Strangler fig

Strangler fig is the common name for a number of tropical and subtropical plant species in the genus Ficus, including those that are commonly known as banyans.

Species

Some of the more well-known species are:

Ficus altissima – southern China and tropical Asia
Ficus aurea – Florida, the Caribbean and Central America
Ficus benghalensis – Indian subcontinent
Ficus benjamina – tropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia
Ficus burtt-davyi – southeastern Africa
Ficus citrifolia – Florida and tropical America
Ficus craterostoma – tropical and southern Africa
Ficus henneana – northern and eastern Australia
Ficus macrophylla – eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island
Ficus microcarpa - southeast Asia to Australia
Ficus obliqua – Maluku Islands, Papuasia, northern Australia and southwestern Pacific
Ficus tinctoria – Indian subcontinent and southern China to northern Australia and southwestern Pacific
Ficus virens – tropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia and western Pacific
Ficus watkinsiana – eastern Australia

These all share a common "strangling" growth habit that is found in many tropical forest species. This growth habit is an adaptation for growing in dark forests where the competition for light is intense. These plants are hemiepiphytes, spending the first part of their life without rooting into the ground. 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.
An original support tree can sometimes die, so that the strangler fig becomes a "columnar tree" with a hollow central core. However, it is also believed that the strangler fig can help its support tree survive storms.