Meet the strangler fig: a parasitic nightmare that lives on other tropical trees, stealing their soil nutrients, water, and even sunlight through a canopy of dense leaves and tendrillike roots that twist around the host plant (above).
How is the strangler fig and the tree an example of parasitism?
This strangler fig growing on another tree is an example of parasitism. ... Although the fig doesn’t really strangle the tree, it does make it harder for the tree to get water and nutrients from the soil and also blocks some of the sunlight from reaching the tree’s leaves.
Does the strangler fig kill the tree?
The strangler fig’s roots encircle the host tree’s roots, cutting off its supply of food and water, ultimately killing the host tree . ... By the time the host tree is dead, the strangler fig is large and strong enough to stand on its own, usually encircling the lifeless, often hollow body of the host tree.
What does the strangler fig do?
The aerial roots of strangler figs may attach to surrounding vegetation on the ground , stabilising the host plant and making it less likely to become uprooted. The leaves of the fig may also help shield from wind by closing up the forest canopy.
What type of organism is a strangler fig?
Strangler fig, also called strangler, any of numerous species of tropical figs (genus Ficus, family Moraceae) 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 throughout the world.
Where is the strangler fig found?
Species Overview
The strangler fig is a frequent native in the southern half of Florida . This tree wraps around and grows up a host tree, eventually engulfing and killing the host. There are at least 10 species of Ficus in the state, only two of which are native.
Which tree is known as Golden Fig?
Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama.
What is special about a fig tree?
Fig trees are keystone species in many rainforests , producing fruit year round that are important food sources for thousands of animal species from bats to monkeys to birds. Fig tree flowers are actually hidden inside the fruit, which led many early cultures to believe the plants to be flowerless.
Are strangler figs invasive?
Although the strangler fig (Ficus aurea) is native to South Florida, Kirsten Albrecht Llamas, author of “Tropical Flowering Plants” and a resident of Miami, says that it still can attain an invasive tendency in garden settings .
How long does a strangler fig tree live?
By 2013, the tree stood 60 feet tall and has a spread spanning an entire city block. Species around the world have been known to live for hundreds of years, with folktales placing some as old as 1,300 years .
What does a strangler fig tree look like?
Other figs grow aerial roots from their branches that, when they reach the ground, root themselves and become another trunk on the same tree. Strangler figs have light colored bark and umbrella shaped canopies . Green above and lighter below, the leaves are simple, ovoid and usually between 1.5 – 3 inches long.
Why is the Banyan called the strangler fig?
The syconium of Ficus species supply shelter and food for fig wasps and the trees depend on the fig wasps for pollination. ... For this reason banyans bear the colloquial name “strangler fig”. A number of tropical banyan species that compete for sunlight, especially of the genus Ficus, exhibit this strangling habit.
How do you get rid of strangler figs?
Recommendation for removal would be to cut the stump flush at the base and apply 10 percent Garlon 4 herbicide immediately over the cut surface especially around the cambium edges (3 to 4 inches in from the trunk). You may need a certified applicator to apply it.
How big is a strangler fig?
Not recommended for small landscapes, Strangler Fig grows quickly and can reach 60 feet in height with an almost equal spread . The broad, spreading, lower limbs are festooned with secondary roots which create many slim but rigid trunks once they reach the ground and take hold.
Is ficus religiosa a strangler fig?
Ficus religiosa can exist as a variety of growth forms; a lone tree by itself; an epiphyte on another tree which will eventually grow its aerial roots and strangle its host (hence the name strangler fig for such Ficus species); or a small woody shrub growing out from concrete cracks from the ground or buildings.
Why is a fig tree a keystone species?
Fig trees (Ficus) are often ecologically significant keystone species because they sustain populations of the many seed-dispersing animals that feed on their fruits .
