In a message dated 8/26/05 12:03:06 AM, Steve writes:
They are referred to strangler fig I believe.

Not correct. Roots coming from the upper part of a plant are called
adventitious. A ficus with a number of extra trunks formed by adventitious roots is
called a banyan. In bonsai they are usually considered very desirable.
Strangler fig, Ficus aurea, is a particular species found in Florida. It is a
sort of parasite. Its seeds sprout on the forest floor. Then the seedling
finds the nearest tree and climbs up it as a vine, to reach the light. As it gets
to the top, it grows more stems and branches around the host tree, eventually
smothering it and becoming a free-standing tree. Ficus aurea can be grown as
a bonsai. I presume they stake it to the desired height until it stands on its
own, or grow it on a sacrifice tree to get the multiple trunks.
Iris

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Dear All

Strangler fig, Ficus aurea, is a particular species found in Florida. It is a
sort of parasite. Its seeds sprout on the forest floor. Then the seedling

Also not so true... In my experience with the South African stranglers
they are not parasitic at all. A parasite is "a plant or animal living
in or on another and drawing nutriment from it" (ancient, 1942, Pocket
Oxford!). Parasitic plants have specialized structures that tap into
the host plant and steal water and or nutrients from the host plant's
vessel system. A plant that is just using another for support and not
sustenance is not parasitic.

finds the nearest tree and climbs up it as a vine, to reach the light. As it gets
to the top, it grows more stems and branches around the host tree, eventually
smothering it and becoming a free-standing tree. Ficus aurea can be grown as

Our strangles start off as seedlings in forks of branches and their
roots grow down to the soil. A net of roots is created, surrounding
the support plant, which effectively ring barks the tree and eventually
kills it.

own, or grow it on a sacrifice tree to get the multiple trunks.

You don't need to use a living tree. You can develop a strangler over
a stump of one of you failed bonsai attempts. Design wise you want to
create a more tropical feel rather than a exposed mountain tree that is
often achieved with phoenix grafting. I have grown a root-over-tree
(as opposed to root-over-rock) using a dead Olive stump and a living
Natal Wild Fig (Ficus natalensis). The roots have bonded well and the
canopy is now being developed.

Carl Morrow
Cape Town

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Carl Morrow wrote:
Dear All


Strangler fig, Ficus aurea, is a particular species found in Florida. It is a
sort of parasite. Its seeds sprout on the forest floor. Then the seedling


Also not so true... In my experience with the South African stranglers
they are not parasitic at all. A parasite is "a plant or animal living
in or on another and drawing nutriment from it" (ancient, 1942, Pocket
Oxford!). Parasitic plants have specialized structures that tap into
the host plant and steal water and or nutrients from the host plant's
vessel system. A plant that is just using another for support and not
sustenance is not parasitic.

According to Nelson's "Trees of Florida," Strangler Fig
(Ficus aurea) often begins in the upper parts of a tree as
an epiphyte -- it gets its water and nutrients from the air
-- though it can grow by seed from the ground as well. It
is NOT a parasite, but then, Iris said it is "sort of" a
parasite.

If an epiphyte, it grows in both directions, sending roots
down and branches up, wrapping itself around trees. When
the tree eventually dies -- "choked," some say, by the
"strangling" roots -- it rots away in tropical humidity,
leaving the roots standing upright around a hollow. Or, it
may just outlive its host, with the same results.

F. aurea is relatively common in the lower third of Florida.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Kevin Bailey++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++