When most people think of rainforests, they think of lush, tropical “jungles”teeming with poison arrow frogs (Dendrobates spp.), toucans (e.g., Ramphastos sulfuratus), mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei), and jaguars (Panthera spp.).Tropical rainforests are indeed special places, as they account for over half the terrestrial species on Earth (Meyers et al. 2000) while representing just 12 percent of the world’s forest cover (Ritter 2008). Their temperate and boreal counterparts are another story, though, one yet to receive the kind of global recognition rightfully merited by tropical rainforests. Their story is told here,beginning with historical and recent accounts to define and map the temperate and boreal rainforests of the world.