featured in Our Planet’s Scenery

Photo taken in Dominica/Caribbean. The fig is destroying the walls of a British fortress from the 1700.
Ficus barbata, also known as the Bearded Fig. All different types of “stranglers” share a common “strangling” growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species, particularly of the genus Ficus. This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. 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 envelop the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy