hi.. im new to Maya, and im wondering what is the best way to create a jungle scenario? is there any plugin to make the plants? or paint effects??
thank you
....paint effects...yes. Be warned though...if you want to create a full cg environment, you are talking MASSIVE render times for that sort of environment. ...at least if you want it to look good, have hi resolution...and y'know, less important things like, say, shadows 
...Its a real killer for render times. If you are creating a still frame, fair enough, but if you are putting a cg character in their and theirfore have to render so many frames of your background...you had better have one big renderfarm 
I remember when I first tried paint effects I also went for a jungle scene. I had a few trees...animated of course, lots of flowers, shrubbery, etc etc, and the rendertime was pretty hideous. Fair to say that processor speed has improved a heck of a lot since then, but iuts still nasty to render a 'good' looking scene. And besides, its the lighting and shadows and textures that impress people. Anyone can point and click with paint effects.
Like I said, if you want to make a beautiful looking scene and render a still, go for it. If you want to put a character in, I would seriously considder alternatives...such as a photo or live footage. But in saying that, if the camera isn't moving and you can't see your character's feet, I suppose you could use your still frame of your cg environment. Well, anyways, lots of ways to approach this, but in answer to your question, yes, use paint effects...its fun at the very least
Why not bake tha background and have interactive shadows only whare the caracter is going to be!
Yeah....that too 
Joojaa...I juat ain't a fan of cg environments full stop. They always look cack unless they are done by a team of 30 specialist people on a huge renderfarm.
yesh it is true i know but its still what he asked for!