The strangler fig (genus Ficus, numerous sp.) has adapted to survive in dark forests where competition for light is intense. Their seeds, often bird-dispersed, germinate in crevices atop other trees. They are hemiepiphytes, spending the first part of their life without rooting into the ground. The seedlings grow roots downward & envelop the host tree while also growing upward toward the sunlight above the canopy. The host tree is often smothered. Here the host tree has died & rotted away.
