bad plant - the strangler fig

Stranglers begin innocently enough. Their seeds can only sprout if the seed coat is attacked by bacteria, which are found only where there is decomposing litter. Thus seedlings sprout on a mossy branch or humusy tree crotch. Then they send out vines which sprawl everywhere, taking water and nutrients were they can. They may even cross to other trees. Almost as if it was "foraging", the sapling finally finds a suitable spot to establish a solid trunk. Then it sends thin roots down the host tree.

When these roots reach the ground, they thicken and wrap around the host tree. This prevents the host tree from expanding its trunk, the only way that regular trees can grow. Now that it taps into its own water and mineral supply, the Strangler seriously puts out its own canopy. This shades the host tree and eventually starves the host to death, leaving the fig with a hollow trunk. The figs produce fleshy fruits which attract pigeons and other fruit-eating birds. The small hard seeds pass unharmed through the birds' digestive system and are deposited with a nice supply of manure on another tree branch. New saplings sprout from these seeds, to plot murder all over again.