Strangler Fig

Strangler Fig

Strangler Fig is the common name for a number of tropical plant species, including some banyans and unrelated vines, namely:
* "Ficus aurea", also known as the Florida Strangler Fig
* "Ficus barbata", also known as the Bearded Fig
* "Ficus watkinsiana"

They all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus "Ficus". [Zhekun, Zhou & Michael G. Gilbert (2003) Flora of China (Moraceae) 5: 21-73. [http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume05/Moraceae.pdf] ] This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. This plant generally grows in Florida and the Bahamas. 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 envelope the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy. [Serventy, V. 1984. Australian Native Plants. Victoria: Reed Books.] [Light in the rainforest 1992 Tropical topics. Vol 1 No. 5 [http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/register/p00820ar.pdf] ]

An original support tree can sometimes die, leaving a "columnar tree", central core empty, of the Strangler Fig.

References

External links

* [http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/images/troprain/strangle.jpgStrangler Fig photo: Florida] ; [http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/troprain.htm Article] marietta.edu—"The Tropical Rain Forest"--4 Photos of Strangler Figs/Costa Rica, etc.
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/deepjungle/episode2_brazilnut.html Stranger Fig video] ; PBS.org


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • strangler fig — noun 1. a common tropical American clusia having solitary white or rose flowers • Syn: ↑pitch apple, ↑Clusia rosea, ↑Clusia major • Hypernyms: ↑strangler, ↑strangler tree • Member Holonyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • strangler fig — ▪ tree also called  strangler        many species of tropical figs (genus Ficus) named for their pattern of growth upon host trees, which often results in the host s death. Strangler figs and other strangler species are common in tropical forests …   Universalium

  • strangler fig — /stræŋglə ˈfɪg/ (say stranggluh fig) noun a tall rainforest tree, Ficus watkinsiana, which germinates in the branches of a host tree, sending many crisscrossing roots down which eventually envelop the host tree and kill it, leaving the fig in… …  

  • strangler fig — noun Date: 1933 any of several figs (as Ficus aurea of the southeastern United States) that start as epiphytes but send down roots to the ground around the host tree; broadly any of various epiphytic vines or trees (as Clusia rosea syn. C. major) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Strangler fig — Ficus (E) …   EthnoBotanical Dictionary

  • Florida strangler fig — noun a strangler tree native to southern Florida and West Indies; begins as an epiphyte eventually developing many thick aerial roots and covering enormous areas • Syn: ↑golden fig, ↑strangler fig, ↑wild fig, ↑Ficus aurea • Hypernyms: ↑fig tree • …   Useful english dictionary

  • fig tree — noun any moraceous tree of the tropical genus Ficus; produces a closed pear shaped receptacle that becomes fleshy and edible when mature (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑tree • Hyponyms: ↑fig, ↑common fig, ↑common fig tree, ↑Ficus carica, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • strangler tree — noun an epiphytic vine or tree whose aerial roots extend down the trunk of a supporting tree and coalesce around it eventually strangling the tree • Syn: ↑strangler • Derivationally related forms: ↑strangle (for: ↑strangler) • Hypernyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • strangler — noun 1. an epiphytic vine or tree whose aerial roots extend down the trunk of a supporting tree and coalesce around it eventually strangling the tree • Syn: ↑strangler tree • Derivationally related forms: ↑strangle • Hypernyms: ↑air plant,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • golden fig — noun a strangler tree native to southern Florida and West Indies; begins as an epiphyte eventually developing many thick aerial roots and covering enormous areas • Syn: ↑Florida strangler fig, ↑strangler fig, ↑wild fig, ↑Ficus aurea • Hypernyms:… …   Useful english dictionary

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