Strangler fig. Root cage of a strangler fig (Ficus sp.). The cavity at the centre of the roots was once filled by a host tree that has since died and

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Strangler fig. Root cage of a strangler fig (Ficus sp.). The cavity at the centre of the roots was once filled by a host tree that has since died and disintegrated. The strangler fig starts growing as an epiphyte (a plant that grows attached to a living plant) in a crevice in a host tree. The roots grow downwards, and fuse, enveloping the host's trunk. When the roots reach the ground it becomes hemiepiphytic and competes with its host for nutrients and water in the soil. Typically the host plant dies. Photographed in Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia.

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Size: 2368px × 3676px
Photo credit: © THOMAS MARENT/EURELIOS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: australia, australian, biological, biology, botanical, botany, cage, environment, epiphyte, epiphytic, ficus, fig, flora, geography, hemiepiphyte, hemiepiphytic, lamington, national, nature, park, plant, queensland, rainforest, root, roots, sp., strangler, tree, trunk