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Strangler
figs habitat
Cloud Forest and dry tropical forest
Phases
of Strangler Figs life
epiphyte to superior
plant (tree)
Amount
of the world's Dry Tropical forest in Costa Rica
6%
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Lesson
Plans
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Strangler
Figs
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in Libera,
we've been traveling through different tropical ecosystems.
We've spent time in the Cloud Forest and in the Dry
Tropical Forest. Dry tropical forests are some of the
most threatened ecosystems in the world. There are only
3% of the dry tropical forests left in the world.
Many of the
plants are quite different than those we've encountered
in the tropical rainforest.
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Click On Photo To Enlarge
Hundreds of Epiphytes make this tree their home.
The epiphytes on a tree like this one can actually weigh
more than the host tree! |
One
of the most interesting trees we've encountered is the
strangler fig. Strangler figs are native to the dry tropical
forests and the cloud forests of Costa Rica. They are
really interesting, because they have two very different
phases of their lives. When they are young, they are epiphytes,
meaning they grow on the top of the other trees. Any good,
big tree will do. |
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they mature, the strangler fig develops aerial roots,
which grow down toward the ground from the top of the
trees. Aerial roots often get mistaken for vines. We all
know that Tarzan used vines to swing through the forest.
This however is not true. Vines grow up toward the sky,
and arial roots grow down to the ground. |
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Click On Photo To Enlarge
These aerial roots have made it all the way down
to the ground. Eventually the fig will kill the host
tree. |
So how does the strangler fig get its name? When the
aerial roots grow down toward the ground, they constrict
very tightly around the host tree. Eventually, the host
tree is killed by the strangler fig, leaving a skeleton
of fig roots.
So, what is the importance of strangler figs? What
purpose do they play in the forest's natural cycles?
Come up with a hypothesis and submit it to our
Q and A!
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Critters
of Costa Rica Index
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