Root System of Lord Howe Island Banyan, Ficus macrophylla columnaris, Moraceae. Lord Howe Island, Australia.

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Root System of Lord Howe Island Banyan, Ficus macrophylla columnaris, Moraceae. Lord Howe Island, Australia. Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris is a fig tree endemic to Lord Howe Island, in the south Pacific Ocean. A banyan, similar to the Moreton Bay Fig. However having column like aerial roots, many thick trunks and somewhat smaller leaves. They can grow to 20 metres tall. But of a huge size, covering up to 2 hectares with many trunks. Found on the lower areas of Lord Howe Island. As Ficus macrophylla is a strangler fig; seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree and the seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. It then enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree by itself.

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Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Tenerife, Canary Islands
Photo credit: © Florapix / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: aerial, australia, banyan, botanical, botany, column, columnaris, endemic, epiphyte, ficus, fig, figs, flora, florapix, green, host, howe, island, leaf, leaves, lord, macrophylla, moraceae, natural, nature, ocean, pacific, plant, plants, root, roots, south, strangler, strangles, system, thick, tree, trees, trunks