Sanctuary Asia - May 2018

I am an unusual, yet a common type of fig

tree with a name that says it all. Who am I?

14 SANCTUARY ASIA, 2018 MAY

GAURAV SHIRODKAR

The Goliath birdeater

or the Goliath bird-

eating tarantula is the

largest spider in the

world based on its

weight and size.

Widely spread across tropical forests,

the fascinating fig tree is unusual in many

respects. For starters, it does not take

seed in the ground, but instead on the

canopy of a host tree. Its roots do not

first take hold in the ground, but instead

grow longer and longer, wrapping itself

around the host tree before entering the

soil. Meet the strangler fig or simply,

the strangler!

Belonging to the genus Ficus, a group of

hardy trees, strangler figs play a crucial

role in their tropical forest ecosystem.

The life of a strangler starts off as a seed,

a sticky one, which birds or arboreal*

animals such as bats or squirrels drop

on a tree after consuming the delicious

fig fruits of another fruiting strangler.

From here on, the seed sprouts and

slowly the sapling and roots emerge.

These roots grow longer over the years,

PUBLIC DOMAIN

ANTONY STANLEY/PUBLIC DOMAIN

FERNANDO FLORES/PUBLIC DOMAIN

The strangler’s roots

grow longer over the

years, descending along

the branches and trunk

of the host tree, slowly

enveloping and eventually

covering it completely.

Each egg of the

blue tang surgeonfish

contains a droplet of oil that

allows it to float on water.

The egg hatches giving birth

to a translucent larva

called acronurus!

Found only

in Madagascar,

the satanic

leaf-tailed gecko

camouflages to look like a dried

leaf, living up to its scientific

name Uroplatus ‘phantasticus’!

DidUKnow?

descending along the branches

and trunk of the host tree, slowly

enveloping and eventually covering

it completely, literally strangling

it. The roots grow long enough to

reach the ground, enter the soil and

absorb nutrients. At the other end of

the strangler, the branches and leaves,

which form the crown of the tree,

compete with the host tree’s foliage*,

eventually beating it to gain more

sunlight. With time, the fig tree eclipses

the older tree entirely, dominating it,

until the host tree dies.

As it disintegrates, the dead host tree

will leave behind an empty centre for the

strangler and this hollow trunk of the

strangler fig serves as a home for several

species of bats, reptiles, amphibians

and birds. Its juicy, nutritious fruits are

always a hit with fruit-eating animals.

* See glossary on page 23

f

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INSET: ROBBIE SPROULE