Evolution
The Deadly Strangler Figs!
What you're seeing in the picture is a strangler fig (golden fig),
ficus aurea, giving the Cypress tree a very unfriendly hug, a hug that
will eventually kill the Cypress tree.
The seeds of the
strangler fig, with the help of birds and other agents, drop into
crevices high up in the trees and then proceed to sprout off two sets of
roots, one to cling tightly to the tr
ee and the other to loosely reach down toward the earth.
Initially the Strangler Fig survives as an epiphyte (hence it's called a
hemi-epiphyte) gaining its necessary nutrients from falling leaves,
tree bark, and rain that gets caught in the tree crevices and other
available sources. Now the roots reach deeper into the ground at the
base of host tree, while it also continues to grow upwards reaching for
sunlight at the top. Branches reaching for the sun-zone compete for
precious suntlight in thick forests and eventually weakens the host tree
below. Slowly over time the host tree dies from lack of sunlight and
lack of flowing sap as the Strangler Fig wraps itself around and
squeezes the host tree. After a while, the host tree is withered away
completely, and a hollow cylindrical shape remains as a relic of the
dead tree, but the strangler fig is now strong enough to support itself
as a terrestrial plant.
Sometimes, the tree grows too big and leans
on another tree besides it, killing it too, and this killing spree of
the strangler figs continues for multiple trees.
Watch the video presented by David Attenborough himself:
http://www.youtube.com/
Source:
1) http://
2) http://www.mongabay.com/
3) http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/
4) http://
Image:
http://
The Deadly Strangler Figs!
What you're seeing in the picture is a strangler fig (golden fig), ficus aurea, giving the Cypress tree a very unfriendly hug, a hug that will eventually kill the Cypress tree.
The seeds of the strangler fig, with the help of birds and other agents, drop into crevices high up in the trees and then proceed to sprout off two sets of roots, one to cling tightly to the tr
What you're seeing in the picture is a strangler fig (golden fig), ficus aurea, giving the Cypress tree a very unfriendly hug, a hug that will eventually kill the Cypress tree.
The seeds of the strangler fig, with the help of birds and other agents, drop into crevices high up in the trees and then proceed to sprout off two sets of roots, one to cling tightly to the tr
ee and the other to loosely reach down toward the earth.
Initially the Strangler Fig survives as an epiphyte (hence it's called a hemi-epiphyte) gaining its necessary nutrients from falling leaves, tree bark, and rain that gets caught in the tree crevices and other available sources. Now the roots reach deeper into the ground at the base of host tree, while it also continues to grow upwards reaching for sunlight at the top. Branches reaching for the sun-zone compete for precious suntlight in thick forests and eventually weakens the host tree below. Slowly over time the host tree dies from lack of sunlight and lack of flowing sap as the Strangler Fig wraps itself around and squeezes the host tree. After a while, the host tree is withered away completely, and a hollow cylindrical shape remains as a relic of the dead tree, but the strangler fig is now strong enough to support itself as a terrestrial plant.
Sometimes, the tree grows too big and leans on another tree besides it, killing it too, and this killing spree of the strangler figs continues for multiple trees.
Watch the video presented by David Attenborough himself:
http://www.youtube.com/
Source:
1) http://
2) http://www.mongabay.com/
3) http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/
4) http://
Image:
http://
Initially the Strangler Fig survives as an epiphyte (hence it's called a hemi-epiphyte) gaining its necessary nutrients from falling leaves, tree bark, and rain that gets caught in the tree crevices and other available sources. Now the roots reach deeper into the ground at the base of host tree, while it also continues to grow upwards reaching for sunlight at the top. Branches reaching for the sun-zone compete for precious suntlight in thick forests and eventually weakens the host tree below. Slowly over time the host tree dies from lack of sunlight and lack of flowing sap as the Strangler Fig wraps itself around and squeezes the host tree. After a while, the host tree is withered away completely, and a hollow cylindrical shape remains as a relic of the dead tree, but the strangler fig is now strong enough to support itself as a terrestrial plant.
Sometimes, the tree grows too big and leans on another tree besides it, killing it too, and this killing spree of the strangler figs continues for multiple trees.
Watch the video presented by David Attenborough himself:
http://www.youtube.com/
Source:
1) http://
2) http://www.mongabay.com/
3) http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/
4) http://
Image:
http://
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