Friday 8 July 2011

Strangler Fig


Iguazu National Park, Argentina

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 envelop the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy. An original support tree can sometimes die, so that the Strangler Fig becomes a "columnar tree" with a hollow central core. (Wikipedia)

4 comments:

Joan Elizabeth said...

I'm fascinated by what appears to be the moss/lichen on the fig. Makes it looks like something in a sci-fi movie.

Cildemer said...

Impressionante!
Obrigada pela partilha;o)

***Bjos****

Francisca said...

Fascinating. I think I've seen something similar in Asia, but I'm not knowledgeable enough in this area to give you details.

Pat said...

Fascinating shot!