(Continued from Part 1)
Strangler Fig
The most picturesquely named fig is the strangler fig. The name derives not from a penchant for strangling humans but rather from their growth habit, which is to engulf a tree. A strangler fig is a hemiepiphyte, which means that it can grow either with or without terrestrial roots. (Recall that terrestrial roots are the standard roots that grow underground; aerial roots are roots that grow above ground.) Strangler figs differ from the other hemiepiphyte we have met, vanilla (22 May 2015), in that the vanilla plant starts life with terrestrial roots and then can in later life lose its connection to its terrestrial roots and get the nourishment it needs from its aerial roots. In contrast, the strangler fig starts life by sprouting in a crevice in a tree and only has aerial roots; it then grows downward until it reaches the ground and develops terrestrial roots. There are manyspecies in the genus Ficus that have the strangler fig growth form, including the banyan tree. Here are some strangler fig pictures.
- A strangler fig seedling that has just sprouted and put out its first two leaves.
- Six pictures of miscellaneous strangler figs. Humans provide scale in the sixth picture.
- A case where the core tree has died and left a strangler fig shell.
- Two pictures of a case where the core tree has decayed and the camera is looking up through the interior of the strangler fig shell.
- The core tree has decayed, and the strangler fig shell has toppled over.
- A curtain strangler fig, which forms when the core tree tips over at an angle
- A cartoon that explains how a curtain strangler fig is formed.
- Another curtain strangler fig, which is one of the most famous trees in eastern Australia.
- Strangling a Cambodian temple.
- Strangler fig and Buddhist monks, a 36" by 24" wall decal available at Amazon for $59.69 (free shipping).
- Poster for a band called "The Strangler Figs."
