Strangler fig

Ficus watkinsiana on Syzygium hemilampra, Iluka, Australia

A columnar tree formed by a strangler fig after the central tree has died. The tree is hollow as seen in this photograph from below.

A strangler fig. The supporting tree, now dead can also be seen. Photo from Kannavam forest

Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, including among many other species:

• Ficus aurea, also known as the Florida Strangler Fig
• Ficus barbata, also known as the Bearded Fig
• Ficus benghalensis
• Ficus citrifolia
• Ficus craterostoma
• Ficus tinctoria
• Ficus macrophylla
• Ficus obliqua
• Ficus virens
• Ficus watkinsiana

They all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus. 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 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.

A strangler fig sapling starts to grow on a tree, roots can be seen

Old Strangler fig in the final stage, Costa-Rica, Pacific

External links

• The Tropical Rain Forest, including photos of strangler figs
• The Queen of Trees: Fig Trees—From the Sacred to the Strangler