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)