enticing to young and old alike.

The unusual varieties of tropical trees that you may consider are – Rainbow eucalyptus, Tamarind tree, Mousetrap tree, Baobab tree, and the pink and white Shower tree. These extraordinary and curious looking trees are the perfect oomph factor for your tropical forest.

Most restaurants will use animals like snakes, monkeys, cheetahs, and apes on these trees to create a realistic touch.

Palms:

Palm trees make up the core being of tropical forests. Artificial palms are available in an astonishingly wide variety. Palm trees are of different shapes, sizes, and colors. Palms can be climbers, shrubs, stemless plants and also full grown trees. They are an important feature of all the four layers of a tropical forest.

Palms like—Traveler's palm, Fishtail palm, and Kentia palm, are a hugely popular aspect of tropical theme décor. The dwarf or small sized palms that are widely used are – Sword palm, Fan palm, Rhapis palm, Phoenix palm, and Areca palm.

The artificial Cycas palm is remarkably in demand for tropical or rain forest theme restaurants. Their beautiful and dainty formation add to the finishing touches of the ambiance.

Another all-time favorite for creating tropical forest theme restaurant is the Bamboo palm. The Bamboo palm benefits the tropical theme restaurant by creating a faux partition. These are ideal for building private enclosures preferred by families and young couples.

A lot of restaurants also use commercial outdoor and indoor lighted palm trees as a part of tropical theme décor. These palm trees are often used as the centerpiece of the restaurant. Kids simply love these multi-color fiber optic palm trees which can be lit up in a multitude of colors. Some of them are even programmed to change colors in accordance to the beat of the music being played.

The green ambiance of tropical theme restaurants is highly favored these days. While the green hues help give calmness and relaxation to the adult guests, the young ones simply love the unique atmosphere. What better than a lush-green oasis in the midst of snow!! As American environmentalist and naturalist John Muir truly said, "And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul."