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Strangler Fig

 
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Strangler Fig
 
 
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Strangler Fig is the common name for a number of tropical plant species, including some banyan
Banyan

A banyan is a Ficus that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree . "Banyan" often refers specifically to the species Ficus benghalensis, though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a unique life cycle, and systematics to refer to the subgenus Urostigma'...
s and unrelated vines, namely:

They all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus
Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone....
.This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
s where the competition for light is intense. These plants begin life as epiphyte
Epiphyte

File:Cadzow oak epiphyte 2.JPGAn epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attaches to a living plant. Epiphyte is one of the subdivisions of the Raunki?r plant life-form....
s, when their seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s, often bird-dispersed
Seed dispersal

Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic and biotic vectors....
, germinate
Germination

Germination is the process whereby growth emerges from a period of dormancy. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant or gymnosperm....
 in crevices atop other trees.






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Strangler Fig is the common name for a number of tropical plant species, including some banyan
Banyan

A banyan is a Ficus that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree . "Banyan" often refers specifically to the species Ficus benghalensis, though the term has been generalized to include all figs that share a unique life cycle, and systematics to refer to the subgenus Urostigma'...
s and unrelated vines, namely:
  • Ficus aurea
    Ficus aurea

    Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig , golden fig, or higuer?n, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama....
    , also known as the Florida Strangler Fig
  • Ficus barbata, also known as the Bearded Fig
    Bearded Fig

    The term Bearded Fig refers to number of species of Ficus, including:*Ficus barbata ? one of the Strangler Figs*Ficus citrifolia ? the giant bearded fig tree...
  • Ficus watkinsiana
    Ficus watkinsiana

    Ficus watkinsiana, commonly known as Strangler fig, Watkins' fig, Nipple fig or the Green-leaved Moreton Bay Fig is a hemiepiphyte fig that is endemism to Australia....
  • Pohutukawa
    Pohutukawa

    The Pohutukawa is a coastal evergreen tree of the myrtle family that produces a brilliant display of red flowers made up of a mass of stamens. The Pohutukawa is one of twelve Metrosideros species endemic to New Zealand....
     (Metrosideros robusta) in the warm-temperate rainforest of New Zealand
    New Zealand

    New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....


They all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus
Ficus

Ficus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone....
.This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forest
Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
s where the competition for light is intense. These plants begin life as epiphyte
Epiphyte

File:Cadzow oak epiphyte 2.JPGAn epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attaches to a living plant. Epiphyte is one of the subdivisions of the Raunki?r plant life-form....
s, when their seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s, often bird-dispersed
Seed dispersal

Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic and biotic vectors....
, germinate
Germination

Germination is the process whereby growth emerges from a period of dormancy. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant or gymnosperm....
 in crevices atop other trees. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelope the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy.

An original support tree can sometimes die, leaving a "columnar tree", central core empty, of the Strangler Fig. strangler figs also leave trees hollow

External links

  • ; marietta.edu—"The Tropical Rain Forest"--4 Photos of Strangler Figs/Costa Rica
    Costa Rica

    Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
    , etc.
  • ; PBS.org