Island

Strangler Fig Tree (genus Ficus): One of the most remarkable hemiepiphytes is the towering strangler fig tree which starts life as a tiny seed in the canopy of a random tree. The roots grow down to the forest floor where they take root and begin to take nutrients from the soil. Gradually the roots wrap around the host tree, widen, and slowly form a lattice work that surrounds the host's trunk. The fig's crown grows foliage which soon overshadows the tree. Eventually, the host tree dies leaving the fig with a hollow trunk which is easily climbed thanks to the many openings in the trunk. Figs sometimes help anchor tropical trees during bad storms and are often the only tree species remaining after forest clearing, since their knotted and twisted wood is shunned by loggers. Photo taken by Fred Breglia in Nanning, Guangxi, China. 🌳