strangler figs
Parasitic tropical trees
Strangler figs are tropical trees that begin life as epiphytes—seeds deposited by birds in the branches of host trees.
They send roots downward, eventually encasing and often killing the host, leaving a hollow lattice of fig roots standing where a tree once was.
The name extends metaphorically to anything that slowly engulfs and destroys what initially supported it: The franchise model became a strangler fig, choking out the independent shops that had given it legitimacy.
- banyansTrees with prop roots
- aerial rootsRoots growing above ground
- epiphyteNon-parasitic botanical hitchhiker
- host treeTree bearing dependent organisms
- fig treeFicus bearing edible fruit
parasitism · death grip · vines · keystone species · root system · lianas · germination · buttress roots · seed dispersal · lattice · hollow trunk · growth strategy · mutualism · living sculpture · habitat creation · sacred trees · canopy trees · rainforest vegetation
- tropical forestscanopy layer, understory, epiphytes, lianas, forest floor
- cloud forestsepiphytes, mosses, bromeliads, orchids, tree ferns
- jungle adaptationsbuttress roots, broad leaves, epiphytes, lianas, prehensile tails
- rainforest habitatscanopy, forest floor, understory, treetops, emergent layer
- tropical plantshibiscus, bougainvillea, frangipani, mahogany, palm trees
- forest structuretree canopy, understory, forest floor, overstory, emergent layer