Giants of the forest

In a jungle, gigantic trees and plants always amaze me for their majestic growth.

The roots of some trees can be as tall as my head.
To see such trees stand high up in the sky gives me a sense of awe.

The trees in the above picture are called Strangler Figs, a common species in a rainforest.

Why strangler...? you may ask.

This species shares a common habit: young vines and roots grow around a host tree.
Vines and roots thrive efficiently and compete for scarce light with other plants by taking advantage of the host tree. Eventually they crowd round the host tree, strangle and kill it, and become one big tree.

The left tree in the picture shows the growing roots around a host tree.
The right tree has already strangled its host tree.

Before and after, so to speak.

Predator-prey competition is fierce among plants as well as animals.
Space and resources are limited.
When life of a tree ends, competition over the space quickly begins.

It takes years for a tree to grow to be several tens of meters.
When I ponder decades of history the tree has lived,
I feel humble and solemn.

Feeling like a trip?