Strangler fig
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A strangler fig in Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland Australia.

Strangler Fig is the common name for a number of tropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, namely:

• Ficus aurea, also known as Florida Strangler Fig
• Ficus barbata, the Bearded Fig
• Ficus watkinsiana

They all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus.^[1]This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. These plants begin life as epiphytes, when their seeds, often bird-dispersed, germinate 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.^[2][3]

An original support tree can sometimes die, leaving a "columnar tree", central core empty, of the Strangler Fig.

References

An example of the "strangler fig".

External links

• Strangler Fig photo: Florida; Article marietta.edu—"The Tropical Rain Forest"--4 Photos of Strangler Figs/Costa Rica, etc.
• Stranger Fig video; PBS.org

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