A Strangler Fig consumes a Giant Cypress Tree!

3. Fallen Cypress log becomes a Nursurey for ferns

Strangler Fig

This strange sight in the photo above is the root of natures evil Strangler Fig wrapping themselves around a bald cypress tree.

The Strangler Fig, ficus aurea, is in the Mulberry Family and is given its name as it Strangles its Host Tree before becoming an independent terrestrial plant. The Strangler Fig propagates as birds eat the fruit and carry the seeds with them. The seeds drop into crevices high up in the trees and then proceed to sprout off two sets of roots, one to cling tightly to the tree and the other to loosely reach down toward the earth. Initially the Strangler Fig survives as an epiphyte gaining its nutrients from falling leaves, tree bark, and rain that gets caught in the tree crevices. As the Fig matures its roots reach down toward the ground covering the base of the host tree while the branches reach for the sky to gather sunlight. Branches reaching for the Sun-Zone compete for precious suntlight in thick forests and eventually weakens the host tree below. Slowly over time the host tree dies from lack sunlight and lack of flowing sap as the Strangler Fig wraps itself around and squeezes the host tree. As the Host hollows out from natural decay, the Strangler Fig roots establish themselves in the ground taking the place of the Host plant and becoming a terrestrial plant themselves. Photos number 2 and 3 showcase the stage of a Strangler Fig/ Host tree where the Fig now lives off the hollowed tree stump and the fallen tree top plays a new role in the circle of life by becoming a nursery log to various ferns and epiphytes.

After many years a Stragler Fig consumes a Cypress Tree