Strangler Fig

A tree that grows from the top down, consuming its host/Plants

Strangler figs (Ficus spp.) begin life as epiphytes when their seeds germinate in the canopy of a host tree, deposited there by birds or bats. They send aerial roots down to the forest floor that eventually envelop and compress the host tree, which dies and rots away, leaving the fig standing as a hollow, freestanding structure. A mature strangler fig can reach 40 meters tall with a root system spanning 30 meters. The hollow interior provides habitat for bats, birds, insects, and frogs.